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AUTHOR: 


CICERO,  MARCUS 

TULLIUS 


TITLE: 


EPISTLES  TO  ATTICUS 


PLACE: 


LONDON 


DA  TE : 


1806 


COLUMBIA  UNIVERSITY  LIBRARIES 
PRESERVATION  DEPARTMENT 

BIBLIOGRAPHIC  MICROFORM  TARGET 


Master  Negative  # 


Original  Material  as  Filmed  -  Existing  Bibliographic  Record 


/■" 

87GL1 
JI 


Epistolae. ad  Atticum 
Cicero,  Marcus  Tullius.  ^^S*  ^«*^«i^ 

Cicero's  Epistles  to  Atticus,  with  notes,  his- 
torical, explanatory  and  critical;  translated 
by  V/illiam  Guthrie. ••   A  new  edition,  corrected 
and  amended...   London,  Lackin^iton,  1806. 

3  V.   22  cm. 

Title-pa;;e  of  v.  1,  lackinf,;  title  from  v.  2. 


Restrictions  on  Use: 


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A 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


L'    ' 


i 


X  HE  present  edition  has  received  many 
improvements  which,  in  justice  to  the  pro- 
prietors, ittis  necessary  to  state.  The  cha- 
racter of  Guthrie,  as  a  translator,  is  known 
and  approved  ;  and  the  estiniation  in  which 
he  is  held,  has  rendered  it  advisable,  in- 
stead of  offering  the  public  a  translation  en- 
tirely new,  to  revise  and  improve  that  of 
which  he  is  author.  The  letters  of  Cicero  to 
Atticus,  from  a  variety  of  causes,  labour  in  ' 
many  parts  under  obscurities,  from  which 
the  other  compositions  of  that  eminent  writer 
are  2;enerally  free.  The  naked  and  abrupt 
conciseness  with  which,  in  the  hurry  and  se- 
curity of  confidential  intercourse,  he  ex- 
presses his  ideas ;  the  numerous  allusions  to 
private  affairs,  the  knowledge  of  which  has 
necessarily  perished  with  that  age ;  the  fre- 
quency with  which  he  employs  Greek  terms, 
quotes,  or  alludes  to,  authors  not  known  in 

A  2  modern 


!l 


IV 


ADVERTISEMENT. 


sD 


modern  days,  together  with  the  loss  of  all 
the  letters  of  xltticus,   on   which,  in  many 
parts,   the  language  and  ideas  of  his  illus- 
trious  friend  depended,  and  which,  if  pre- 
served, would  have  illustrated  with  the  evi- 
dence of  facts,  what  now  can  be  collected 
only  from  the  uncertainty  of  conjecture,  have 
rendered  it  a  difficult  task  to  translate  them 
with  accuracy,  and  impossible  to  invest  them 
with  that  grace,  richness,  ease,    and  copious- 
ness, which  distinguish  the  familiar  epistles  of 
Cicero.     The  errors  which  proceeded  from 
these  causes,  or  from  the  haste,  negligence, 
or  incompetence  of  the  translator,  have,  it  is 
presumed,  in  many  places,  been  corrected  in 
the  present  edition.     The   version  has  been 
compared  w  ith   the  original ;   the  sentences 
have  often  been   moulded  anew,  or  entirely 
changed ;    the    vulvar    terms    and    phrases, 
which  frequently   occurred,    exchanged    for 
words  and  expressions  less  inelegant ;    and 
passages  which,  from  their  obscurity  or  im- 
portance, demanded  explanation,  have  been 
elucidated  by  critical   notes.      The   transla- 
tor expressed  the  Roman  coins  by  their  equi- 
valent 


4 


-    :< 


H 


ADVERTISEMENT.  ▼ 

valent  value  in  English  money.      Tliis,  we 
conceive  was  an  undue  and  unnecessary  devi- 
ation from  the  original,  and  takes  away  the 
venerable  air  of  antiquity,  without  imparting, 
in  return,  any  advantage  from  modern  orna- 
ment.    In  this  edition  the  Roman  denomina- 
tions of  talents  and  sesterces  have,  therefore, 
been  restored  in  their  proper  places,   and 
their    amount  specified  in  English   coin,  at 
the  bottom  of  the  page.    Finally,  the  Greek 
terms  subjoined,  with  a  Latin  explanation, 
are  expunged,  as  incongruous  and  unnecessa- 
ry ;  and  a  translation,  with  critical  remarks, 
is  o-iven  only  of  those  citations,  which  appa- 
rently deserve  the  notice  of  a  classic  reader. 
These  advantages,  it  is  hoped,  confer  on  the 
present  Edition  new  claims  to  the  approba- 
tion of  the  public ;  and  entitle  it,   as  for  as 
their  respective  nature  will  allow,  to  rank 
with  the  more  elegant  and  approved  trans- 
lations  of   Melmoth.       The   notes    of  the 
Editor,  for  the  most  part,  are  distinguished 
by  the  letter  E, 

J,  JONES. 

Qctoi'er  10,  1806. 


PREFACE. 


\ 


I  HAVE  now  translated  the  collection  of  Cicero's 
Epistles  to  Atticus,  a  work  more  entertaining  to 
read,  bat  more  difficult  to  translate,  than  any 
literary  composition  of  antiquity,  and  that  for 
the  following  reasons : 

Not  above  seventy  of  the  many  thousands  of 
letters  written  by  Cicero,  were  collected  by  any 
one  hand  in  his  own  life-time,  with  a  view  of 
publishing  them.     Upon  the  great  revolution  of 
the  Roman  empire,  under  Augustus  Ctesar,  such 
a  publication  must  have  been  extremely  danger- 
ous, on  account  of  the  freedom  he  uses  with  the 
emperor  himself,  the  ministers  of  his  power,  and 
the  constitution  of  his  government    Nepos,  it 
is  true,  who  was  our  author's  friend  and  contem- 
porary, mentions  seventeen  books  of  his  Epistles 
to  Atticus,  with  elegant  applause,  but  he  makes 
^  plain  distinction  between  them,  and  the  other 

work* 


▼in 


PREFACJE.' 


works  of  our  author,  which  were  then  public'. 
The  reigns  of  the  princes  succeeding  Augustus 
were  still  less  favourable  to  public  liberty,  and 
therefore  it  is  more  than  probable,  that  these 
epistles  lay  concealed  in  the  cabinets  of  the  cu- 
rious, and  that,  many  years  past  before  they  re- 
ceived any  critical  inspection.  This  was  one  rea- 
son of  the  very  great  incorrectness  and  imperfec- 
tions of  this  work  in  the  original,  there  being 
scarcely  ten  successive  lines  through  the  whole" 
in  which  the  manuscript  copies  do  notdifter  froiii 
one  another. 

But  there  is  another,  and  a  much  more  power- 
ful, reason  for  the  difficulty  of  translating  our 
authors  epistles  to  Atticus.  They  are  written  in 
the  language  of  friendship,  a  lan-^uage  which 
friends  alone  understand.  If  there  is  anv  mate- 
rial difference  between  human  nature  in  that  age 
and  this,  it  lies  in  the  conception  of  this  virtue. 
The  following  pages  evince,  that  there  was  a 
time,  when  friendship  in  the  human  breast  could 
rise  into  a   passion  strong  as   their  love,    and 

sacred 

•  Ei  rei  sunt  indicio,  prater  eos  libro.,,  i„  quib,,s  de  co  ficit 
menuonem,  qui  in  valgus  sunt  editi,  sexdecim  volumina  epis 
tolarum  ab  consulatu  ejus  usque  ad  extremum  tempus  ad  At- 
ticum  missarum.  Ar      ,^. 

^  ^ep.Fit.Attid. 


PREFACE. 


h 


lacred  as  their  religion,  but  without  the  impuri^ 
ties  that  sometimes  debased  the  one,  and  the  sui. 
perstition  that  always  polluted  the  other.     The 
friendship  of  our  author  for  Atticus,  is  full  of 
nice  suspicions,    delicate  jealousies,  kind  fears, 
and  fond  endearments.     It  has  every  characteris- 
tic of  violent,  but  virtuous,  passion.     It  breathes 
every  tender  grace  that  delights  the  mind,  and 
awakens  every  soft  emotion  that  affects  the  heart. 
The  lan^uase  of  the  most  enamoured  poet  to  his 
mistress  is  faint,  compared  to  the  voice  of  Ci- 
cero's friendship  for  Atticus  ;  and  were  the  fol- 
lowinty  pages  void  of  all  other  merit,   the  trans-? 
lator  can  boast  of  being  the  first  who  has  revived 
in  the  English  language,  a  virtue  which  has  been 
go  long  numbered  with  the  Fairy-tales,  and  there- 
fore, is  as  incredible  in  its  effects,  as  it  is  inimi^ 
table  in  its  expression. 

I  am  not  sure  whether  the  strongest  friendships 
are  not  founded  upon  a  dissimilarity  of  manners 
between  the  parties,  by  which  ^ach  endeavours 
to  supply  his  own  defects  from  the  other's  perfec- 
tions. Nothing  could  be  more  dissimilar  in  many 
respects  than  the  manners  of  Atticus  from  those 
of  our  author.  The  former  was  magnificent,  the 
latter  elej^^ant.  Cicero  was  the  greatest  scholar, 
but  Atticus  the  better  critic.     The  abilities  of 

Cicerq 


PREFACE. 


PREFACE, 


%i 


Cicero  were  striking;  those  of  Atticus  were  use- 
ful ;  the  one  was  inconstant,  the  other  stable, 
Cicero  was  perpetually  deviating  from  the  prin- 
ciples he  professed,  w  hile  Atticus  was  constantly 
practising  the  virtues  he  disclaimed.  Cicero  had 
genius,  but  Atticus  good  sense.  Cicero  was 
often  needy,  Atticus  was  generally  affluent.  The 
€ne  was  sometimes  rapacious  that  he  might  be 
profuse,  the  other  was  always  frugal  that  he  might 
be  generous.  The  fortune  of  Cicero  \\  as  boisterous 
in  both  extremes  ;  but  Atticus  had  the  address  to 
avoid  extremes,  and  therefore,  his  life  ran  in  an 
even,  but  gentle,  current  to  its  end,  I'he  passion 
of  Cicero  was  that  he  might  be  admired  ;  that 
of  Atticus  that  he  might  be  beloved ;  and  there- 
fore, the  former  was  rewarded  with  applause,  the 
latter  with  happiness.  Their  sentiments  seem  to 
have  been  the  same^as  to  public  measures;  but 
Atticus  endured  what  he  could  not  prevent,  while 
Cicero  approved  of  what  he  could  not  endure. 
A  patriot  would  wish  to  die  like  Cicero,  a  wise 
man  to  live  like  Atticus  ;  but  Cicero  lived  in 
tumult,  and  Atticus  died  in  a  pet. 

It  would  be  easy  for  me  to  run  this  parallel 
into  a  greater  length,  but  the  defect  is  abund- 
antly supplied  by  the  following  sheets,  especially 

in 


> 


in  several  of  the  notes  I  have  taken  the  freedom 

to  add. 

But  after'  all,   our  author  and  his  friend  had 
many  virtues,    and   some  qualities,  in  common 
with  one  another.     They  had  the  same  suscepti- 
bility of  heart ;  they  had  the  same  tenderness  of 
affection;  they  loved  the  same  studies,  and  were 
fond  of  the  same  entertainments.    There  seems  to 
have  been  an  elegance  and  a  quaintness  in  Atticus, 
down  even  to    the    form  of  his  hand-writing, 
that  characterised  all  his  aciions,    and  seasoned 
all  his  discourse.     The  application  of  his  wit  in 
conversation,   is  often  so  adopted  by  our  author 
in  writing,  that  his  meaning  becomes  frequently 
unintelligible.     He  catches  at  the  rebound,  every 
familiar  phrase,  every  vernacularturn,  every  happy 
allusion,  and  sends  them  back  to  his  friend,  who 
is  possessed  of  the  key  to  decypher  them ;  for  this 
correspondence  is  carried  on  through  many  let- 
ters, in  what  is   no  better  than  a  cypher.     The 
reader  therefore,  may  easily  judge  of  the  infinite 
labour  and  application,  to  recover  the  key  of  this 
cypher,  at  such  a  distance  of  time,  especially  as 
not  a  single  letter  from  Atticus  remains  to  direct 

pur  inquiry. 

I  knqw 


%n 


PREFACE, 


PREFACE. 


Xlll 


I  know  to  what  censure  I  am  liable,  by  the 
freedom  I  have  taken  with  my  author's  character. 
But  I  know,  at  the  same  time,  that  half  the  learned 
fools  in  the  world,  have  been  made  so,  through 
their  ridiculous  prepossessions  for  great  names. 
Ill  would  it  have  become  me,  to  undertake 
the  works  I  have  executed,  had  I  not  thought 
myself  free  from  all  panics  of  that  kind,  and 
yet,  the  satisfaction  of  blaming  where  I  must,  is 
not  half  so  agreeable,  as  the  pleasure  of  com* 
mending  where  I  can,  is  exquisite.  But  a  terror 
in  either,  is  unworthy  any  man,  whose  aim  is  to 
do  justice. 

Dr.  jVliddleton,  a  writer  as  tame  in  politics  as 
he  is  bold  in  religion,  has  given  us  a  history  of 
our  author's  life,  or  rather  an  apology  for  his 
conduct ;  which  I  will  venture  to  say,  no  man  of 
S€nse  can  think  the  Doctor  would  have  published, 
had  he  imagined  any  one  would  have  been  pre- 
sumptuous enough  to  have  given  to  the  public, 
a  fair  and  full  translation  of  the  epistles  to  At- 
ticus;  because,  almost  every  page  of  the  followr 
ing  sheets  carries  in  it  a  refutation  of  what  the 
Doctor  has  advanced,  in  vindication  of  our  au- 
thor's tirmness,  patriotism,  prudence^  and  con^ 
sistency  with  himself 

0( 


Of  all  the  works  evef  published,  none  perhaps, 
shews  equally  to  this,  what  vile  reptiles  those  men 
have  been,  who  bear  the  greatest  names  in  history. 
We  here  see,  what  a  low,  timid  creature,  the  mighty 
Pompey  was,  though  the  voice  of  ages  consent- 
ing with  that  of  our  author,  has  extolled  him  for 
integrity  of  manners,  and   greatness   of  spirit. 
But  what  are  we  to  think  of  our  author,  whose 
public  orations  so  much  belied  his  private  senti- 
ments^ The  following  pages  represent  the  cele- 
brated Hortensius,  as  a  little,   spiteful  lawyer ; 
the  polite  and  brave  Lucullus,  as  an  indolent 
voluptuary  ;  the  virtuous  Cato,  as  a  hot,  wrong- 
headed  fellow;   and  the  amiable   Brutus,   as  a 
peevish,  positive,  ill-mannered  coxcomb.    In  one 
pao-e,  we  see  our  author's  wife  more  dear  to  him 
than  his  eyes;   in  another  he  flings  her  from  his 
bosom.     Quintus,     from   being   the    best,    be- 
comes the  worst  of  brothers,  and  his  son  from 
being  the  worst,  becomes  the  best  of  men.     But 
of  such  instances  in  our  author  there  is  no  end. 

We  see  here,  a  picture  of  human  nature,  mor- 
tifying indeed,  but  true ;  because  we  sec  it  in  all 
its  beauties,  and  with  all  its  blemishes ;  with  all 
its  virtues,  and  with  all  its  weaknesses.  It  is 
drawn  by  a  hand  that  was  intimate  with  the  ori- 
ginal, 


XIV 


rRIFACE* 


PREFACE. 


XY 


ginal,  nor  does  he  dissemble  that  his  own  person 
furnishes  the  most  striking  likeness  that  he  exhibits. 
I  am  well  aware  of  what  may  be  urged  to  vin- 
dicate some  parts  of  our  autliur's  character,  which 
I  have  thought  to  be  exceptionable  from  his  be- 
haviour in  the  case  of  Cataline's  conspiracy.  But 
I  am  singular  enough  not  to  believe  half  the  bloody 
things,  which  are  told  us  of  that  conspiracy,  and 
I  think,  my  incredulity  might  easily  be  justified, 
by  a  fair  naked  state  of  facts  and  evidence,  even 
as  laid  down  by  our  author,  when  compared  with 

the  other  narratives,  on  which  the  credit  of  that 
conspiracy  rests.     It  is  on  all  hands  allowed,  that 

the  senate  of  Rome,  was  at  that  time  infamously 
degenerated,  that  the  spirit  of  her  government 
was  lost,  and  the  most  salutary  maxims  of  the 
republic  perverted.  In  this  state,  it  is  no  wonder 
if  any  unsuccessful  attempt,  to  bring  the  consti- 
tution back  to  its  first  principles,  was  branded 
with  the  name  of  rebellion  and  conspiracy,  by 
the  men  whose  interest  it  was  to  crush  it.  I  am 
far  from  asserting  this  to  have  been  the  case  of 
Cataline's  conspiracy :  But,  I  will  venture  to  as- 
sert, that  it  might  have  been  the  case,  for  all  the 
evidence  we  have  to  the  contrary.  It  is  true, 
Sallust  gives  us  a  narrative  of  this  conspiracy ; 

but 


!i 


but  it  is  as  true,  that  Sallust  was  the  creature  of 
Csesar,  who   was,  at  this  time,   meditating  the 
destruction  of  his  country,  by  different  means, 
and    who,    for  that  very  reason,   perhaps,    be- 
trayed   Cataline  and  his  friends.     If  that  is  the 
case,  as  appears  extremely  probable  on  the  face 
of  history,  we  can  be  at  no  loss  to  account,  why, 
after  Ctesar  was  possessed  of  supreme  power,   it 
became  dangerous  to  disbelieve,  and  fashionable 
to  believe,  all  the  horrors  of  this  conspiracy,  and 
the  credit  of  it,   has   stood   unquestioned  ever 
since.     Meanwhile,  I  am  sensible  how  tenderly 
historical  evidence  ought  to  be  handled,   lest  in 
detecting  what  is  false,  we  should  weaken  what 
is  true.     That  there  was,  at  that  time  a  conspi- 
racy against  thegovernment  of  Rome,  is  undoubt- 
edly true.     But  it  is  certain,  likewise,  from  se- 
veral  strong  circumstances  in  the  following  letters, 
from  the  disagreement  of  authors  upon  the  same 
facts,  though  living  at  the  same  time,  and  all  of 
them'  interested  to  have  the  belief  of  the  conspi- 
racy established,   but  above  all,  from  the  defect 
of  evidence,    which  appears  even  upon  the  face 
ofour  author's  orations,  and  the  punishment  he 
afterwards  underwent,  that  it  was  not  concerted 
with  those    bloody,  frantic  circumstances,  that 
could  justify  his  and  the  senates  proceedings,  in 
putting  the  conspirators  to  death  in  an  illegal 

manner. 


jcvl 


PREFACE. 


PREFACE. 


xvii 


manner.    This,  however,  is  no  place  for  my  eri^ 
larging  farther  on  this  subject. 

But  to  return  to  the  more  immediate  subject 
of  these  sheets;  it  is  impossible  to  read  the  let- 
ters written  by  our  author,  under  his  exilcy 
without  suspecting,  that  he  was  abandoned  with- 
in his  own  breast,  by  that  perpetual  comforter, 
the  testimony  of  a  good  conscience  in  a  virtuous 
cause ;  so  great  is  his  dejection,  dcspondencyy 
and  despair.  But  still  the  love  of  his  Atticus^ 
triumphs  in  his  soul ;  sparkling  amidst  his  afflic- 
tions, and  unextinguished  by  his  calamities. 

The  reader  must  not  expect  to  find  all  the  fol- 
lowing pages  equally  entertaining  and  instructive. 
He  is  to  consider,  that  one  friend  is  talking  to 
another,  and  that  in  friendship,  trifles  become  of 
importance,  while  they  become  the  tests  of  mu- 
tual affection.  Neither  is  he  to  expect  the  same 
chastity  of  style,  as  in  those  works  prepared  by 
our  author  for  the  public ;  no  ;  it  is  in  many 
places  negligent,  and  in  some  dangerous  to  be 
imitated.  But  I  cannot  give  a  more  authentic, 
and  at  the  same  time,  a  more  elegant  and  truQ 
description  of  the  general  importance  and  value 
of  the  following  letters,  than  in  the  words  of  the 
noble  friend  of  Atticus,  I  have  already  mention- 
ed. *'  Wlioever,  says  he,  reads  those  letters, 
**  will  not  think  himself  at  a  loss,  for  a  con- 

"  nee  ted 


^r  nected  history  of  those  times.     So  well  does 
V^  he  describe  the  views  of  the  leading  men,  the- 
''  faults  of  the  generals,  and  the  parties  in  the 
"  state,  that  nothing  is  wanting  for  our  infor- 
'^  mation,  and  we  are  naturally  led  to  believe    , 
''  that  his  sagacity  was  in  a  manner  prophetic. 
^'  For    Cicero,    not  only   foretold    what  after- 
«  wards  happened  in  his  own  lifetime,  but  like 
*^  a   prophet,   he  predicted  the  events  that  are 
*«  now^  come  to  pass  (l).'' 

The  epistolary  manner,  does  not  permit  Ci- 
cero to  exert  the  whole  extent  of  his  genius  in 
the  following  letters,  for  he  sometimes  checks  it, 
if  I  may  be  allowed  the  expression,  in  mid-vol- 
ley. But  the  play  of  his  lightnings  is  such,  as 
discovers  the  bolt  to  be  in  the  hand  of  a  thun- 
derer ;  his  effulsiencies  are  those  of  divinity. 
Having  said  thus  much  of  my  original,  I  now 

come 

(1)  Quae  qui  legat,  non  multum  desideret  historiam  con- 
textam  eorum  tempororum.  Sic  enim  omnia  de  studiis  prin- 
cipum,  vitiis  ducum,  aemulationibus  reipublicae  perscripta 
sunt,  ut  nihil  in  his  non  appareat ;  &  facile  existlmari  possit, 
prudentiam  quodam  mode  esse  divinationem.  Non  enim 
Cicero  ea  solum,  quae,  vivo  se,  acciderant  futura  praedixit,  sed 
etiam,  qu»  nunc  usu  veniunt,  cecinit,  ut  vates.  Nepotis  VUa 
Attici. 

Vol.  I.  .         b 


xviu 


PREFACE. 


PREFACE. 


XIX 


come  to  speak  of  the  translation.  It  would  b« 
improper,  nay,  dishonest,  for  me  to  conceal  the 
great  obligations  I  owe  to  Monsieur  Mongault. 
He  is  incomparably  the  best  translator  of  his 
nation,  and  his  work  does  him  immortal  honor. 
But  he  was  a  Frenchman,  and  he  wrote  in 
French.  However  fine  his  criticisms  are,  he 
had  not,  in  translating,  proved  the  armour  of 
our  author.  His  flimsy  language  sinks  under 
the  weight  of  Latin  expression,  and  his  tinselled 
manner  is  unequal  to  the  graces  of  classical  dig- 
nity. He  gives  us  a  sketch,  and  it  is  no  more 
than  a  sketch,  after  his  great  original.  The 
proportions  are  just,  and  the  features  discern- 
ible, but  it  is  destitute  of  the  passions,  and  the 
muscular  strength.  The  defects,  however,  lie 
more  in  the  language,  than  in  the  writer,  and 
his  criticisms  go  far  towards  making  amends  for 
his  translation. 

But  excellent  as  Monsieur  Mongault  is  in  his 
criticisms,  upon  the  following  epistles,  I  have 
taken  the  liberty  to  differ  from  him  in  many 
passages.  This  was  unavoidable,  considering 
the  intense  study  I  have  bestowed  upon  my  ori- 
ginal Both  of  us  are  charmed  with  the  same 
object,  but  we  have  sometimes  viewed  it  in  dif- 
ferent 


i 


I 


ferent   lights,    through    accident,    rather    than 

judgment. 

Nothing  is  more  common  than  for  English 
translators,    to  cloak  ignorance   and  inability, 
under  the  terms  of  ease  and  freedom.    They 
sink  the  words  of  an  author  into  his  meaning, 
when  they  are  so  happy,  as  to  catch  it,  which 
they   sometimes  do  by  the  help  of  a  French 
translation.     Sometimes  they  extend  sentences 
through  pages,  and  sometimes  they  croud  a  page 
into  a  sentence,  under  the  stale  apology,  that 
tliey  give  the  sense  of  their  author;  and  they 
commonly  fill  a   dozen  pages  of  preface,    to 
prove,  that  their  work  ought  to  read  like  an 
original,  and  that  no  man  of  spirit  will  submit 
to  the  drudgery  of  a  literal  translation. 

But  the  reader  will  give  me  leave  to  say,  that 
not  the  smallest  word  of  a  great  author  ought  to 
fall  to  the  ground,  if  it  can  possibly  be  saved. 
An  able  translator,  will  do  his  best  to  be  as  just 
to  his  original,  as  the  impression  is  to  the  seal, 
and  by  following  this  rule,  his  translation  has  a 
thousand  times  the  chance  to  read  like  an  origi- 
nal, than  it  has  when  he  gives  the  reader  some- 
thing that  is  half  his  own,  and  half  his  author's. 
But  when  1  say  this,  I  am  so  far  from  thinking  it 

b2  an 


XX 


1>11EFACE. 


PREFACE. 


XXI 


an  easy  matter  to  translate  literally,  that  I  think 
it  requires  the  utmost  compass  and  power  of 
language,  to  make  such  a  translation  even  tole- 
rable. Every  school-boy,  by  the  help  of  a  dic- 
tionary, may  translate  literally,  but  the  skill  lies 
in  the  energy  of  expression,  and  the  choice  of 
words ;  for  a  sentence  may  be  translated  literal- 
ly, fifty  different  ways,  and  not  one  of  then^ 
bear  the  hand  of  a  master. 

The  noble  translator  of  Pliny's  epistles,  has 
lately  given  us  an  eminent  proof  of  what  I  have 
advanced  above,  and  that  the  English,  of  all 
modern  languages,  is  the  best  fitted  to  support 
the  dignity  of  great  writing,  when  it  can  Mork 
itself  clear  of  those  Gallicisms,  which  has  pol- 
luted its  current  for  these  hundred  years  past. 
His  lordship,  like  my  great  author,  by  address- 
ing his  labours  to  his  son,  has  shewn  us  the  vir- 
tuous use  of  learning,  but  it  is  to  be  hoped  with 
different  effects.  The  son  of  Cicero  contami- 
nated the  honours  of  his  father,  and  degenerated 
from  his  virtues. 

It  is  by  the  example  and  encouragement  of 
the  great  alone,  that  the  English  can  ever  hope 
to  bring  their  language  to  a  classical  standard. 
The  study  and  imitation  of  the  ancients,  though 

absolutely 


11 


absolutely  necessary  towards  this  great  end,  pe- 
ver  will  be  prevalent  enough  to  get  the  better  of 
false    taste,    unless    it    becomes   fashionable   to 
write  with  propriety.     I  flatter  myself,  and  from 
n6  symptom  so  strongly,  as  from  the  experience 
I  myself  have  had  of  public  patronage,    that  I 
see  a  generous  disdain  of  French  imitation  now 
gaining  jiround  in  Endand.     One  spirited  mea- 
sure  might  complete  the  triumph,  and  I  wish  it 
were  executed,  even  though  it  is  a  French  expe- 
dient;   I  mean,  an  academy  for   the  perfection 
and  purity  of  our  language.     This  I  think  to  bo 
practicable,  and  it  is  pity,  that  while  private  so- 
cieties are  establishing  academies  for  arts,    in 
which  the  English  never  were,  and  probably  ne- 
ver will  be,  eminent,  while  vast  sums,    to  the 
lasting  disgrace  of  learning,  have  been  swallowed 
up  /or  its  encouragement ;  while  expensive  sub- 
scriptions are  daily  circulating  for  the  support  of 
stupid  histories,  and  party-dullness,  that  not  the 
most  faint  essay   has  been   made    towards   so 
cheap,  so  easy,  and  so  noble  an  undertaking, 
^s  what    1    have    now   taken    the    liberty    to 
fncntion. 

I  have  not  been  so  diffuse  in  the  critical,  ex- 
planatory, and  historical  notes  upon  my  author, 

as 


f 


xxn 


PREFACE. 


as  Monsieur  Mongault  has  been,  because  he  was 
confined  to  one  work,  which  could  be  illustrated 
only  from  the  other  works  of  our  author,  and  in 
those  illustrations  he  has  been  obliged  to  be  very 
ropious.  But  what  was  necessary  in  him,  would 
be  superfluous  in  me,  as  I  intend  (God  willing) 
to  translate  the  whole  of  my  author's  works. 
About  ten  years  ago,  I  intimated  that  intention 
to  the  public,  though  the  execution  of  it  was  in- 
terrupted, by  that  of  a  much  greater  under- 
taking. Hitherto,  I  have  had  no  rivals  in  either; 
for  the  attempts  which  have  been  since  made  in 
both,  are  below  censure,  I  had  almost  said,  be- 
low  contempt !  They  who  have  the  greatest  ta- 
lent3  for  such  undertakings,  are  the  best  ac- 
quainted with  their  diflficulties ;  and  the  ablest 
critic,  will  always  be  found  the  most  candid. 


»\ 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  t 


JVILLIAM  GUTHRIE. 


October  90,  1 7^1. 


BOOK  I. 

The  Letters  of  this  book  were  written  partly  before  Ciceroni 
consulship,  and  partly  after,  and  contain  many  curious  parti- 
culars concerning  the  prosecution  of  Clodius,  and  the  opposi- 
tion Pompey  met  with  upon  his  return  from  his  Asiatic  expe- 
dition, and  they  were  written  from  the  years  of  Rome  684, 

to  693.  ^^g^  ^ 

BOOK  II. 

Contains  Cicero's  letters  to  Atticus  for  seventeen  months, 
with  an  account  of  all  that  passed  with  relation  to  the  tribune- 
ship  of  Clodius,  and  the  conduct  of  Caesar  in  his  consulship, 
with  the  conspiracy  of  Vettius,  and  other  incidents  of  great 
moment,  both  to  the  history  of  Rome,  and  of  our  author. 
They  were  written  in  the  years  of  Rome  693,  694.  P.  9* 

BOOK  III. 
Contains  the  letters  written|by  Cicero  during  his  exile,  which 
lasted  from  the  last  of  the  month  of  March  in  the  year  of 
Rome  695,  to  August  1,  in  the  year  69^.  ^'  ^^ 

BOOK  IV. 
Contains  an  account  of  what  happened  to  Cicero  and  the 
public  of  Rome,  after  his  return  from  banislimeut ;  and  was 
written  in  the  year  of  Rome  696.  P-  ^27 

BOOK  V. 

About  thirty  months   passed  between  the  last  letter  of  the 

foregoing  book,  and  the  first  of  this,  which  contains,  besidei 

mairy  other  important  matters,  the  history  of  Cicero's  procon- 

sulship  in  Silesia,  during  the  year  of  Rome  702.  P.  297 


^^' 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO 


ATTICUS. 


BOOK  I. 


EPISTLE  I. 

From  the  intimacy  subsisting  between  us,  you, 
my  friend,  will  easily  conceive  the  affliction  I  felt, 
and  the  advantages,  both  in  my  business  and  fa- 
mily, which  I  lost  by  the  death  of  our  brother 
Lucius'.  From  him  I  enjoyed  all  that  a  man  cam 
enjoy,  from  an  agreeable  and  upright  companion. 
I  cannot  therefore  doubt  that  you  share  in  my 
sorrow,  both  as  you  feel  my  afflictions,  and  as  you 
yourself  have  lost  a  relation  and  a  friend,  richly 
adorned  with  virtue,  with  benevolence,  and  with 
an  affection  for  you,  which,  by  his  own  inclination^ 

as 

1  Lucii  fatris  nostri :  But  in  fact  this  Lucius  was  only  cou- 
sin-german  to  Cicero,  by  his  father's  younger  brother.  He  was 
likewise  related  to  Atticus,  whose  sister  was  married  to  Cicero*-s 
brother.  Cicero,  in  the  fifth  book  de  finilus,  calls  the  same  peri- 
son  his  brother  by  way  of  affection. 

Vol.  L  B 


S  CICEROS  EPISTLES 

as  well  as  by  my  representation,  he  was  disposed 
to  cherish. 

As  to  what  you  write  concerning  your  sister,  slie 
will  herself  bear  me  witness  how  anxious  I  was, 
that  the  sentiments  of  my  brother  Quintus  should 
be  properly  disposed  in  her  behalf.  As  soon  as  I 
found  him  somewhat  piqued,  I  wrote  him  letters, 
in  which  I  soothed  his  affection ;  I  admonislied  his 
weakness,  and  I  reproached  his  inconstancy.  I 
am  therefore  in  hopes,  from  the  letters  he  after- 
wards frequently  wrote  to  me,  that  every  thing, 
from  that  quarter,  will  be  as  they  ought,  and  as 
we  wish  them,  to  be. 

You  do  me  wrong  in  blaming  my  want  of 
punctuality  in  our  correspondence ;  for  our  friend 
Pomponia  never  gives  me  advice  of  any  person, 
to  whom  I  can  trust  my  letters.  Besides,  I  hap- 
pened never  to  meet  with  a  person  who  was  going 
into  Epirus,  neither  did  I  hear  of  your  being  at 

Athens. 

As  to  your  affair  with  Acutilius,  which  you  re- 
commended to  me,  I  finished  it  as  soon  as  I  returned 
from  you  to  Rome  ;  but  it  happened  to  be  a  mat- 
ter of  little  or  no  difBculty ;  and  as  I  knew  you  to 
be  sufficiently  prudent,  I  chose  that  Peduceus,  ra- 
ther than  I,  should  give  you  advice  of  it  by  letters. 
For,  indeed,  when  I  had,  for  several  days,  listened 
to  Acutilius,  with  the  tediousness  of  whose  con- 
versation you  are  well  acquainted,  you  cannot 
imagine  that  I  could  take  any  great  pleasure  in  ac- 
quainting 


TO  ATTICUS. 


9 


I 


quainting  you  with  all  his  grievances,  when  I  my- 
self suffered  such  a  penance  in  hearing  them. 
But  now  that  you  accuse  me  of  remissness,  you 
are  to  recollect,  that  I  have  received  but  one  let- 
ter from  you,  though  you  have  both  more  leisure, 
and  more  opportunities  of  writing  than  I  have. 

You  write  me,  that  I  ought  to  soften  the  little 
animosities,  which  a  certain  person  has  against 
you ;  nor  have  I  neglected  to  do  what  you  thus 
insinuate.  But,  indeed,  his  humour  is  unaccount- 
able. I  did  not,  however,  omit  to  say  every  thing 
of  you  that  was  proper ;  but,  as  to  particular 
points  to  be  insisted  upon,  I  thought  they  ought  to 
be  determined  by  your  pleasure  only.  If  you  will 
let  me  know  what  that  is,  1  shall  soon  convince 
you,  that  I  have  made  no  greater  advances  than 
you  yourself  would  have  made,  nor  have  I  been 
more  backward  than  you  could  have  wished. 

Tadius  has  spoken  to  me  concerning  his  affair, 
and  told  me,  that  he  runs  no  risk,  because  the 
estate  is  become  his  own  by  the  right  of  prescrip- 
tion. I  am  surprised  you  are  ignorant,  that  when 
a  guardianship  conforms  to  the  terms  of  the 
law,^    which     I  hear    to   be    the   case   of    the 

young 

i  The  case  was  this.  The  father  of  a  young  lady  died 
without  leaving  her  guardians,  or  a  tutelapura;  upon  which, 
those  next  in  kin  assumed  the  guardianship,  which  was  there- 
fore called  tutela  legitima.  Tadius  had,  for  some  years,  been  m 
possession  of  an  estate  belonging  to  this  young  lady,  and  then 

B3  ^^^ 


I 


4 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


young  woman,  prescription  can  confer  no  such 
right 

I  am  glad  that  you  are  pleased  with  your  pur- 
chase in  Epirus.  I  beg  that  according  to  your 
promise,  you  will  remember,  what  I  have  recom- 
mended to  you  concerning  whatever  you  judge 
suitable  to  my  Tusculanum^,  I  mean,  when  you 
can  do  it  without  inconvenience :  for  in  that 
gjiot  I  find  repose  from  all  my  uneasiness,  and  all 
my  toils,  and  there  I  daily  expect  my  brother. 
My  wife  Terentia  is  dreadfully  pained  with  the 
gout ;  she  has  the  most  sincere  regard  for  you, 
your  sister  and  your  mother,  and  joins  with  my 
little  darling  Tullia,  in  wishing  you  all  manner  of 

prosperity. 

her  Jgnati,  or  nearest  of  kin,  demanded  the  estate  j  he  pleaded 
prescription  in  his  own  favour  upon  the  opinion  of  Atticus,  for 
which  he  is  here  blamed  by  Cicero. 

^  This  was  the  country  seat  or  villa  of  Cicero,  and  if  we 
are  to  believe  him,  it  was  laid  out  in  a  ver>'  fine  taste.  It  was 
situated  in  the  antient  Latium,  and  upon  the  same  spot  where 
the  monastery  of  Gretia  Ferrata  is  now  built. 

*'  There  cannot,"  says  Middleton, "  be  a  better  proof  of  the  de- 
lightfulness  of  the  place,  than  that  it  is  now  possessed  by  a  con- 
vent of  Monks,  and  called  the  Filia  of  St.  Domink.  Strange  re- 
volution, to  see  Cicero's  porticos  converted  to  Monkish  cloisters ! 
the  seat  of  the  most  refined  reason,  wit,  and  learning,  to  a  nur- 
sery of  superstition,  bigotry,  and  enthusiasm.  What  a  pleasure 
roust  it  give  these  Dominical  inquisitors  to  trample  on  the  ruins 
of  a  man,  whose  writings,  by  spreading  the  light  of  reason  and 
liberty  through  the  world,  have  been  one  great  instrument  of 
obstructing  their  unwearied  pains  to  enslave  it."     E. 

Mid.  Life  of  Cicero,  vol.  i.  p.  6. 


TO  ATTICUS.  # 

prosperity.  I  beg  you  will  take  caxe  of  your  own 
health ;  continue  your  affection  for  me,  and  be 
convinced  that  I  love  you  as  a  brotlier. 


EPISTLE  II. 

You  shall  have  no  farther  cause  to  complain  of 
my  remissness  in  writing  to  you  ;  and  you  should 
take  care  that,  as  you  have  abundant  leisure,  you 
be  as  punctual  in  writing  to  me.  Marcus  Fonteius 
has  given  a  hundred  thousand  and  thirty  serte- 
ces',  for  the  house  which  Rabirius  had  at  1%- 
ples,  and  which  you  had  already  in  imagination 
surveyed  and  finished.  I  thought  proper  to  let 
you  know  this,  in  case  you  had  any  farther  thoughts 
of  that  purchase.  My  brother  Quintus  seems  to 
me  to  behave  with  all  the  affection  we  could  wish 
towards  Pomponia;  they  are  now  together  upon 
their  estate  at  Arpinum,  and  he  has  carried  along 
with  him  Turranius,  a  man  intelligent  and  useful. 
Our  father  departed^  on  the  23d  of  November. 

This 


'  About  six  hundred  pounds  of  our  money. 

^  Orig,  patei'  nobis  decesdt  A.  D.  viii.  kal.  Decemlr,  1  have 
translated  this  in  the  softest  sense  I  could  for  the  honour  of  Ci- 
cero.,  I  am  unwilling  to  think,  that  it  is  his  father's  death  he 
mentions  here  in  so  light  a  manner,  when  he  is  so  profuse  in 
his  encomiums  upon  the  misfortunes  even  of  his  apquaintances, 
or  that  his  near  prospect  of  being  raised  to  his  highest  honours 
of  his  country,  had  made  him  forget  his  duty  to  a  parent,  of 

whom. 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


U 


This  is  almost  all  that  I  have  to  tell  you.  If  you 
find  any  productions  in  the  fine  arts  which  may 
serve  to  adorn  this  seat,  so  well  known  to  you,  I 
beg  you  would  not  neglect  to  purchase  them.  My 
charming  Tusculanum  is  the  only  place  that  gives 
me  the  enjoyment  of  myself.  Inform  me,  I  pray, 
my  friend,  what  you  are  doing,  and  what  you  are 
about  to  do. 


EPISTLE  III. 

JLOUR  Mother  is  well,  and  her  health  is  one  of 
my  chief  concerns.  I  am  bound  to  pay  twenty 
thousand  four  hundred  serteces^  to  Lucius  Cin- 
cius,  on  the  13th  of  February.  I  beg  you  will  take 
care  that  I  have,  as  soon  as  possible,  the  things 
which  you  have  bought  or  procured  for  me.  I 
likewise  entreat  that,  agreeably  to  your  promise, 
you  would  always  bear  in  mind  the  augmentation 
of  my  library.  All  the  pleasure  which  I  hope  to 
enjoy  in  my  leisure  hours,  proceeds  from  the  pros- 
pect of  your  elegant  society. 

whom,  so  far  as  we  know  of,  he  had  no  reason  to  be  ashamed. 
But,  indeed,  if  this  letter  was  wrote,  as  it  most  probably  was, 
-towards  the  end  of  the  year  of  Rome  685,  or  the  beginning  of 
686,  the  father's  death  is  premature  by  at  least  three  years,  if 
according  to  Asconius,  the  ancient  scholiast,  he  did  not  die  till 
Cicero  stood  for  tiie  consulship. 

*  About  one  hundred  pounds, 

EPISTLE 


» 


EPISTLE  IV. 

i 

Your  affairs  areas  prosperous  as  your  friends 
can  wish  them  to  be.     My  brother  Quintus  and  I, 
esteem  and  love  your  mother  and  sister.     1  have 
spoken  with  Acutilius ;  he  denies  tliat  he  has  re- 
ceived any  advice  from  his  agent,  and  is  surprised 
how  that  misunderstanding  could  arise    in  his 
refusing  to  give  you  security'  against  all  farther 
demands.     You  mention  that  you  have  put  an  end 
to  the  affair  of  Tadius,  who,  I  understand  is  well 
satisfied  with  your  decision,  and  wonderfully  plea- 
sed with  your  kindness.     Lucceius,  a  man  of  the 
highest  worth,  and  united  to  me  in  the  closest 
friendship,  is  much  displeased  with  you      If  1 
knew  what  regard  you  pay  to  his  anger,  I  should 
then  know  in  what  manner  to  act. 

According  to  your  advice,  I  paid  to  Lucms  Cm- 
cius,  twenty  thousand  four  hundred  serteces  for 
the  statues  from  Megara.  The  Mercuries  of 
Pentelic  marble,   with  heads   of  brass,  as  you 

described 

1  Om.  Quod  ilk  recusarit  satisdan.  This  kind  of  secu- 
rity, or  discharge  in  fuU,  seems  to  have  been  usual  at  the  fimsh- 
ing  all  difterences  amongst  4e  Romans,  and  the  menUon  of  .t 
isfrequently  to  be  met  with  in  U«  writings  of  the.r  au  hors_ 

>  Orig.  Herm^  tui  Pentdki  cum  captttbuf  cents.  From 
thi,  letti  the  reader  may  have  some  idea  of  the  e^jn  j^  J^ 


S  CICERO  S  EPISTLES 

described  them  to  me,  now  afford  me  the  highest 
gratification ;  I  beg  therefore  that  you  would  send 
them  to  me,  with  the  statues,  and  every  thing  else 
that  you  shall  think  suitable  to  this  place,  to  my 
collections,  and  to  your  own  fine  taste ;  as  many 
of  them,  and  as  soon,  as  possible,  especially  those 
that  are  ornamental  for  a  study  and  a  gallery.  For 
I  am  so  passionately  devoted  to  these  objects  of 
refinement  that,  while  I  am  censured  as  extrava- 
gant by  others,  I  am  gratified  only  by  you.    If  the 
ship,  belonging  to  Lentulus,  is  not  ready,  do  you 
put  them  onboard  any  vessel  you  please.     My 
charming  TuUiola  demands  her  little  present,   and 
has  obtained   my  security  for  tlie   fulfilment  of 
your  promise.     But  I  am  more  disposed  to  re- 
nounce,  than  to  fulfil,  my  engagement. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


ft 


EPISTLE  V. 

1  HEAR  too  seldom  from  you,  though  you  can  find 
more  conveyances  for  Rome  than  I  can  for 
Athens ;  and  I  am  more  certain  to  be  found  in  the 

former, 

magnificence  of  Cicero's  Tusculanum.  Megara  was  a  city  of 
Attica,  famous  fer  a  beautiful  kind  of  marble.  The  Pentelic 
marble  was  so  called  from  its  being  of  five  colours,  according  to 
Pausanias.  The  figures  here  mentioned,  I  take  to  have  been 
what  we  call  Therms,  or  the  heads  of  Mercury,  HercuUs,  or 
any  other  head,  of  brass,  upon  a  marble  pedestal,  and  as  high  as 
^n  ordinary  person,  ratlier  than  statues. 


former,  than  you  in  the  latter  city.  And  this 
uncertainty  is  the  cause  of  my  brevity ;  for  not 
knowing  where  you  may  be,  I  am  unwilling,  that  a 
letter  so  colloquial,  should  fall  into  the  hands  of 

strangers. 

I  am  excessively  impatient  for  the  Megaric  sta*- 
taes,  and  the  Mercuries  which  you  have  promised 
sue  in  your  letters.  Don't  scruple  to  send  me 
every  thing  of  that  kind  that  shall  fall  in  your  way, 
and  may  be  proper  for  my  academy,  and  you  may 
depend  upon  immediate  payment^  This  is  the 
only  pleasure  I  now  pursue ;  I  am  in  search  of 
every  thing  that  is  ornamental  for  a  study.  Len- 
tulus promises  to  convey  them  in  his  ships.  I  beg 
that  you  would  carefully  mind  those  particulars. 
Chilius^  entreats  you,  and  I  join  in  his  entreaty, 
that  you  will  send  hither  the  rites  of  the  Eumol- 
pidae. 

1  Orig.  Arcce  nostrce  corifidito.  Solvere  ex  area,  amongst 
the  Romans,  was  a  payment  made  in  ready  cash,  in  contradis- 
tinction to  solvere  ex  mensa,  when  the  creditor  went  for  pay- 
ment to  one  of  the  public  bankers. 

2  He  was  a  poet,  and  the  Eumolpidce  were  certain  priests 
of  Ceres  Elusynum,  with  an  account  of  whose  rites  Chilius, 
perhaps,  intended  to  enrich  his  poems. 


EPISTLE 


10 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  VI, 

W  HEN  I  was  at  Tusculanum,  (so^  much  for 
your  **  when  I  was  at  Ceramicus.")  But,  to  be 
serious,  when  I  was  there,  a  young  slave,  from 
your  sister,  brought  nie  a  letter  from  you,  and  told 
me  that  a  messenger  was  to  go  off  express  for  you 
that  very  afternoon.  It  was  therefore  proper  that 
I  should  write  somewhat  in  answer  to  your  letter, 
though  the  shortness  of  the  time  makes  me  very 
brief.  In  the  first  place  then,  I  engage  to  appease, 
if  not  entirely  to  reconcile,  our  friend  Lucceius. 
Though  of  myself  I  endeavoured  to  do  this  be- 
fore, yet  I  will  now  act  with  double  diligence, 
and  apply  to  him  with  double  zeal,  as  I  perceive 
from  your  letter,  that  you  are  so  earnest  in  that 
matter.  You  must,  however,  understand  that  he 
is  exceedingly  offended ;  but  as  I  see  no  reason  he 

has 


*  There  Is  a  good  deal  of  humour  here.  Atticus  had  begun 
his  letter,  "  When  I  was  at  Ceramicus/'  which  was  a  place  ly- 
ing without  the  walls  of  Athens,  where  their  greatest  generals 
and  citizens  had  been  buried  at  the  public  expence,  and  was 
adorned  with  their  monuments  and  statues.  This  then  being  one 
of  the  roost  celebrated  parts  in  the  world,  Cicero,  in  a  humour- 
ous kind  of  contrast,  opposes  to  it  his  Tusculanum,  without  fore- 
seeing that  a  time  would  come  when  the  name  of  Tusculanum 
would  survive  that  of  Ceramicus. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


11 


has  to  be  so,  I  am  in  great  hopes  that  he  will  be 
influenced  by  my  advice  and  authority\ 

I  beg  that  you  will  put  on  board  as  soon  as  you 
conveniently  can,  our  statues  and  the  Mercuries, 
which  you  mentioned,  with  every  other  ornament 
and  production  calculated  to  adorn  a  place,  with 
which  you  are  acquainted,  and  which  is  intended 
for  elegance  and  study.  For  now  that  I  am  upon  the 
spot,  the  place  and  the  appearance  of  it  dictate  all 
I  write.  Be  so  good  likewise  as  to  procure  me  some 
mouldings,  which  I  can  employ  upon  the  ceiling 
of  my  entry,  and  for  embossing  lids  for  my  two 
fonts.     Pray  take  care  how  you  dispose  of  your  li- 
brary^ to  any  one,  let  him  bid  for  it  ever  so  high ; 
for  I  am  saving  all  my  perquisites,  that  I  may  be 
able  to  purchase  that  relief  for  my  old  age.     My 
brother's  conduct,  I  am  persuaded,  is  conformable 
to  what  I  have  always  wished  and  endeavoured ; 
amongst  many  other  proofs  of  his  attachment,  is 
the  tenderness  with  which  he  treats  your  sister, 
in  her  present  advanced  prospect  of  a  family. 

As 

1  Orig,  Conjido  ilium  fore  in  officio.  This  expression  is  very 
philosophical,  and  is  best  understood  by  the  system  of  morals 
laid  down  by  our  author  in  other  places. 

2  Pomponius  Atticus  was  a  great  ceconomist,  and  conse- 
quently had  it  in  his  power  to  do  many  generous  things.  In  this 
last  light,  and  that  of  a  man  of  fine  taste,  both  in  life  and  litera- 
ture,  he  stands  amongst  the  most  amiable  characters  of  antiquity. 
The  library  here  mentioned  was  composed  of  books,  transcribed 
by  certain  learned  slaves  he  kept  for  that  purpose,  and  which  he 

s    iold  for  money. 


12 


CICEHO^S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


13 


-  As  to  my  standing  for  the  Prtetorship,  I  remem- 
ber I  gave  you  leave  of  absence,  and  so  I  have 
acquainted  your  friends,  who  might  otherwise  ex- 
pect you.  I  am  so  far  from  soliciting,  that  I  even 
prohibit,  your  attendance  ;  because  I  am  persua- 
ded it  is  much  more  for  your  interest  to  be  em- 
ployed as  you  now  are,  than  it  could  be  for  mine, 
for  you  to  be  present  at  my  election.  I  therefore 
beg  you  to  be  as  much  at  ease  on  that  head  as  if 
you  were  residing  where  you  are,  only  to  negotiate 
my  concerns.  Assure  yourself  you  shall  find  and 
hear,  tliat  my  sentiments,  with  regard  to  you,  shall 
be  the  same  as  if  I  succeeded,  not  only  by  your 
presence,  but  even  by  your  interest.  Tulliola  has 
5€t  you  a  day  to  answer  in  person,  and  discharges 
my  engagements  for  your  performance. 


EPISTLE  VII. 

1  WAS  doing'  this  of  my  own  accord,  before 
I  received  your  letters ;  and  those  two  which  you 
have  since  sent  me,  strongly  dispose  me  to  accom- 
plish the  same  purpose.  Sallust  was  your  faithful 
assistant  in  prompting  me  to  employ  all  my  endea- 
vours in  treating  with  Lucceius  about  his  being  re- 
conciled 

1  This  epistle  seems  to  me  to  begin  with  a  beautiful  abrupt- 
ness,  alluding  to  a  former  letter  of  Pomponius  on  the  subject  of 
his  difference  with  Lucceius. 


conciled  to  your  former  favour.     But  after  I  had 
laboured  all  I  could,  I  found  myself  not  only  una- 
ble to  recover  his  former  affections  for  you,  but 
even  to  discover  the  reason  why  his  sentiments  are 
altered.     He  pretends,  however,  tliat  his  resent- 
ment is  owing  tp  that  arbitration  of  yours,  and 
some  other  circumstances  that  gave  him  offence  be- 
fore you  left  this  place ;  but  there  assuredly  exists 
some  other  cause  that  is  more  deeply  rooted  in  his 
mind ;  a  cause  that  neither  your  letters  nor  my 
agency  can  so  effectually  remove,  as  you  could, 
were  you  present  in  person,    by  your   discourse, 
and  that  engaging  look,  which  you  know  so  well 
how  to  assume ;  if  you  think  the  matter  worth  so 
much,  (as  you  certainly  will)  if  you  regard  my  ad- 
vice, and  act  consistently  with  your  own  urbanity. 
Be  not,  however,  surprised,  that  I  am  now  diffi- 
dent about  what  I  wrote  before,  when  I  acquainted 
you  that  I  was  in  hopes  he  would  act  by  my  direc- 
tion.    The  obstinacy  I  find  in  him  is  not  to  be  be- 
lieved, no  more  is  the  stubbornness  of  his  resent- 
ment ;  but  he  will  either  be  cured  of  all  these 
when  you  arrive,  or,  wherever  the  fault  may  be, 
they  will  have  disagreeable  consequences  with  re- 
gard to  him. 

As  to  what  you  write  me,  as  if  I  was  already  no- 
minated to  the  Praetorship\  I  can   assure  you, 

that, 

^  Orig,  Me  jam  arbitrari  designatum  esse.     This  must   be 
understood  of  the  Praetorship,  though  it  is  not  named.    It  was 

plainly 


I 


14 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


that,  at  this  time,  at  Rome,  the  candidates  for  pub-' 
lie  offices,  of  all  people  in  the  world,  are  the  most 
conversant  in  dirty  practices ;  neither  is  it  known 
when  the  election  will  come  on* ;  you  will,  how- 
ever, hear  farther  from  Philadelphus.  In  the  mean 
while,  I  beg  that  you  will  send  me,  with  the  first 
opportunity,  whatever  you  have  procured  for  my 
academy.  It  is  surprising  how  much  I  am  de- 
lighted, not  only  with  living  at  that  place,  but 
even  with  thinking  of  it  Indeed,  I  would  have 
you  take  care  to  whom  you  dispose  of  your  books; 
reserve  them  for  me,  as  you  promised  me  in  your 
letter.  My  attachment  for  them  is  equalled  only 
by  the  ill  humour  I  feel  for  every  thing  else.  It 
is  incredible  in  what  a  wretched  state,  for  so  short 
a  time,  you  will  find  public  affairs,  compared  to 
what  you  left  them  in. 

plainly  wrote  before  the  next  epistle  but  one,  that  follows,  and 
it  is  certain  that  Atticus  returned  to  Rome  before  Cicero  wa» 
named  to  the  consulship. 

*  The  intrigues  of  the  candidates  this  year  were  so  flagrant 
in  putting  off  the  time  for  the  elections,  which  ought  to  have 
been  about  the  middle  of  July,  that  they  gave  rise  to  the  Corne- 
lian and  Calphurnian  law  for  regulating  them,  so  called,  for  iti 
being  moved  for  by  the  Tribune  Cornelius,  and  drawn  up  by  the 
Consul  Calphurnius  Piso. 


EPISTLE 


TO  ATTICUS. 


15 


EPISTLE  VIII. 

Do  you  know  that  your  grandmother  is  dead^ 
of , her  longing  to  see  you,  and  of  her  apprehen- 
sion, lest  the  Latin  old  women^  should  neglect 
their  duty  in  bringing  their  victims  to  mount  Alba  ? 
I  suppose  that  Lucius  Saufeius  will  dispatch  an 
epistle  consolatory  to  you  on  that  occasion.  We 
expect  you  here  about  January.  Pray  is  this 
founded  upon  idle  rumour,  or  upon  your  letters  to 
other  people  ?  for  you  have  not  mentioned  a  word 
of  it  to  me.  The  statues,  which  you  procured  for 
me,  are  landed  at  Gaieta.  I  have  not  yet  seen 
them;  because  I  have  not  yet  had  so  much  leisure 

as 


1 1  do  not  know  whether  Cicero's  pleasantry,  on  so  serioui 
an  occasion,  as  the  death  of  his  friend's  grandmother,  is  quite 
agreeable  to  genuine  sense  and  feeling.  Somewhat,  however, 
may  be  said  in  alleviation  of  this  freedom,  when  we  consider  it 
as  a  kind  of  satire  upon  the  Epicurean  principles  of  Atticus, 
which  were  far  from  being  favourable  to  the  pious  affections  of 
a  child  towards  a  parent.  It  is  upon  the  same  account,  that  he 
mentions  Lucius  Saufeius,  who  was  a  professed  Epicurean,  as  a 
proper  comforter  to  Atticus  on  this  occasion. 

2  The  Feritr  Latince  were  yearly  celebrated  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  consuls,  upon  the  Alban  mount,  in  memory  oi  the 
union  of  the  Latins,  and  the  neighbouring  people  whom  he  had 
fubdued.  It  was  a  kind  of  a  feast  to  which  the  inhabitants  of 
forty  towns  contributed,  and  the  sacrifices  were  performed  with 
so  much  superstitiSn,  that  Cicero  sneers  at  the  performers  by  the 
name  of  Latince,  or  Latin  old  women. 


16 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


as  to  leave  Rome.  I  have  sent  money  to  discharge 
their  freight,  and  am  extremely  obliged  to  you  for 
making  liie  purchase  w  ith  so  great  a  care,  and  at 
so  small  an  expence. 

As  to  what  you  have  often  mentioned  in  your 
letters  to  me,  concerning  appeasing  our  friend,  I 
have  tried  every  expedient ;  but  he  is  incredibly 
averse  to  reconciliation.  I  suppose  you  have  heard 
the  grounds  of  his  resentment.  But  you  shall 
know  the  whole  trutli  when  I  see  you.  Though 
Sallust  was  present  with  me,  our  united  influence 
proved  ineffectual  in  regaining  his  former  good 
will.  I  write  this,  because  he  used  to  blame  me 
for  my  remissness  concerning  you  ;  but  he  has  now 
himself  experienced,  how  untractable  Lucceius  is, 
and  that  I  have  not  been  wanting  in  my  diity  to 
you.  I  have  promised  my  daughter  Tulliola  to 
Caius  Piso,  the  son  of  Lucius  Frugi. 


EPISTLE  IX. 

y  ou  raise  in  us  frequent  hopes  of  seeing  you  ; 
and  even  lately,  when  we  expected  you  already 
arrived,  we  were  suddenly  informed  of  your  de- 
lay until  the  month  of  June.  Now%  indeed,  I 
am  of  opinion,  that  you  ought  to  come  at  the  time 
you  appointed,  if  you  can  conveniently.  You 
will  then  be  present  at  my  brother's  election,  will 
see  me  after  a  long  absence,  and  adjust  your  diife- 

rence 


r 


TO  ATTICUS. 


17 


rence  with  Acutilius.  It  is  the  opinion  of  Pe- 
duceus,  that  I  should  give  you  an  intimation  of 
this ;  for  we  think  it  is  your  interest  that  you 
should  put  an  end  to  that  affair ;  my  services  in 
this  respect,  always  have  been,  and  always  shall 

be  ready  \ 

I  have 


1  This  fixes  the  dates  of  those  letters,  and  justifies  the  order 
into  which  I  have  thrown  them.  Cicero  would  not  have 
judged  Macer,  unless  he  had  been  Praetor,  which  he  certainly 
was  in  the  year  of  Rome  688^  under  the  consulship  of  Mar- 
cus iEmilius  Lepidus,  and  Lucius  Volcatius  Tullus.  This 
Macer  had  been  governor  of  Asia,  and  had  been  accused  of 
corrupt  practices  by  the  people  of  that  province.  He  was  so 
sure  by  his  own  interest,  and  that  of  Crassus,  to  be  acquitted, 
that  he  came  during  the  time  of  his  trial,  in  a  kind  of  triumph 
to  the  senate-house,  and  finding  that  he  had  been  unanimously 
condemned,  he  went  home  and  died  of  grief,  according  to 
Plutarch  ,  but  according  to  Valerius  Maximus,  he  put  himself 
to  deaths  that  he  might  save  his  estate  to  his  family. 

But  I  can't  help  thinking  that  Cicero's  translators  and  com- 
mentators have  all  of  them  mistaken  this  passage.  The  origi- 
tial  is.  Cm  cum  cequi  fuissemus ,  tamen  multo  major  em  Jructum 
expopuli  exlstimatione ,  illo  damnato,  cepimuSj  quam  ex  ipsius, 
si  alsolutus  esset,  gratia  cepissemus.  Monsieur  St.  Real,  after 
Minutius,  translates  the  words,  Cui  cum  cequi  fuissemus.—^ 
Quoique  je  naye  fait  en  le  condamnant ,  que  ce  a  quoifetois 
oblige  en  justice.  Monsieur  Mongault  translates  it, — Quand 
7*  auroispu  Ini  etre  favorable.  But  we  are  to  consider  that  this 
Macer,  by  Cicero's  own  account  (vide  Brutus,  cap.  238.)  was  no 
contemptible  orator,  and  according  to  Seneca,  he  was  his  rival 
in  eloquence.  Minutius,  and  all  who  have  followed  him,  have 
fallen  into  a  common,  but  a  very  mistaken  opinion,  as  if  Cicero, 
because  he  was  the  Pro?tQr,  was  therefore  the  judge  in  this  trial. 

Vol.  I.  C  and 


18 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


1  have  here  gone  through  the  affair  of  Caius 
Macer,   to  the  inexpressible  satisfaction  of  the 

public 


and  had  it  in  his  power  to  be  favourable  to  the  accused  party. 
But  this  was  far  from  being  tlie  case ;  for  a  Praetor  in  such  trials 
had  no  more  power  than  to  collect  the  votes  of  the  jurymen, 
and  to  give  sentence  according  to  their  verdict.  Monsieur 
Mongault  is  indeed  right  in  translating  the  word  cequus  here 
favourable,  but  he  is  mistaken  as  to  tlie  occasion  upon  which  it 
was  used ;  and  Casaubon,  in  his  note  upon  this  passage,  in 
finding  fault  with  Valerius  Maximus,  has  fallen  himself  into  a 
great  many  blunders.  Valerius  tells  us,  that  when  Macer  un- 
derstood the  sense  of  the  court  to  be  against  him,  he  strangled 
himself,  sending,  at  the  same  time,  a  messenger  to  Cicero, 
acquainting  him  that  he  died  under  accusation,  but  before  his 
condemnation,  "  Se  non  damnatum,  sed  reum  periisse,''  and 
that  his  goods  could  not  be  put  up  to  public  auction,  "  Nee  suo, 
hona  hastce  posse  suhjici.^  Casaubon  endeavours  to  shew,  by 
many  authorities  from  the  civil  law,  that,  Valerius,  he  should 
have  said  Macer,  was  mistaken  in  the  conceit  of  saving  his 
estate  from  confiscation,  by  dying  before  judgment.  But  we 
are  to  observe,  that  those  authorities  are  all  drawn  from  the 
imperial  constitutions  after  the  dissolution  of  the  republic,  and 
can  be  of  no  weight  against  the  positive  assertion  of  Valerius 
Maximus,  who  lived  soon  after  Cicero.  Cicero,  according  to 
the  same  author,  receiving  this  message,  forbore  to  pronounce 
judgment  (Qua  cognita,  de  re  Cicero  nihil pr<muniiavit .)  I'he 
account  given  us  by  Valerius  being  thus  vindicated,  Cicero,  by 
h\i  conduct,  had  all  the  reason  in  the  world  to  say,  that  he  had 
been  favourable  to  the  accused,  who  was  indeed  condemned 
but  not  sentenced.  It  is  true,  he  was  dannwLus,  but  not  before 
his  death,  that  is,  he  died  dum  scntentitc  diliberentury  while 
the  opinions  of  the  court  were  collecting  and  separating.  For 
every  judge  had  his  choice  of  three  opinions,  one  for  acquitting, 
one  for  condemning,  and  one  for  postponing  the  trial. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


19 


public.  It  is  true,  I  have  acted  with  impartial 
justice  towards  him,  but  have  raised  my  charac- 
ter higher  with  the  people  by  condemning  him 
than  I  could  serve  my  interest  through  him, 
had  he  been  acquitted. 

As  to  what  you  write  concerning  the  Minerval 
Mercury,  it  gives  me  great  pleasure  ;  it  is  an  or- 
nament in  character  to  an  academy ;  that  of  a 
Mercury  is  in  common  to  all  places  of  exercise, 
but  a  Minerval  Mercury  is  peculiarly  graceful  in 
a  place  dedicated  to  the  exercise  of  study.  I 
therefore  entreat  that,  as  you  write,  you  would 
embellish  that  spot  with  as  many  other  ornaments 
as  possible.  I  have  not  yet  seen  the  statues  which 
you  have  already  sent  me  ;  I  am  now  thinking  of 
going  to  Formiae  where  they  are.  I  will  carry 
them  all  to  my  Tusculanum.  If  ever  I  shall  be- 
gin to  grow  rich,  I  will  embellish  Gaieta.  Keep 
your  books  in  your  own  hands,  and  do  not  fear  but 
I  shall  be  able  to  make  them  mine.  If  I  succeed 
in  this,  I  shall  surpass  Crassus  in  riches,  and  look 
with  contempt  on  the  country  seats  and  estates 
of  all  mankind. 


EPISTLE  X. 


The  following  is  a  true  state,  so  far  as  my  saga- 
city enables  me  to  ascertain  it,   of  my  pretension 

C2  to 


20 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


to  the  consulship,  which  I  know  you  have  greatly 
at  heart.  Publius  Galba  stands  alone,  and,  in 
terms  unequivocal  and  undisguised,  is  rejected. 
The  common  opinion  is,  that  his  beginning  to 
canvass  so  prematurely,  will  ultimately  contri- 
bute to  my  success ;  for  the  people,  in  general, 
refuse  him,  under  pretence  of  being  previously 
engaged  to  me.  From  this  I  hope  for  some  ad- 
vantage, when  it  shall  become  a  current  opinion, 
that  I  have  found  a  greater  number  of  friends. 
As  to  my  part,  I  was  thinking  to  begin  my  solici- 
tations at  the  very  time  when  your  slave,  as  Cin- 
cius  told  me,  was  setting  out  with  this  packet, 
that  is,  upon  the  17th  of  July,  when  the  assembly 
was  held  for  electing  the  tribunes.  My  determi- 
ned competitors  appear  to  be  Galba,  Antonius, 
and  Q.  Cornificius.  At  this  I  imagine  you  have 
either  laughed  or  sighed ;  and  to  complete  your 
sorrow,  I  must  tell  you  that  Cesonius  too  is 
talked  of  as  a  competitor,  Acquilius  gives  me 
no  concern  ;  for  he  has  forsworn  all  competition, 
pretending  infirmities,  and  excusing  himself  from 
his  great  business,  as  the  monarch  of  law  arbi- 
trations. As  to  Catiline,  I  am  then  only  sure  of 
him  as  a  competitor,  when  his  judges  shall  decide 
that  the  sun  never  shines  at  noon-day.  I  don't 
suppose,  that  you  expect  me  to  mention  x\ufidius 
and  Palicanus. 

As  to  the  candidates  for  next  year,  Caesar  seems 
to  be  sure  of  his  election.     It  is  thought  that 

Thermus 


TO  ATTICUS. 


SI 


Thermus  will  have  a  hard  struggle  with  Silanus ; 
but  they  are  so  poor,  both  in  interest  and  charac- 
ter, that  I  shall  not  at  all  wonder  if  Curius  is 
brought  in ;  but  in  this  opinion  I  am  singular. 
It  seems  to  be  most  agreeable  to  my  views,  that 
Thermus  should  be  chosen  with  Ceesar;  for  none 
of  the  present  candidates,  who,  if  he  should  stand 
in  my  year,   would  give  me  more  trouble  than 
Thermus  could  ;  because  he  is  one  of  the  over- 
seers of  the  Flaminian  way,  which  would  then  be 
easily  finished.     I  wish,  therefore,   with  all  my 
heart,  to  join  him  in  the  consulship  with  Caesar. 

These   are  the  outlines  of    the  competition, 
which  is  not  yet  systematically  determined.     For 
my  part,  I  shall  apply,  with  all  possible  diligence, 
to  every   part  of  my  duty  as  a  candidate,   and 
perhaps,  when  the  forum  business  relaxes  a  little 
at  Rome,  I  shall  make  an  excursion  in  the  month 
of  September,  under  pretence  of  a  legation  to 
Piso,  so  as  to  be  able  to  return  in  January ;  be- 
cause it  appears  as  if  Gaul  had  a  great  influence 
in  the  election.  When  I  shall  have  thoroughly  un- 
derstood the  dispositions  of  our  men  of  quality, 
1  will  write  to  you.     Every  thing  else,  I  hope  will 
go  smoothly  on,  if  I  have  only  to  contend  with 
those  city-competitors.     As  you  are  nearer  to  our 
friend  Pompey  than  I  am,  pray  take  care  to  pro- 
cure me  the  votes  of  all  who  are  in  his  interest 
Assure  him  that  I  will  not  take  it  amiss,  though  he 
should  not  appear  at  the  meeting  in  my  favour. 

This 


It 


22 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


This  is  all  I  have  to  recommend  to  you  upon  this 
head.  There  is,  however,  one  thing  for  which  I 
ask  your  pardon.  When  your  uncle  Caecilius 
was  defrauded  in  a  large  sum  by  P.  Varius,  he 
began  to  sue  his  brother  Canninius  Satrius^  con- 
cerning certain  effects,  which  he  pretends  Sa- 
trius  received  by  a  fraudulent  conveyance  from 
Varius.  The  other  creditors  joined  in  the  ac- 
tion, amongst  whom  are  Lucullus^,  and  P.  Scipio, 
and  L.  Pontius,   who  it  is  thought,  would  have 

been 


*  This  person  was  probably  a  Roman  Knight,  and  esteemed 
by  Cicero,  and  is  mentioned  by  Suetonius^  in  bis  treatise  con- 
cerning famous  grammarians. 

2  Manutius,  though  a  very  able  critic,  in  his  note  upon  this 
passage,  mistakes  this  Lucullus  to  be  Marcus  Terentius  Varro 
Lucullus,  so  called  from  his  being  adopted  into  the  family  of 
the  Varrones.  But  Lucius  Licenius  Lucullus,  so  celebrated  for 
bis  victories  over  Mithridates,  is  certainly  the  person  meant 
here.  Manutius's  conjecture  is  founded  upon  that  great  man 
not  being  then  at  Rome  j  because  he  did  not  triumph  till  under 
the  consulate  of  Murena  and  Silanus.  But  nothing  is  more 
certain  than  that  there  was  a  considerable  distance  of  time  be- 
tween his  return  to  Rome  and  his  triumph,  which  was  deferred 
by  the  arts  of  his  enemies,  and  gave  him  such  disgust,  that  he 
gave  himself  more  up  to  country  amusements  than  became  a 
pjatriot  in  such  dangerous  times  ;  and  he  is  one  of  those  men 
of  quality  whom  Cicero  calls  piscinarii,  fish-pond  fanciers. 
There  is  nothing  remarkable  in  the  other  names  here  men- 
tioned, only  that  Domitius  was  surnamed  D.  ^nobarbus,  and 
was  ancestor  to  the  emperor  Nero,  and  tliat  Scipio  was  the  last 
man  of  figure  in  his  illustrious  family. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


23 


been  the  assignee^  if  the  effects  had  been  sold. 
But  it  is  ridiculous  to  talk  of  an  assignee  at  this 
time.     CiBcilius  desired  me  to  appear   against 
Satrius,   who  attends  me   at  my   house   almost 
every  day.     Lucius  Domitius  is  his  chief  patron, 
and  I  am  his  second.     He  was  of  great  service 
to  my  brother  Quintus  and  me  in  our  solicita- 
tions for  public  offices.     I  own  I  am  greatly  em- 
barrassed by  my  intimacy  at  once  with  Satrius  and 
Domitius,  on  whom  I  chiefly  depend  for  success 
in  my  election.  Of  this  I  made  Caecilius  sensible, 
adding,  at  the  same  time,  that  I  should  be  ready 
to  serve  him,  if  the  dispute  were  confined  to  him 
and  his  adversary,  but  that,  as  it  involves  all  the 
creditors,  who  are  men  of  high  rank,    and  who 
would  easily  carry  on  the  common  cause,  though 
none  should  appear  in  the  name  of  Caecilius,  I 
must,  on  this  critical  occasion,  pay  a  proper  at- 
tention to  my  own  interest.     I  perceived  that  he 
was  more  displeased  with  this  answer  than  I  could 
have  wished,  and  resented  it,    I  thought,    more 

than 


1  Orig.  Magister,  This  term  answers  extremely  well  to  our 
assignees  under  a  commission  of  bankruptcy,  being  generally 
chosenby  the  other  creditors,  to  manage  and  sell  off  tlie  estate 
of  the  bankrupt,  for  the  benefit  of  the  creditors.  And,  indeed, 
though  it  has  not  been  attended  to  by  authors,  we  find  a  won- 
derful  similitude  between  the  Roman  and  English  laws,  both 
civil  and  criminal,  of  which  we  may  have  occasion  to  speak 
hereafter. 


24 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


25 


than  it  became  a  gentleman  to  do.  For  these 
several  days  past,  he  has  entirely  avoided  my  com- 
pany. 

I  entreat  you  will  forgive  me  in  this,  and  consi- 
der me  as  justified,  at  this  troublesome  juncture,  in 
not  opposing  the  most  capital  concerns  of  a  friend, 
v^ho  has  done  me  all  the  good  offices  and  services 
in  his  power.  But  if  you  have  a  mind  to  be  se- 
vere upon  me,  I  give  you  leave  to  think,  that 
ambition^  is  my  true  motive  in  the  matter.  But 
even  supposing  that  to  be  the  case,  I  think  I  ought 
to  be  pardoned ;  for  it  is  not  a  small  matter  I 
have  at  staked     You  are  sensible  of  the  path,  in 

which 

^  Cicero  here  makes  use  of  a  great  deal  of  art ;  for  in  fact, 
Domitius  was  not  the  considerable  man  he  represents  him  to 
be.  This  frankness,  however,  which  he  pretends  to  put  on  to 
his  friend,  who  might  have  found  him  out,  has  a  beautiful 
effect. 

2  Orig.  Ezju  Hx  tipntov,  ti^i  ^on-nv.  Quia  non  victimce  par- 
tem  aut  tergus  luhidum.  This  is  a  quotation  from  the  twenty- 
second  book  of  Homer's  Ilias,  and  Virgil  afterwards  translated 
the  sense  of  it. 

Neque  enim  levia  aut  ludicra  petuntur 

Prcemia 

It  is  necessary  here  to  make  a  general  observation  concerning 
our  author's  frequent  use  of  Greek  phrases  and  quotations. 
Nothing  is  more  common  with  English  writers  than  to  compare, 
in  this  respect,  the  English  to  the  Romans,  and  the  Greeks  to 
the  French.  This  has  been  done,  even  as  a  justification  of  our 
frequent  usage  of  French  learning  and  language,  as  it  occurs 
hourly  in  reading  and  conversation.     But  this  parallel  holds  in 

no 


1^. 


which  I  tread,  and  that  I  ought,  not  only  to  pre- 
serve my  old,   but  to  acquire  new,  friends.     I 

sincerely 

no  other  respect,  than,  that  as  Rome  subdued  Greece,  so  did 
England  France,  and  the  conquerors  were  smitten  with  an  affec 
lion  for  the  manners,  the  arts,  and  the  language  of  the  con- 
quered.    But,  whoever  looks  upon  the  Roman  nolicy  in  this 
light,   is  greatly  deceived.     The  men  of  learning,  before  the 
times  of  Cicero,  were,  in  Rome,  but  few,  in  Greece  they  were 
innumerable.     When  Greece  was  conquered,  her  language  had 
arrived  at  its  perfection,  that  of  Rome  was  in  its  infancy.   The 
Roman  government  was  military,  it  had  no  vacancy  for  arts : 
the  constitutions  of  Greece  were  civil,  and  gave  too  little  en- 
couragement for  war ;  till  at  last,  their  most  celebrated  states 
became  so  many  schools,  filled  with  the  wrangling  of  sophists 
and  pedants.     The  admirable  good  sense  of  the  Romans  taught 
them  to  proiit  by  all  those  circumstances,  and  to  embellish,  but, 
not  as  the  Greeks  had  done,  to  weaken  their  constitution,  by  li- 
terary ornaments.     They  loved  the  learning,  they  hated  the 
morals,  of  the  Greeks.    They  availed  themselves  of  the  profes- 
sion,  whilst  they  kept  the  professor  a  slave.     With  them,  the 
study  of  Greek  did  not  weaken   the  love  of  their  country, 
though  they  scarce,  in  the  days  of  Cicero,  had  any  learning  but 
in  that  language  ;  and  Cicero  was  the  first  writer  of  great  emi- 
nence that  brought  his  mother-tongue  to  speak  the  language  of 
philosophy  and  polite  arts.     I  need  not  suggest  to  my  reader, 
how  much  this  has  been  the  reverse  between  England  and 
France,  for  those  many  years,  during  which  the  English  have 
continued  under  the  delusions  of   French  affectation.     The 
English,  I  say,  during  that  time,  have  been  as  much  superior  to 
the  French  in  genius,  learning,  and  language,  as  their  forefa- 
thers were  to  them  in  arms  j  and  that  affectation  can  be^  ac- 
counted for  no  other  way,  than  upon  that  senseless  principle, 
which  hurries  sheep  over  the  pale  of  their  own  rich  pasture,  to 

have  the  pleasure  of  starving  upon  a  barren  moor. 

Atticus 


26 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


37 


sincerely  hope,  at  least  I  earnestly  wish,  that  you 
will  approve  of  my  conduct  Your  Minerval 
Mercury  gives  me  great  pleasure,  and  it  stands  so 
elegantly,  that  the  whole  academy  derives  from 
it,  the  greatest  splendour  \  I  feel  for  you  the 
sincerest  regard. 

EPISTLE  XL 

JlSe  it  known  to  you  that  under  the  consulship* 
of  L.  Julius  Caesar  and  C.  Marcus  Figulus,  I  am 

blessed 


Atticus  was  himself  so  fond  of  the  Greek  language,  that  he 
was  proud  of  the  name  of  Atticus  or  Athenian,  and  Cicero 
affects  it  the  more  because  he  writes  to  him.  But  we  are,  in 
general,  to  observe,  that  when  Cicero  is  most  profuse  of  his 
Greek  quotations,  his  heart  is  most  at  ease ;  for  he  generally 
pours  forth  his  anguish  and  sorrow  in  Latin. 

*  Orig.  'llXiii  tzfxQvsiAx,  Soil  donum  appcnsum,  vel  solu  tcm- 
plum.  This  is  a  very  perplexed  passage  in  the  best  manuscripts, 
and  all  editions  of  our  author.  I  have  translated  in  the  sense 
which  1  think  most  agreeable  to  Cicero's  manner. 

2  Orig,  L.  Julio  Ccesare,  C.  Marcio  Figulo  consuHbus,Jiliolo 
me  auctum  scito.  Though  Monsieur  Mongault  has  translated 
this  passage,  as  if  Caesar  and  Figulus  had  not  yet  entered  into 
the  actual  exercise  of  their  consulship,  yet  I  am  far  from  being 
clear  in  that  respect,  and  were  it  not  for  one  circumstance,  that 
of  his  preparing  himself  to  defend  Catiline,  who  was  tried  un- 
der the  consulship  of  Cotta  and  Torquatus,  I  could  have  no 
manner  of  doubt  in  fixing  the  date  of  this  letter  to  the  1st  of 
January,  which  was  the  day  when  the  consuls  entered  upon 
their  office  j  because,  ingenuously  speaking,  I  do  not  find  that 

Cicero 


blessed  with  a  son,  and  that  the  mother  is  in  a 
fair  way  of  recovery.     Not  a  line  from  you  all 

this 

Cicero  ever  makes  use  of  this  manner  when  he  expresses  him- 
self of  a  future  consulship.     Monsieur  Mongault  says,  that  the 
circumstance  of  Catiline  is  decisive,  against  this  letter  being 
dated  under  the  consulship  of  Caesar  and  Figulus.     But  even 
that  matter  is  not  so  clear  as  he  imagines.     Muretus  is  of  opi- 
nion, that  that  passage  ought  to  be  read  Catilinam  competitor  em 
nostrum  defender e  cogitahamus  instead  of  cogitamus.     I  do  not 
indeed  find  that  Muretus  is  supported  in  this  conjecture  by 
manuscripts  ;  yet  his  emendation  is  not  without  a  strong  pro- 
bability to  support  it ;  because  when  we  read  cogitahamus,  it 
implies  as  if  Cicero,  while  he  wrote  this  letter,  had  then  given 
over  the  favourable  thoughts  he  had  entertained  of  Catiline, 
and  thus  the  thing  is  thrown  into  an  imperfect  time,  which 
decides  nothing.     But  indeed,  it  is  far  from  being  impossible, 
for  Catiline,  even  under  the  consulship  of  Caesar  and  Figulus, 
to  have  had  occasion  for  Cicero's  pleading  for  him,  especially  if 
we  consider,  that  though  he  had  been  tried  under  the  consul- 
ship of  Cotta  and  Torquatus,  yet  no  sentence  had  been  pro- 
nounced either  for  or  against  him  j  so  the  matter  was  still  in 

suspense. 

Monsieur  Mongault  and  the  commentators  bring  another  ob- 
jection against  the  fixing  the  date  of  this  letter,  to  the  actual 
consulship  of  Caesar  and  Figulus,  because,  say  they,  at  the  end 
of  it,  he  desires  Atticus  to  be  at  Rome  in  January;  whereas, 
if  this  letter  had  been  written  under  the  consulship,  it  must 
have  been  written  in  January.    This  objection  has,  no  doubt, 
in  it  some  weight,  but  not  enough  to  conquer  the  obstinacy  of 
the  original  passage  before  us.     Besides,  there  is  no  kind  of  im- 
possibility, supposing  Cicero  to  have  written  this  letter  on  the 
1st  of  January,  for  him  to  have  designated  that  month  by  its  own 
name.     I  don't  know  whether  there  is  even  any  absurdity  in 
it  or  whether  the  same  thing  is  not  now  in  daily  practice. 

But, 


•  » 


28 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


29 


this  while  !  I  wrote  you  some  time  ago  very  cir- 
cumstantially with  regard  to  my  affairs.  I  am  at 
present  preparing  to  defend  my  competitor  Cati- 
line ^     We  are  satisfied,  and  the  prosecutor  is 

greatly 

But,  say  the  commentators,  Atticus  was  then  beyond  sea  in 
Epirus,  and  had  a  great  journey  to  make  to  Rome,  and  if  Cicero 
wrote  this  letter  on  the  1st  of  Januar}',  how  could  he  expect 
that  his  letter  could  have  time  to  reach  his  friend,  and  his 
friend  have  time  to  be  at  Rome  in  that  month?  But  this, 
which  Monsieur  Mongault  looks  upon  to  be  the  main  objection, 
is,  I  think,  easily  answered.  The  letter  might  have  reached 
Atticus,  by  sea,  in  a  ve  y  few  days.  Cicero's  anxiety  to  have 
his  friend  at  Rome  often  bads  him  into  a  kind  of  impertinence 
of  importunit}',  and  he  might  imagine,  that  his  friend  might 
meet  the  letter  on  his  journey,  and  cause  him  to  make  the 
more  haste.  In  short,  this  was  not  a  letter  of  advice  for 
Atticus  to  come  to  Rome  in  January  j  because  it  is  extremely 
plain  from  Cicero's  own  words,  that  Atticus  had  already  come 
to  that  resolution.  Upon  the  whole,  I  dare  not  depart  from 
the  literal  sense  of  the  origrinal. 
•  ^  Here  I  cannot  help  obviating  a  very  strong  objection 
brought  against  the  morals  of  our  author  by  writers  and  com- 
mentators, who  have  not  rightly  understood  this  passage  j  nor 
indeed  have  any  of  his  apologists  done  him  justice.  It  is  not, 
say  they,  much  to  the  honour  of  Cicero,  to  have  known  Cati- 
line's  crime  to  be  as  plain  as  the  sun  at  noon-day  j  yet  to  have 
pleaded  in  his  favour.  Monsieur  Mongault  thinks  he  removes 
this  objection,  by  saying  it  was  the  practice  at  Rome  for  the 
greatest  men  to  plead  for  the  vilest  criminals,  and  gives  an  in- 
stance of  Hortensius,  who  pleaded  for  Verres.  But  this  is  a 
poor  apology.  It  contradicts  the  repeated  professions  of  our 
author  against  such  a  practice,  and  indeed,  even  in  this  age  and 
nation,  we  must  have  a  despicable  opinion  of  the  first  man  of 

his 


greatly  so,  with  the  choice  of  the  commissioners 
for  the  trial.     If  he  should  be  acquitted,  I  am  in 

hopes 

his  country,  if  he  should  know,  unknown  to  his  friends,  ano- 
ther person  to  be  a  public  pest  of  society,  and  to  the  constitu- 
tion, and  yet  voluntarily  appear  to  defend  him  from  a  just  pro- 
secution.    Let  us,  however,  state  the  matter  as  it  really  was. 

Catiline  returned  from  his  government  of  Africa  to  Rome, 
just  as   Sulla  and  Autronius  had  lost  the  consulship,  for  their 
corrupt  practices,  and  their  prosecutors,  Cotta  and  Torquatus 
were  elected.     Upon  his  arrival,  an  action  was  brought  against 
him  for  malversation  in  hi§  government,  and  at  the  same  time, 
he  declared  himself  a  candidate  for  the  consulship.     Catiline, 
at  that  time,  was  far  from  standing  in  the  detestable  light  he 
afterwards  appeared  in  to  the  public.     He  applied  to  Cicero  to 
defend  him  from  the  charge  brought  against  him,   and  he  ap- 
plied  with  such  address,  and  such  a  shew  of  innocence,  that 
Cicero,  in  his  oration  for  Caelius,  owns,  that  Catiline  had  almost 
imposed  upon  him  j  in  short,   I  will  not  venture  to  say  that 
Cicero  did  not  promise  to  plead  for  Catiline.     The  disqualify- 
ing a  formidable  candidate  from  standing  for  a  public  office,  by 
bringing  against  him  a  fictitious  charge,  was,. at  that  time,  a 
common  trick  in  Rome,  and  Cicero  might  with  honour  under- 
take to  defend  Catiline  against  such  a  charge  ;  and  I  think  it  is 
very  plain  that  this  was  a  frivolous  one.  My  reason  is,  because, 
though  the  acting  consul,  Tullus,  procured  a  prohibition  against 
Catiline's  standing  for  the  consulship,  and  though  Catiline  did 
not  stand  5  yet  it  is  plain,  iVom  the  words  of  Sallust,  that  this 
did  not  happen  from  the  charge  of  mal-administration  being 
brought  against  him,  but  from  a  point  of  form,  because  Catiline 
was  too  late  in  declaring  himself  a  candidate.   Lucio  Tullo,  says 
Sallust,  Marco  Lepido  Coss.     P.  Autronius  &  P.  Sulla  desig- 
nati  consulcs  legibus  amliius  interrogati  poenas  dederant.  Paulo 
post  Catilina  pecuniarum  repeiundnrum  reus  prohihitus   erat 
petere  consulatum,  quod  intra  legitimos  dies  profileri  nequivent. 

From 


^k 


30 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


hopes  that  he  will  the  more  cordially  concur  in 
promoting  my  election;  but  if  it  should  prove 
otherwise,  I  shall  endeavour  to  bear  it  with  pa- 
tience. Your  speedy  arrival  is  indispensable,  for 
it  is  the  general  and  fixed  opinion  of  the  public, 
that  your  friends,  the  men  of  quality,  will  use 
their  efforts  to  withhold  the  honour  of  my  being 
elected ;  and  I  foresee  that  I  shall  stand  in  great 
need  of  your  interest  for  gaining  their  favour. 
Therefore  take  care,  as  you  appointed,  to  be  in 
town  by  January. 

EPISTLE  XII. 

JL  HE  Trojan  lady^  is  really  very  dilatory,  nor 
did  Cornelius  afterwards  return  to  Terentia;  and 

it 


From  this  plain  state  of  facts,  it  appears  that  Cicero,  con- 
sistently with  the  character  of  a  great  and  a  good  man,  might 
undertake  to  plead  for  Catiline,  upon  the  charge  of  corruption, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  think  it  as  plain  as  the  sun  at  noon-day, 
that  he  was  disqualified  from  standing  for  the  consulship ;  be- 
cause his  declaration  was  not  within  the  legal  time.  To  con- 
clude, there  is  strong  reason  for  believing,  that  Cicero  did  not 
plead  for  Catiline  j  because,  if  he  bad,  his  mentioning  that 
circumstance  would  have  been  of  great  service  to  his  pleading 
for  Caelius. 

^  This  letter  appears  to  be  written  three  years  after  the  fore- 
going. This  was  a  nick-name  by  which  Cicero  designated  Anto- 
nius  his  colleague  in  the  consulship,  and  it  must  be  confessed 
that  there  appears  to  have  been  some  dark  management  at  this 
time  between  him  and  our  author. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


31 


it  is  my  opinion  that  I  must  have  recourse  to  tfie 
bankers,   Considius,  Axius,  or    Selicius.     With 
Caecilius  1  will  have  nothing  to  do;  for  he  would 
not  advance  money  even  to  his  dearest  relations 
under  12  per  cent     But  to  return  from  whence  I 
began ;  never  did  I  see  any  thing  more  impudent, 
more  sly,   and  more  shuffling  than  she  is.     "I 
''  will  send  my  freed  man,— I  have  given  orders 
to  Titus,"     Mere  shifts  and  evasions ;  yet  I  do 
not  know  but  it  may  turn  out  well  for  me'.    For 
Pompeys  delegates^  tell  me,  that  he  will  actually 
stand  to  succeed  Antonius,  and  at  the  same  time 
that  the  Pr^tor  will  make  a  motion  to  that  effect, 
in  the  assembly  of  the  people.     Now  the  case  is 
of  such  a  nature,   that  I  cannot  either  with  the 
approbation  of  the  worthy  part  of  mankind,  or 
of  the  public  in  general,  with  any  decency,  un- 
dertake the  defence  of  Antonius ;  and,  which  is 

more 


1  The  original  is  part  of  a  Greek  maxim  :  TavrcciA^rot  ^i^ut 
xccT^Kiw  ^ovKtvzrcc^,  Chance  deliherates  for  us  more  wisely  than 
ourselves,  meaning  that  it  would  turn  out  more  fortunately  for 
him,  that  Antony  should  not  pay,  contrary  to  his  wishes,  what 
he  owed ;  since  it  would  discharge  him  from  another  obliga- 
tion  which  the  speedy  payment  of  his  debt  would  have  im- 
posed. 

^  Orig.  Prodromi.  Lit.  Fore-runners.  Cicero  may  have  used 
the  term  as  a  sneer  upon  the  numerous  creatures  of  Pompey, 
who  were  to  be  found  in  all  quarters  at  this  time,  crying  up  the 
services  and  merits  of  thair  patron. 


32 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


more  than  all,  I  have  no  inclination  to  do  it;  for 
the  following  accident,  which  I  submit  to  your 
examination,  has  taken  place ;  and  I  recommend 
the  whole  of  it,  of  what  nature  soever  it  may  be, 
to  your  sagacity. 

A  man  of  a  very  worthless  character,  named 
Hilarus,  received  his  freedom  from  me,  and  is 
now  your  client  and  book-keeper.  Concerning 
this  person,  Valerius  the  linguist  informs  me 
(and  Chilius  writes  that  he  has  heard  the  same 
thing)  that  he  is  with  Antonius,  who,  while  he 
practises  public  extortion  upon  his  province, 
gives  out,  that  part  of  the  money  is  collected 
upon  my  account,  and  that  this  same  Hilarus  is 
sent  as  a  treasurer  of  the  revenues.  At  this  I 
feel  unusual  indignation* ;  yet  cannot  believe  it 
to  be  a  fact,  though  something  of  this  kind  has 
certainly  been  reported.  Pray  trace  the  story  to 
its  source,  and,  if  possible,  compel  that  renegade 
to  leave  the  province.  Valerius  alleges  Caius 
Plancius  as  the  author  of  this  report;  and  I  again 
earnestly  recommend  it  to  you  to  search  into  the 
bottom  of  it. 

Pompey  still  appears  to  be  my  very  good  friend. 

The 


^  I  have  not  troubled  the  reader  vith  any  notes  upon  this 
matter,  because  it  is  not  very  material  to  the  history  of  that 
time.  We  must,  however  obser\  e,  that  some  of  Cicero's  co- 
temporaries  were  far  from  thinking  him  defensible  upon  the 
head  of  his  collusion  with  Antonius. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


53 


The  public  highly  approves  of  his  divorce  from 
Mucia.  I  suppose  you  have  heard  that  Publius 
Clodius^  the  son  of  Appius,  was  lately  appre- 
hended at  Ceesar's  house,  in  a  woman's  dress,  at 
a  sacrifice  for  the  good  of  the  people,  and  that 
he  was  saved  and  carried  off  by  means  of  a 
young  female  slave.  The  affair  is  notoriously 
infamous,  and  will,  no  doubt,  give  you  serious 
concern.  I  have  nothing  else  to  write  to  you, 
and  indeed  I  am  unusually  distressed.  For  the 
sprightly  youth  Sositheus,  who  used  to  read  to 
me,  is  dead,  and  bis  death  affects  me  more  than 
the  death  of  a  slave  ought  to  do.  I  beg  that  you 
will  write  often  to  me ;  even  though  you  have  no 
subject,  yet  write  whatever  comes  uppermost. 
Dated  this  1st  of  January,  under  the  consulship 
of  M.  Messala  and  M.  Piso. 

EPISTLE  XIII. 

JL  HAVE  now  received  your  three  letters,  one  by 
Marcus  Cornelius,  which  I  suppose  you  delivered 
to  him  at  the  three  taverns ;  I  received  the  second 
from  your  landlord  at  Canusium,  and  you  date 

your 


*  This  story,  and  the  character  of  Clodius,  as  well  as  the 
whole  management  of  Pompey  towards  our  author,  will  be 
farther  explained  in  the  coarse  of  theae  letters. 

V^OL.  I.  D 


32 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


3¥ 


more  than  all,  I  have  no  inclination  to  do  it ;  for 
the  following  accident,  which  I  submit  to  your 
examination,  has  taken  place;  and  I  recommend 
the  whole  of  it,  of  what  nature  soever  it  may  be, 
to  your  sagacity. 

A  man  of  a  very  worthless  character,  named 
Hilarys,  received  his  freedom  from  me,  and  is 
now  your  client  and  book-keeper.  Concerning 
this  person,  Valerius  the  linguist  informs  me 
(and  Chilius  writes  that  he  has  heard  the  same 
thing)  that  he  is  with  Antonius,  who,  while  he 
practises  public  extortion  upon  his  province, 
gives  out,  that  part  of  the  money  is  collected 
upon  my  account,  and  that  this  same  Hilarus  is 
sent  as  a  treasurer  of  the  revenues.  At  this  I 
feel  unusual  indignation* ;  yet  cannot  believe  it 
to  be  a  fact,  though  something  of  this  kind  has 
certainly  been  reported.  Pray  trace  the  story  to 
its  source,  and,  if  possible,  compel  that  renegade 
to  leave  the  province.  Valerius  alleges  Caius 
Plancius  as  the  author  of  this  report ;  and  I  again 
earnestly  recommend  it  to  you  to  search  into  the 
bottom  of  it. 

Pompey  still  appears  to  be  my  very  good  friend. 

The 


^  I  have  not  troubled  the  reader  vith  any  notes  upon  this 
matter,  because  it  is  not  very  material  to  the  history  of  that 
time.  We  must,  however  observe,  that  some  of  Cicero's  co- 
temporaries  were  far  from  thinking  him  defensible  upon  the 
head  of  his  collusion  with  Antonius. 


The  public  highly  approves  of  his  divorce  from 
Mucia.     I  suppose  you  have  heard  that  Publius 
Clodius'  the  son  of  Appius,  was  lately  appre- 
hended at  Ca;3ar's  house,  in  a  woman's  dress,   at 
a  sacrifice  for  the  good  of  the  people,  and  that 
he  was  saved  and  carried  off  by  means   of  a 
young  female  slave.     The  affair  is  notoriously 
infamous,  and  will,  no  doubt,  give  you  serious 
concern.     I  have  nothing  else  to  write  to  you, 
and  indeed  I  am  unusually  distressed.     For  the 
sprightly  youth  Sositheus,  who  used  to  read  to 
me,  is  dead,  and  bis  death  affects  me  more  than 
the  death  of  a  slave  ought  to  do.     I  beg  that  you 
will  write  often  to  me;  even  though  you  have  no 
subject,  yet  write  whatever   comes   uppermost. 
Dated  this  1st  of  January,  under  the  consulshi]? 
of  M.  Messala  and  M.  Piso. 

EPISTLE  XIII. 

I  HAVE  now  received  your  three  letters,  one  by 
Marcus  Cornelius,  which  I  suppose  you  delivered 
to  him  at  the  three  taverns ;  I  received  the  second 
from  your  landlord  at  Canusium,  and  you  date 

your 

>  This  story,  and  the  character  of  Clodius,  as  weU  as  the 
whole  management  of  Pompey  towards  our  author,  will-  be 
farther  explained  in  the  course  of  these  letters. 

Vol.  I.  D 


V 


k 


\ 


34 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS, 


35 


your  third  from  on  board  your  ship,  after  weigh- 
ing anchor.  All  these  flow  with  great  purity 
of  language ;  sparkle  with  urbanity  and  wit,  and 
are  marked  with  affection.  These  letters,  indeed, 
are  such  as  to  demand  from  me  an  immediate  an- 
swer; but  have  delayed  writing,  only  because  I 
could  not  find  a  sure  conveyance.  For  where 
is  the  person,  who  will  carry  a  letter  of  any 
Height,  without  relieving  himself  by  reading  it 
over  r  Besides  this,  I  did  not  know  of  any  one 
going  to  Epirus.  For  I  thought  that  after  you 
had  settled  your  affairs,  and  performed  the  proper 
rites  at  home,  you  would  instantly  set  out  upon 
your  expedition  against  Sicyon,  to  lay  it  under 
contribution '.  I  am  even  in  an  uncertainty  as  to 
the  time  when  you  go  to  Antonius,  or  how  many 
days  you  will  spend  in  Epirus ;  I  am  therefore 
unwilling  to  trust  to  persons  either  from  Achaia 
or  Epirus,  with  letters  that  are  written  in  the  stile 
of  familiar  freedom.     Some  incidents  since  your 

departure, 

^  The  originalis.  Ego  enim  te  arliiror,  ca'sis  apud  Alma- 
thceum  victimis,  statim  esse  ad  Sicyonem  oppugnandam  pro- 
fectum.  The  language  is  metaphorical  and  sportive.  The  pea- 
pie  of  Sicyon  were  in  debt  to  Atticus,  and  he  was  going  there  to 
recover  it.  This  Cicero  describes  in  military  terms,  as  though 
Atticus  were  a  general,  proceeding  to  besiege  that  city,  and 
lay  it  under  contribution.  Amalthteaox  Amalthceum  was  a 
villa  of  Atticus,  so  called,  perhaps,  from  its  opulence  and 
splendour.  At  the  commencement  of  a  war  or  expedition,  rt 
was  th.i  piactice  to  oifer  sacrifice  io  order  to  ensure  success. — E. 


^i 


/ 


f 


tieparture,  however,  have  happened,  not  unworthy 
to  be  communicated  in  writing ;  but  they  are  such 
as  I  do  not  choose  to  expose  to  the  danger  of 
being  lost,  opened,  or  intercepted. 

You  are  therefore,  in  the  first  place,  to  know 
that  I  was  not  the  first  whose  opinion  was  de- 
manded, and  the'  conqueror  of  the  AUobroges 
was  preferred  to  me.    This  was  not  done  mdeed 
without  some  murihuring  from  the  senate,  though 
it  met  my  approbation.    For  I  am  thereby  disen- 
gaged from  my  obligations  towards  a  capricious 
man,  and  at  liberty  to  maintain  my  own  dignity 
in  the  state  against  his  humours.  Add  to  this,  that 
the  second  voice  is  an  authority  almost  equal  to 
the  first,  and  is  not  made  so  dependent  by  the 
good  offices  of  the  consul.     Catulus  votes  the 
third,  and  if  you  want  to  know  more,  Hortensius 
is  the  fourth.     The  consul  himself,  possessing  a 
mean  and  narrow  mind,  resembles  one  of  those 
buffoons,  whose  figure  is  ludicrous ;  who  excite 
mirth  rather  by  their  looks  than  by  their  pleasan- 
tries.    To  him  the  people  are  indifferent,  the  no- 
bles odious ;  from  him  his  country  has  no  room  to 
hope  for  aught  that  is  good,  because  he  wants  in- 
clination to  perform  it;  or  to  fear  aught  that  is  bad, 
because  he  is  without  the  courage  to  attempt  it. 

As 


1  Viz.  Caius  Rso. 
D2 


9S 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


As  to  his  colleague  Metellus,  he  treats  me  with 
respect.  He  both  affects  and  maintains  the  cha- 
racter of  a  patriot;  nor  indeed  is  there  a  very 
good  understanding  between  them. 

But  I  am  apprehensive,  lest  this  affair,  which 
is  still  depending,  may  be  too  long  protracted. 
I  suppose  you  have  heard,  tliat  when  the  sacri- 
fice for  the  peo[)le  was  performing  at  Caesar's 
house,  a  man  went  tliere  in  a  female  habit ;  that 
the  virgins  recommenced  the  sacrifice ;  that  a  mo- 
tion concerning  it  was  made  by  Cornilicius  in 
the  senate,  I  say,  was  made  by  Cornificius,  lest 
you  might  suspect  that  it  was  introduced  by  either 
of  the  consuls ;  that  afterwards,  the  matter,  by 
the  decree  of  the  senate,  was  referred  to  the 
priests,  and  by  them  pronounced  to  be  sacrile- 
gious ;  that,  upon  this,  the  senate  ordered  the 
consul  to  carry  it,  by  way  of  information,  before 
the  people,  and  that  Caesar  has  repudiated  his 
wife.  In  this  cause,  Piso,  actuated  by  his  friend- 
ship for  Publius  Clodius,  earnestly  wishes  that 
the  information,  which  he  himself  is  to  prefer, 
and  to  prefer  it  too  by  an  order  of  the  senate, 
and  upon  a  religious  account,  should  be  quashed 
Messala  hitherto  acts  with  spirit  and  severity. 
Your  men  of  quality,  through  the  intercessions 
of  Clodius,  disliked  the  proceeding ;  forces  are 
mustering ;  our  bench,  who  at  first  in  this  cause 
behaved  like  so  many  inflexible  patriots,  becomes 
daily  more  and  more  pliable.     Cato  is  keen  and 

pressing. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


37 


\      • 


pressing.  In  short,  I  am  apprehensive,  lest  this 
affair,  neglected  by  the  great,  and  defended  by 
the  wicked,  may  be  the  source  of  many  calami- 
ties to  our  country. 

But,  as  to  that  friend \  known  to  you  and 
concerning  whom  you  wrote  to  me,  not  daring 
to  blame,  he  began  to  praise,  me,  and  gives  me 
now  strong  proofs  of  his  affection.  He  caresses, 
loves,  commends,  me  in  public ;  but  all  this  he 
does  in  such  a  manner  as  plainly  shews  that  he 
secretly  hates  me.  He  has  about  him  nothing  of 
the  gentleman,  nothing  of  the  honest  man.  There 
is  in  him  nothing  graceful,  nothing  noble,  nothing 
brave,  nothing  free  in  his  sentiments  of  govern- 
ment. But  I  win  write  more  particularly  on  this 
head  at  another  time ;  for  I  am  neither,  as  yet, 
well  enough  acquainted  with  the  matter,  and  I 
know  not  enough  of  the  clow  n"  w^ho  carries  this, 
to  trust  him  w  ith  a  letter  of  such  consequence. 

The  provinces  are  not,  as  yet,  allotted  to  the 
Prsctors,  and  that  affair  stands  just  as  you  left  it 
I  shall  enclose  to  you,  in  my  oration,  the  de- 
scription of  Mycenae  and  Puteoli,  which  you 
required.  I  understand  that  I  was  mistaken  in 
the  date  of  the  3d  of  December,   I  own  that  I 

was 


^  Pompey. 

2  Orig.  Terrccfilio,  to  a  son  of  the  ear//i,  which  hi  the  Jewish 
scriptures  means,  a  tiller  of  the  land,  bat  here  signities  a  pea" 
sanJt  or  uncouth  rustic.         E. 


38 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


39 


was  beforehand  strongly  prepossessed  in  favour 
of  the  passage  of  my  orations,  which  you  recom-^ 
mend,  though  I  durst  not  say  so  much ;  but  now 
that  they  have  your  approbation,  their  beauties 
appear  more  truly  Attic.  I  have  added  some- 
what to  my  speech  against  Metellus ;  I  send  you 
the  book,  since  your  affection  for  me  has  given 
you  a  taste  for  oratory. 

What  can  I  entertain  you  with  besides? 

Now  that  I  think  of  it,  the  consul  JMessala  has 
bought  the  house  that  belonged  to  Autronius,  for 
four  hundred  thirty  seven  million  serteces.  What 
is  that  to  me,  will  you  say?  It  serves  only  to 
shew,  that  I  am  justified  in  my  purchase,  and  that 
men  begin  to  think,  they  may  advance  to  political 
consequence,  by  purchasing  estates  with  the  pro- 
perty of  their  friends.  That  affair  with  the  Tro- 
jan lady  goes  but  slowly  on ;  but  still  I  have 
hopes.  Do  you  perform  what  I  have  recom- 
mended to  your  care  ?  You  may  depend  upon  a 
more  unreserved  letter  from  me.  Dated  Janu- 
ary 25,  in  the  consulship  of  M.  Messala  an^ 
M.  Piso. 


./ 


EPISTLK 


EPISTLE  XIV. 

It  would  look  like  affectation  in  me,  should  I 
tell  you   how   much  business   I   have  upon  my 
bands ;  but  indeed,  I  have  so  much,  that  I  scarce 
have  time  for  writing  this  short  letter ;  and  the 
little  I  have  is  snatched  from  affairs  of  the  high- 
est consequence.     I  have  already  written  to  you 
concerning  the  character  of  Pompey's  first  ha- 
rangue.    It  gave  no  comfort  to  the  wretched,    it 
had  no  weight  with  the  wicked.     To  the  great  it 
came  without  gracefulness,  and  to  the  good  with- 
out dignity.     The  whole  of  it   therefore  was  in- 
sipid.    After  that,  Fusius,  a  very  pragmatical  tri- 
bune of  the    people,  by  the  instigation  of  the 
consul  Piso,  introduced  Pompey  to  the  assem- 
bly.   This   happened  in   the   Flaminian   circus; 
where,  on  that  day,  was  kept  a  magnificent  fair. 
He  demanded  of  him,  whether  he  was  of  opinion 
that  the  Praetor  should  choose  the  judges ;   and 
by  whose  counsel,  the  said  Praetor,  was  to   be 
directed.    This  was  meant  of  the  sacrilege   of 
Clodius,  which  had  been  appointed  to  be  tried 
by  the  senate.    Then  Poppey  spoke  in  high  terms 
of  the  nobles ;   and  in  his  answer,  took  great 
pains  to  persuade  them  how  greatly  he  valued, 
and  how  greatly  he  always  had  valued,  the  autho- 
rity of  the  senate   in  all  matters.     Afterwards, 
the  consul  IVIessala,  in  the  senate,  demanded  of 
•  Pompey 


40 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


Pompey  his  sentiments  concerning  the  sacrile*^, 
and  the  bill  which  he  had  carried  before  the  peo- 
ple. In  reply  to  this,  Pompey  expressed  his  ge- 
neral approbation  of  all  that  had  been  done  by 
that  assembly;  and,  as  he  sat  down  by  me,  he  told 
jne,  that  he  thought  he  had  given  a  satisfactory 
answer   concerning   the  matters  in  question. 

Crassus,  perceiving  that  he  prepossessed  tho 
assembly  in  his  favour,  upon  the  presumption 
that  he  approved  of  my  consulship,  stood  up  and 
spoke  of  it  in  very  magnificent  terms.  He  went 
so  far  as  to  say,  it  was  owing  to  me  that  he  was 
still  a  senator,  and  citizen  o^  Rome ;  that  he  en- 
joyed liberty;  that  he  enjoyed  life ;  that,  as  often 
as  he  beheld  his  wife,  his  family,  and  his  country, 
he  was  reminded  of  his  obligations  to  me.  In 
short,  on  that  common  topic,  the  general  delive- 
rance from  fire  and  sword,  which  in  great  variety 
pf  colours,  drawn  from  sources  known  to  you,  I 
described  in  those  orations,  of  which  you  sat  the 
supreme  judge,  he  dwelt  with  uncommon  dig- 
nity. I  was  sitting  next  to  Pompey ;  I  perceived 
that  he  w  as  greatly  agitated,  being  at  a  loss  to 
know  whether  Crassus  wanted  to  cultivate  that 
favour  which  he  had  neglected,  or  whether  my 
actions  were  really  so  glorious  as  to  deserve  un- 
sought applauses  in  the  senate,  especially  from  a 
man  who  had  so  little  reason  to  run  so  much  out 
in  my  praises,  as,  in  all  my  letters,  he  had  been 
mortified  with  tlie  compliments  I  had  paid  to  Pom- 
pey. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


4t 


pey.     This  occasion  rendered  me  extremely  inti- 
mate with  Crassus ;  and,  "whatever  might  have 
been  his  secret  feelings,  I  cheerfully  accepted  of 
Pompey,  as  if  he  really  meant,  the  civility,  which 
he  openly  expressed.     But  as  to  myself,  immor- 
tal gods  !  What  display  I  made  of  my  talents  be- 
fore  Pompey,  who  till  then  had  never  heard  me. 
Then,  if  ever,  I  exhibited  all  my  skill  in  the  har- 
mony of  my  periods,   in   the  adjustment  of  my 
sentences,   in  enforcing  and  proving  my  facts ; 
in  a  word,  I  was  accompanied  with  the  loudest 
applause.     The  subjects  of  my  eloquence  were 
the  wisdom  of  the  senatorial,  the  unanimity  of 
the  equestrian  order ;  the  tranquillity  of  Italy ; 
the    expiring    remains   of    the   conspiracy.      I 
spoke  of  corruptions  removed,  of  peace  restored. 
You  know  with  what  pomp  of  language  I  speak 
on  these  topics.     I  need  not  enlarge  upon  it 
The  shouts  which  I  excited  were  such,  as  must, 

before  this,  have  reached  your  ears'. 

As 


1  Whatever  the  eloquence  of  Cicero  was  employed  to  deli- 
neate and  enforce  on  this  occasion,  it  depicts  in  colours  equally 
clear,  the  predominant  passion  of  his  mind.  This  was  vanity, 
and  every  reader  of  moral  refinement  must  be  disgusted  with  it 
The  greatRoman  orator  betrays  a  weakness  in  this  respect,  which 
would  be  intolerable  even  in  a  schoolboy  of  the  present  day^ 
The  terms  n.^^o^o.,  Kocf^wx^,  .v0./x.fxar«,  x«r«<r«t;«.,  whicli 
he  here  uses,  are  borrowed  from  the  Grecian  schools  of  rhe- 
toric,  and  were  applied  by  the  masters  of  that  art  to  signity 


42 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


As  to  affairs  at  Rome,  they  are  as  follows.  Our 
senate  is  a  second  Areopagus ;  nothing  was  ever 
more  inflexible,  nothing  more  severe,  nothing 
more  undaunted.  For  when  the  day  came  for 
passing  the  bill,  laid  before  the  people  by  the  se- 
nate's orders,  all  your  upstart  youths,  the  whole 
clan  of  Catiline,  with  the  effeminate  son  of  Cu- 
rio at  their  head,  flocked  together,  and  applied 
to  the  people  to  throw  out  the  bill,  while  Piso, 
the  consul,  who  had  brought  it  up,  now  opposed 
it  The  life-guards  of  Clodius  took  their  post 
upon  the  bridges,  over  which  the  people  of  each 
tribe  were  to  pass  to  give  their  suffrages,  and  the 
balls  were  so  distributed,  that  not  one  returned 
with  an  affirmative  vote. 

Here  Cato  flew  up  into  the  rostrum,  and  made 
an  invective,  wonderfully  strong  against  Piso  the 
consul ;  if  that  speech  can  be  called  an   invec-  ' 

tive, 

rounded  periods,  members  of  sentences,  adjusted  with  ease  and 
barmony,  arguments  logically  constructed,  and  assertions  cor- 
roborated by  proofs.  Emrtc'jrt^tva-aiJiyiVf  which  Cicero  here  uses, 
was,  with  propriety,  applied  to  those  orators,  who  made  a 
vain  and  ostentatious  boast  of  their  own  eloquence,  and  chal- 
lenged others  to  dispute  with  them  on  any  subject.  St.  Paul 
reminds  the  converts  at  Corinth,  that  Christian  charity  vaunts 
tth  not  Uselfj  ov  Tri^ire^vjtTxty  and  he  appears  to  refer  to  the  same 
vain  spirit  which  some,  in  affecting  the  gift  of  tongues j  im- 
ported from  the  Grecian  school  into  the  Christian  church.  It 
was  usual  with  the  Greek  and  Roman  orators  to  challenge 
others  to  dispute  with  them  on  any  subject.  To  the  folly  ancl 
vanity  of  this  practice,  Paul  alludes  in  1  Cor,  i.  20. — E. 


k , 


TO  ATTICUS. 


43 


tlve,  which  was  full  of  energy,  full  of  dignity, 
and  M\  of  patriotism.      He  was   seconded  by 
our  friend  Hortensius,  and  many  other  great  men ; 
Favonius  distinguished  himself  by  his  zeal  be- 
yond all  others.     By  this  assembly  of  nobles,  .the 
people  were  dissolved,  and  the  senate  was  called. 
It  was  then  decreed,  in  a  full  house,  to   address 
the  people  to  pass  the  bill,  though  Piso  opposed 
it,  and  Clodius  prostrated  himself  before  each 
of  the  senators.     About  fifteen   senators   sided 
with  Curio  in  opposing  this  resolution  of  the  se- 
nate, against  four  hundred,  at  least,  who  voted 
for  it.     The  resolution  was  agreed  to,  and  then 
the  tribune  Fusius  gave  up  the  point.     The  next 
recourse  of  Clodius  was  to  harangue  the  people 
in  a  pitiful  strain,  in  which  he  loaded  with  re- 
proaches, Lucullus,  Hortensius,  Caius  Piso,  and 
the  consul  Messala.     As  to  me  he  only  accused 
me  with  the  old  saying,   "  that  I  had  discovered 
<2very  thing\"    The  senate  has  come  to  a  resolu- 
tion, 


*  This  was  an  expression  very  often  in  the  mouth  of  Cicero, 
when  Catiline's  conspiracy  was  found  out.  He  appears  to  have 
made  use  of  it  in  a  pretty  arbitrary  manner,  when  he  was 
galled  upon  to  produce  evidence  against  the  conspirators. 
When  the  heat  of  the  time  was  over,  and  when  the  peoplis  of 
Rome  began  to  reflect  that  the  best  blood  of  Rome  had  been 
shed  without  law  5  the  enemies  of  Cicero  succeeded  in  per- 
suading them,  that  it  had  been  shed  against  evidence  likewise. 
Thus  the  expression  ("se  comperisse  omniaj  became  odious, 
?ind  at  last  operated  to  hia  ruin. 


44 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


tion,  that  nothing  should  be  transacted  concern- 
ing the  provinces  of  the  Praetors,  the  appointing 
ambassadors,  or  any  other  business,  before  the 
bill  shall  be  passed. 

So  much  for  the  affairs  of  Rome.  But  yet 
there  is  one  thing  I  must  tell  you,  which  is 
fallen  out  beyond  my  hopes,  ilessala  is  an  ex- 
cellent, brave,  determined,  active  consul  He 
praises,  loves,  and  even  imitates  me.  As  for 
Piso,  he  is  so  ill  disposed,  I  mean,  that  he  is  so  in- 
dolent, drowsy,  unexperienced,  so  very  unfit  for 
business,  and  so  perverse '  in  his  disposition,  that 
he  conceived  a  hatred  for  Pompey,  after  hearing 
the  speech  he  made  in  praise  of  the  senate.  It 
is  therefore  surprising  to  what  a  degree  he  is 
hated  by  all  men  of  virtue.  Nor  indeed  is  this 
more  the  effect  of  his  friendship  for  Clodius, 
than  his  natural  propensity  towards  desperate 
men  and  measures.  He  has  not  his  equal 
amongst  all  the  magistrates.  Our  tribunes  are 
all  men  of  worth,  excepting  Fusius.  As  to  Cor- 
nutus,  he  imitates  the  manners  without  the  inte- 
grity of  Cato. 

Need  I  add  any  more  ?  As  to  my  private  af- 
fairs, the  Trojan  lady  has  been  as  good  as  her 
word.  Be  good  enough  to  execute  the  commis- 
sions 


*  KA;^rx'nn  is  a  medical  term^  and  signifies  a  vicious  or  un- 
sound  habit  of  body ;  hence  metaphorically  applied  to  the  mind^ 
it  denotes  an  inclination  to  evil,        £. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


45 


sions  I  sent  you.  My  brother  Quintus,  who  has 
bought  the  other  part  of  the  Argiletan  buildings 
for  seven  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  ser- 
teces^,  wants  to  sell  his  estate  atTusculum,  that, 
if  possible,  he  may  purchase  the  house  belonging 
to  Pacilius.  You  must  b«  friends  with  Lucceius. 
I  see  the  poor  man  is  distressed  about  it.  I  will  do 
all  I  can  to  bring  it  about.  Do  you,  my  friend, 
inform  me  with  the  first  opportunity  of  what  you 
are  doing,  where  you  are,  and  how  your  business 
goes  on.     February  IStli. 

EPISTLE  XV. 

Jl  ou  have  heard  that  my  dearest  brother  Quin* 
tus  has  obtained  the  government  of  Asia  ;  for  I 
make  no  doubt  that  this  report  has  reached  you, 
sooner  than  any  of  my  letters  can.  Since  I  am 
passionately  fond  of  praise,  and,  as  I  am  allowed 
to  be,  attached  to  the  Greeks,  though  indeed,  in 
attempting  to  promote  the  interests  of  the  re- 
public, I  have  incurred  the  prejudice  and  enmity 
of  many  of  that  nation,  yet  be  not  discouraged 
by  that  circumstance,  but  use  all  your  influ- 
ence to  procure  me  the  tribute  of  universal 
praised    I  will  write  more  fully  upon  this  subject 

to 


About  3400/.  of  our  money. 
•  Though  Cicero  was,  on  account  of  their  fine  writings,  an 
admirer  of  the  Greeks,  yet  he  wa»  one  of  those  who  sought  to 

conquer 


46 


CICERO'S  EPISTLE^ 


TO  ATTICUa 


47 


to  you  in  a  letter  which  I  will  give  to  Qiiintu^ 
himself.  I  beg  you  will  let  me  know  what  you 
have  been  doing  concerning  my  commissions,  as 
well  as  concerning  your  own  business ;  for  I  have 
had  no  letters  from  you  ever  since  you  went  to 
Brundusium.  I  long  very  much  to  hear  how  it 
is  with  you. 

EPISTLE  XV/ 

JL  ov  ask  of  me  what  happened  in  the  judicial 
proceedings,  which  fell  out  so  contrary  to  the 
opinion  of  the  public ;  and  you  want  to  know,  at 
the  same  time,  how  it  happened  that  I  was  en- 
gaged in  fewer  skirmishes  than  ordinary.  I  an- 
swer, and,  like  Homer,  relate  last  what  ought  to 
be  related  first.  As  to  my  own  part,  as  long  as  I 
was  defending  the  authority  of  the  senate,  I 
fought  with  so  much  keenness  and  courage,  that 
the  applause  I  met  with  rose  even  to  noise  and 
tumult.     Give  me  leave  to  say,   that  if  you  ever 

thought 


thought  me  brave  in  the  cause  of  my  country, 
you  must 'have  admired  me  upon  that  occasion. 
For  when  Clodius  had  recourse  to  his  popular 
assemblies,  and  there,  made  a  wicked  use  of  my 
name,  immortal  S'ods !  What  encounters  did  I 
sustain !  What  a  slaughter  did  I  make  !  With 
what  fury  did  I  charge  Piso,  Curio,  and  that 
whole  band  !  How  warmly  did  I  enveigh  against 
the  corruption  of  the  old,  and  the  intemperance 
of  the  young  ?  Often,  indeed,  did  I  wish  for  you, 
not  only  as  the  director  of  my  conduct,  but  as 
the  spectator  of  my  conquests. 

Indeed,  after  Ilortensius  had  planned  the  ex- 
pedient that  the  tribune  Fusius^  should  pass  the 
law  concerning  sacrilege,  which  differed  in  no- 
thins  from  the  consular  bill,  but  in  the  nature  of 
the  judges,  (though  that  indeed  was  every  thing) 
and  had  earnestly  contended  for  that  measure ; 
and  after  he  had  persuaded  both  himself  and 
others,  that  no  set  of  judges  could  be  found  who 
would  acquit  Clodius ;  I  then  lowered  my  sails, 
perceiving  the  absence  of  unbiassed  juds^es;  nor 

did 


conquer  that  country,  and  to  hold  it  in  subjection  to  his  own. 
This  circumstance  could  not  fail  to  call  forth  the  animosities  of 
the  Greeks  in  general  against  him,  and  he  solicits  his  friend  At- 
ticus,  now  in  Greece,  to  use  his  influence  in  removing  this  pre- 
judice. The  words  Uccfroins  a^tr^s  iJiifxm7Xfo  \\  ith  which  he 
addresses  him,  are  those  which  Achilles  addressed  to  Hector, 
vid.  II.  XX.  268.  The  ^hole  passage  is  rather  ambiguous,  and 
the  translator  has  certainly  mistaken  lU  real  meaning. — ^£. 


*  Hortensius  and  the  senatorial  party  were  plainly  imposed 
upon  in  tliis  measure.  For  under  colour  of  compromising  mat- 
ters between  the  people  and  the  senate,  he  obtained,  what  we 
call  in  England,  a  common  jury  -,  whereas  had  the  appoint- 
ment of  the  trial  remained  with  the  senate,  he  must  have  been 
tried  by  a  special  juiy,  that  is,  by  persons  properly  qualified 
to  sit  upon  an  affair  of  so  great,  moment,  and  named  by  the 
Praetor. 


48 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


did  I  give  any  thing  in  evidence  but  what  was  so 
notorious,  and  so  well  known,  that  I  could  not 
pass  it  over\ 

In  regard,  therefore,  to  your  first  question,  if 
you  ask  what  were  the  grounds  of  the  acquittal, 
I  answer  the  meanness  and  the  prostitution  of 
the  judges,  and  this  was  entirely  owing  to  the 
conduct  of  Hortensius.  He  was  afraid  lest  Fu- 
gius  should  give  a  negative  to  the  law,  which  had 
been  voted  by  the  senate,  without  foreseeing  that 
it  was  much  better  for  Clodius  to  be  left  to  in- 
famy and  pollution,  than  to  be  tried  at  so  scanda- 
lous a  tribunal.  But  his  hatred  hurried  him  on  to 
bring  the  thing  to  a  trial,  sflying  at  the  same  time, 
that  it  required  no  other  than  a  sword  of  lead  to 
cut  the  throat  of  Clodius, 

But  if  you  ask  me  what  this  judgment  was, 
%hich  had  so  wonderful  an  effect  ?  I  answer,  that 
others  blame  the  conduct  of  Hortensius  from  the 
event ;  but  I  blame  it  from  the  beginning.  For 
as  the  bill  was  thrown  out  with  the  loudest  cla- 
mours, while  the  accuser,  like  an  upright  censor, 
challenged  the  corrupted  judges,  the  accused,  like 
a  merciful  keeper  of  gladiators  ^  set  aside  the 

most 


1  Clodius  wanted  to  prove  himself  to  have  been  irt  Interanana, 
which  U  about  forty  miles  frotn  Ronie,  at  the  time  when  he 
w^  accused  of  sacrilege.  But  Cicero  swore  that  he  had  spoken 
with  him  at  Rome  but  three  hours  before  the  sacrifice.. 

-  The  gl;Miiators  were  the   property  of  their  masters^  who 

hired 


■tfWita 


TO  ATticua 


49 


most  valuable  of  the  company.  Ai  soon  as  tk^ 
judges  were  seated,  ail  men  of  virtue  became  ex- 
tremely doubtful  of  the  event.  Never  vim  them 
seen  round  a  gaming  table,  so  sc^ndalousiiato  as- 
seojWy  of  tattereii  senators,  and  indigent  knights 
or  tribunes,  who  looked  rather  lifcef  ib^aakruptl^ 
than  bankers'.  Some  men  of  worthj,,  Ind^d  were 
amongst  them,  whom  Clodius  could  Hot  exclude 
by  his  exceptions,  and  those  sat  with  a  melan- 
choly dejected  air,  amongst  men  who  were  aa 
unlike  themselves;  and  seemed  as  if  they  were 
violently  apprehensive  of  catching  the  contagion 
of  corruption  from  the  others*  .  ja^ 

There  was  an  incredible  strictness,  on  thek 
first  entermg  upon  business^  as  to  every  thing  timt 

came 

hired  them  out  to  those  who  exliibitecf  gladtat6rial  shoK^^^/'jIift 
as  they  were  often  cut  to  pieces  on  those  occasion*,  the  mastet^ 
generally  hired  out  the  most  wwtlijess,  and  reserved  the  mosi^ 
useful  to  themselves;  and  in  this  consists  the  propriety  4)1 
Cicero's  allusion.  , . 

•^^  Cicero  here  mentions  the  three  ord^rt  iif  wHich  Ae  cDtrit 
was  cdmposed>  viz.  the  Senatores,  the  Equites,  and  the  Trf^ 
buni  aerarii,  which  last  were  a  kind  of  bankers  or  trustees  iQt!._ 
the  public  money,  and  were  no  other  than  the  richer  sort  of 
citizens,  who  neither  were  noblemen  nor  knights.  The  com- 
mon reading  of  the  original  in  this  passage  is,  Tribuni  non  tarn 
€prati  quamy  ut  appellantur  cerarii.  But  I  think  the- sense  it 
more  clear,  when  we  read  with  other  copies,  Trihuni  non  tdni 
tjeraiii  quam  ut  appellantur  cerati,  and  Cicero's  jingle,  as  I 
have  translated  it,  answers  exactly  in  our  language. 

Vol.  I.  E 


50 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


came  under  their  deliberation,  and,  in  this,  th^y 
were  unanimous;  no  indulgence  was  shewn  to 
the  accused,  the  accuser  obtained  more  than  he 
asked  for.  You  will  easily  believe  that  Horten- 
shis  was  now  not  a  little  vain  of  his  foresight. 
There  was  not  a  man  who  saw  Clodius  standing 
at  the  bar,  but  looked  upon  him  as  a  thousand 
times  condemned.  But  when  I  came  to  give  my 
evidence,  I  dare  to  say,  you  have  already  heard 
from  the  clamours  of  the  friends  of  Clodius,  how 
the  judges  rose  and  surrounded  me,  how  cheer- 
fully did  they  seem  to  offer  to  Clodius  their  own 
lives,  as  pledges  of  my  safety.  I  considered 
this  as  a  circumstance  more  honourable  for  me, 
than  that  which  happened  to  Xenocrates,  when 
your  Athenian  citizens  admitted  his  evidence 
without  suffering  him  to  be  upon  oath,  or  to 
Metellus  Numidicus,  when  our  judges  refused  to 
inspect  his  books  of  accounts,  after  they  were 
presented  to  them  in  the  course  of  his  trial. 
The  honour  done  me,  I  repeat,  was  greater  than 
all  that  Clodius  therefore  was  daunted  by  the 
expressions  of  the  judges,  when  they  defended 
me,  as  they  would  have  done  the  well-being  of 
their  country,  and  at  the  same  time  his  advocates 
were  dejected.  Next  day,  the  same  crowd  re- 
sorted to  my  house,  which  had  attended  me,  when 
I  returned  home,  at  the  expiration  of  my  consul- 

Our 


^O  AtTICUS. 


51 


I 


bur  upright  judges  called  out,  that  they 
^ould  not  assemble  unless  a  guard  was  ap- 
pointed them.  This  matter  was  debated,  and  only 
one  member  was  found,  who  did  riot  desire  the 
guard.  The  thing  was  then  carried  before  the 
senate,  where  it  was  grarlted  in  a  ttiost  formal, 
honourable  manner;  the  judges  were  com^ 
mendedj  the  providing  the  guard  was  committed 
to  the  magistrates;  nor  was  there  a  man  found 
who  imagined  that  Clodius  would  stand  his  trial. 

Nmv  sdy  my  musfe,  how  this  first  fit  e  began^, 

fo  speak  in  the  language  of  Homer.  You  krio\^ 
hiy  bald  panegyrist',  whose  oration  in  my 
praise,  I  mentioned  to  you  in  a  former  letter, 
I  liieati  the  purchaser  of  pi'oscribed  estate^. 
In  two  days  time,  by  m^ans  of  a  slave,  a  slave 
too  taken  out  of  a  fehcihg-school,  he  finished 
the  whole  affair.  He  called  the  judges  to  him, 
he  promised,  he  persuaded,  he  bribed  them* 
Nay,  (good  God !  what  an  age  do  we  live   in) 

soogi? 


*  Orig.  Nasti  calvum,  ex  Nanejanis  ilium,  ilium  laudatyrem 
meum.  The  Naiiejii  were  a  set  of  men,  who  had  been  pro- 
scribed by  Sy  11a,  andCrassus  (who  is  here  spoken  of,)  h^<i 
amassed  vast  riche^>  by  pUrqhasing  their  estate*  ijt  a  low  iiatf . 


wtt 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


some  of  the  judges,  besides  their  wages  of  cor- 
ruption, were  proiaised  to  spend  some  nights  with 
certain  ladies,  and  favours  from  certain  young 
men  of  quality.  This  occasioned  the  upright 
judges  to  retire,  and  the  forum  to  be  filled  with 
slaves.  Twenty-five  of  the  judges,  however, 
were  so  deternuned,  while  tliey  were  threatened 
with  the  greatest  dangers,  that  they  chose  to  pe- 
rish themselves,  rather  than  see  their  country 
undone.  But  thirty-one  of  them  obeyed  the  calls 
of  hunger,  rather  than  of  honour.  Catulus, 
seeing  one  of  them,  asked  him,  *'  To  what  pur- 
pose, did  you  demand  a  guard  from  us  ?  Was 
you  afraid  to  be  robbed  of  the  money  that  bribed 
you  ?"  Thus  have  I  given  you  a  brief  account 
of  the  trial,  and  the  cause  of  the  acquittal. 

Your  next  question  is  concerning  the  state  of 
the  republic  in  general,  and  my  situation  in  par- 
ticular. Know  then,  that  the  government, 
which  you  thought  to  have  been  re-established 
by  my  wisdom,  while  I  ascribed  its  re-establish- 
ment to  the  providence  of  the  gods,  tftat  govern- 
ment, which,  by  the  concurrence  of  the  virtu- 
ous, and  by  the  authority  of  my  consulship, 
seemed  to  be  fixed  upon  a  sure  foundation,  un- 
less, indeed,  some  deity  shall  interpose  in  our 
favour,  is  snatched  from  our  hands  \  by  this  sin- 

/  gle 


1  Elapsum  scito  esse  de  manilms.    The  commentators  have 

here 


TO  ATTICUS. 


53 


gle  trial,  if  that  can  be  called  a  trial,  which  was 
the  verdict  of  thirty  profligate,    prostitute,   and 
■corrupted  Romans,  in  violation  of  all  law,  human 
and  divine;    for  Talna,  Plautus,   and  Spongia, 
and  other  similar  insignificant  wretches,  decreed 
that  not  to  be  a  fact,  which  was  known  to  be  a  fact> 
not  only  to  men,  but  even  to  brutes  themselves,  i 
But  after  all,  (to  give  you   some  consolation 
concerning  our  country)    the  triumphs  of   the 
wicked  in  their  victory  are  not  so  unclouded  as 
their   friends  hoped.      For,    after    having   thus 
wounded  the  commonwealth,  they  thought,  no 
doubt,  upon  the  downfal  of  religion,  of  modesty, 
of  public  justice,  and  senatorial  authority,  that 
prostitution    and    licentiousness    would    trium- 
phantly demand  severe  vengeance  from    every 
man  of  virtue,  for  the  pains  and  penalties  which 
the  severity  of  my  consulship  inflicted  upon  every 
profligate  Roman.     I  am  the  man  (for  I  do  not 
think  that  I  am  insolently  boastful  when  I  speak 
to  you  concerning  myself,   especially  in  a  letter 
which  1  would  read  to  no  other  person)  I,  let  me 
repeat  it,  am  the  very  man  who  have  re-animated 
the  good  among  my  dejected  countrymen,  con- 
firming 


here  let  a  most  beautiful  allusion  pass  unobserved.  The  great 
diversion  in  the  Roman  farces,  which  were  in  dumb  show, 
consisted  in  the  fellow  who  acted  Harlequin,  slipping  out  of 
the  hands  of  his  keepers  or  pursuers.  It  is  to  this  Cicero 
jdludes,  and  I  have  translated  it  accordingly. 


M 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


firming  their  hopes,   and  dispelling  their  feara. 
By  pursuing  and  harrassing  those  venal  judges,  I 
have  even  so  far   succeeded,  as  to  leave  their 
friends  and  followers  no  cause  to  boast  of  their 
infamous  victory.      Never  have  I    suffered  the 
consul  Piso  to  succeed  in  any  one  thing.     After 
being  in  a  manner  united  tp  the  government  of 
Syria,  I  have  separated  him  from  it     I  have  re- 
called the  senate  to  its  former  vigour,   and  raised 
it  from  its  dejection;  I  have  humbled  .Clodius 
when  he  appeared  in  the  house,  not  only  with  a 
long  and   elaborate  speech,  which  was  full  of 
energy,    and    in    which    I    personally  addres- 
sed myself  to  him,  and   censured  his  conduct; 
and  of  which  I  shall  only  give  you  a  specimen ; 
for  the  whole  of  it  has  neither  force  nor  beauty, 
when    that   fire,  which  glowed  in  it,   is   extin- 
guished, and  which  you  Greeks  call  action.        | 

For  when  we  met  in  the  senate-house,  upon 
the  15th  of  May,  when  I  came  to  give  my  opi- 
nion, I  enlarged  upon  the  supreme  authority  of 
government,  and  I  was  led  by  diyiae  inspiration, 
to  this  subject;  *'  That  the  conscript  fathers 
f*  should  neither  die  a\yay,  nor  drpop  upon  tlie 
"  commonwealth's  receiving  one  blow ;  that  her 
f  *  wound  was  of  such  a  nature,  as  ought  to  be 
neither  disguised  nor  dreaded,  lest  we  incur 
the  censure  of  indolence  from  our  cowardice, 
f '  or  of  folly  from  our  ignorance ;  That  Len- 
t^  tulus  was  twice,  that  Catiline  was  twice  ac- 

*^  quitted  i 


it 


€i 


TO  ATTICUS. 


55 


tt 


a 


quitted;  that  this  was  the  third  plague  that 
"  had  been  let  loose  by  the  courts  of  justice 
«  upon  the  commonwealth.     Clodius,  contmued 
"  I  YOU  are  mistaken,  you  are  reserved  by  your 
"  iudses,  not  for  this  city,  but  for  its  prison. 
"  Their  intention  was  not  to  continue  you  in  the 
«'  state  but  to  bar  you  from  banishment.  There- 
fore '  conscript  fathers,  resume  your  courage, 
retain  your  dignity.     The  good  are  still   una- 
i-  nimous  in  the  cause  of  our  country.     Sorrow 
"  has  indeed  happened  to  the  virtuous,  but  their 
»  virtue  is  still  the  same;  no  new  mischief  has 
«  been  committed,  that  which  existed  before  is 
''  discovered.     In  the  trial  of  one  profligate  per- 
«'  son,  many  others  have  been  found  to  be  as 
"  criminal  as  himself,"  ,       ,    ,       . 

But,  what  am  I  doing  ?  I  have  enclosed  almost 
an  oration  in  my  letter;  I  return  to  the  liti- 
gation I  had  with  Clodius.  The  efFemmate 
youth*  rises  and  replies;  "when  supposed  to 
'^  commit 


4C 


.  Meaning  Clodius,  who  was  very  handsome.  ^^^^  h,s  s^ 
name  happened  to  be  Pulcher.  I  own  myself  not  to  be  ex- 
ceTvely  fondof  the  wit  that  follow,  here :  but  .t.s  proper  the 
SeT  should  know  that  Arpinum.  the  native  country  of  C.ce^. 
wasrLLh.  mountainous,  and  remarkable  for  it>  ~bust  .nha- 
ZZ^  tLat  the  Baj»  was  the  finest  place  in  Italy,  and  conse- 
Sut  W  the  resort  of  all  the  gay  and  the  wanton  of  N>th  sexe. 
St  Cicero  imagined  that  Clodia.  th.  sister  of  Clodms  upon 
Sse  interest  cTodius  chiefly  depended,  wanted,  upon  a  Ume^ 


m 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


commit  the  imputed  crime  I  was  at  Bajae."  Thai 
is  false,  but  what  if  I  was  ?  Is  that  like  going  in 
disguise  to  forbidden  mysteries.  What,  cried  he, 
has  a  plain  man  of  Arpinum  to  do  with  warm 
baths  ?  That,  answered  I,  I  refer  to  the  person 
who  keeps  yo\i\  and  who  longed  for  the  water 
of  Arpinum.  As  for  you,  you  can  take  up  with 
salt  provisions.  Shall  we  always  suffer,  said  he, 
this  king  to  have  his  will  ?  Why  do  you  mention 
the  king's  wilP  I  rejoined  ?  I  assure  you  he  has 
not  put  you  into  it  as  yet ;  alluding  to  his  expect- 
ing  the  estate  of  his  brother-in-law  Quintus 
Martius  Rex.  You  have  bought  a  housed  have 
not  you,  continues  he?  Yes;  but  you  have  bought 
judges,  answered  I.  They  would  not  trust  you 
upon  your  oath,  said  he.     Twenty-five  out  of 

twenty 


to  have  married  him,  and  that  Clodius  himself,  having  been 
formerly  taken  by  the  Pyrates  was  thought  to  have  purchased 
hts  release  at  an  infamous  rate.  There  is,  besides,  in  this  pas- 
sage, an  allusion,  which  is  not  quite  decent  to  explain.  We 
can,  however,  collect  from  it  the  great  regard  which  was  still 
paid,  even  in  that  degeneaated  state  of  the  Roman  republic,  to 
the  severity  of  manners. 

1  Meaning  his  sister  Chdia.  The  original  is  Narra  patrono 
iuo, 

*  I  think  I  have  not  been  unhappy  hi  translating  this  passage, 
though  the  wit  of  it  is  founded  upon  a  miserable  pun,  the  name 
of  one  Rex,  from  whom  Clodius  expected  a  legacy. 

*  Cicero  had  bought  a  magnificent  palace  at  so  extravagant  a 
rate,  and  attended  with  such  circumstances,  as  tailed  many  dis- 
advantageous suspicions  of  his  integrity. 


"^^    JtO  ATTICUS. 


57 


twenty-six,  replied  I,  trusted  me,   but  the  other 

thirty  one,    because  they  would  not   trust  you, 

took  their  money  beforehand.      Upon  this  the 

laugh  was  so  loud,  and  went  so  much  against 

him,  that  he  sat  down  stupid  and  silent 

As  to  my  sitxiation,  it  is  as  follows.     1  stand 

the  same  as  you  left  me,  with  all  men  of  virtue, 

b«t  much  better  with  the  scum  and  dregs  of  the 

city.     For  it  has  done  me  no.hurt,  that  they'  saw 

my  evidence  was  not  regarded.    This  was  but  the 

sting  of  envy,  which  inflicted  no  pain,    because 

the  abettors  of  that  wicked  affair  confessed  the 

plain  truth,  that  the  acquittal  was  obtained  by  the 

force  of  money.     Add  to  this,  that  the  same 

-wretched,    hungry  mob,    that  loquacious  leech 

of  the  public  treasure,   thinks  that  I  am  the  sole 

favourite  with  our  great  man  ^,  and  the  truth  is, 

we  are  united  together  in  a  general  and  joyous 

friendship,  insomuch  that  our  eiFeminate  youths, 

our  accomplices    in    the  conspiracy,    call   him 

in    their  speeches  Cneius*  Cicero,    so  that  I 

carry  away,  at  the  public  diversions  and  shows 

of  gladiators,  loud  acclamations  without  one  hiss 

mingling  in  the  applause  ^ 

We 


^  Ong.  Ah  hoc  magno.  Meaning  Pompey,  who  by  this  time, 
began  to  be  called  Pompeius  Magnus,  Pompey  the  Great. 

^  Cneius  was  one  of  Pompey' 3  names. 

'  Orig.  ifri<TV)iJi.x(Ti»s  fplausus)  sine  ullapastoricia  fistula  oa- 
ferehamus.  The  pastoricia fistula  seem  to  have  answered  to 
our  cat-call  in  the  playhouses. 


58 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICU& 


59 


We  now  expect  the  meeting  for  the  election  of 
the  consuls,  into  which,  to  the  disgust  of  every 
body,  our  great  man  thrusts  the  son  of  Aulas  * ; 
but  he  fights  for  him,  armed,  neither  with  power 
nor  interest,  but,  with  those  weapons  with  which 
Philip  said  he  could  storm  all  the  forts  of  the 
world,  which  had  doors  wide  enough  to  admit 
into  them  an  ass  loaded  with  gold.  But  our  con- 
suP,  who  resembles  a  wretched  mimic,  is  said  to 
have  undertaken  the  afiair,  and  to  have  the  mo- 
ney agents  at  his  house ;  but  this  I  do  not  be- 
lieve. Two  decrees  of  the  senate  however,  that 
are  now  made,  give  great  disgust,  because  they 
are  thought  to  be  levelled  against  the  consul,  and 
the  motion  came  from  Cato  and  Domitius.  The 
one  is,  that  even  the  families  of  magistrates  may 
be  examined ;  the  other  is  declaring  them  ene- 
mies to  their  country,  who  entertain  money- 
agents  in  their  houses. 

Lurco,  the  tribune  of  the  people,  who  under- 
took his  magistracy  in  conformity  with  the  ^lian 
law,  is  released  from  the  restrictions  of  the  iElian 

and 


*  This  was  Afranius  whom  Cicero,  by  way  of  contempt,  de-* 
signates  from  his  father's  name,  who  was  a  very  obscure  person. 
Pompcy  however,  (whose  creature  Afranius  was)  wanted  to 
make  Afranius  consul,  that  he  might  procure  a  confirmatiqa 
of  all  he  had  done  during  his  commands  in  the  eastern  coun«» 
tries,  which  he  had  not  been  yet  able  to  obtain. 

*  Meaning  Piso,  who  had  a  very  laughter  ^raising  aspect. 


I 


^nd  the  Fusian  laws\  that  he  may  carry  through 
the  law  concerning  candidates  for  public  offices ; 
which,  though  a  cripple ^  he  has  promulgated 
with  favourable  auspices,  Thus  the  election,  for 
consuls  is  put  off  till  the  27tb  of  July,  There  is 
somewhat  peculiar  in  this  law,  in  its  not  pro- 
nouncing it  penal  for  a  candidate  to  promise 
money  to  a  tribe,  provided  he  does  not  actually 
give  it ;  but  it  is  penal  if,  during  his  life,  he  shall 
pay  every  tribe  an  annuity  of  three  thousand  ser- 
teces.  I  have  observed  that  P.  Clodius  has,  be- 
fore now,   kept  this  law,  by  promising   money 

which  he  never  paid. 

But, 


1  The  two  laws  mentioned  here,  had  been  in  force  for  al- 
most a  hundred  years.  The  ^lian  law  prescribed  such  a  num- 
berof  formalities  to  be  observed,  when  any  thing  came  before 
the  people,  as  made  it  next  to  impossible  to  observe  them,  and 
the  smallest  omission  was  sufficient  to  defeat  any  proposition. 
The  Fusian  law  enacted,  that  no  business  should  come  before 
the  people  on  certain  days.  As  the  senate  therefore  was  very 
earnest  for  this  law,  proposed  by  Lurco,  and  as  it  could  not 
pass  in  time,  if  every  thing  prescribed  by  the  iElian  and  Fusian 
Jaw  was  strictly  observed,  both  those  laws  were,  in  this  case, 
dispensed  with  by  a  decree  of  the  senate,  though  that  de- 
cree,  strictly,  ought  to  have  been  confirmed  by  the  people. 
Cicero,  very  wisely,  foresaw  the  bad  consequences  of  this  dis- 
pensation. 

2  There  is  an  allusion  here  that  cannot  be  well  expressed  in 
English,  but  it  may  be  explained  by  observing,  that  Lurco  wa^ 
Jame,  and  thp  Romans  thought  it  a  very  bad  omen  for  any  pub. 
Jic  affair  to  be  managed  by  a  lame  person^ 


/t" 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


But,  do  not  you  perceive,  my  friend,  that  my 
consulate,  which  Curio  used  to  say  was  exalted 
to  divinity,  will  become  no  better  than  a  farce\ 
if  a  man  so  mean  shall  be  made  consul  ?  One 
therefore  had  better  act  the  philosopher  like  you, 
-and  abandon  with  contempt,  the  most  honour- 
able offices. 

.  As  to  what  you  wrote  me,  that  you  are  resol- 
ved not  to  go  to  Asia,  for  my  part,  I  rather  wish 
that  you  should  go,  but  I  am  afraid  that  you  can- 
not conveniently  with  my  affairs.  Yet  I  cannot 
blame  your  resolution,  especially  as  I  have  not, 
myself,  gone  to  my  province.  I  am  satisfied  with 
the  inscriptions  which  you  have  placed,  in  com- 
pliment to  me,  upon  your  Amaltheum ;  especially 
as  Chilius^  has  left  us,  and  x\rchias  has  written 
nothing  concerning  me,  and  I  am  afraid,  that  as 
he  has  composed  a  Greek  poem  for  the  LucuUi, 
he  has  set  about  a  Ca&cilian  composition.  I  pre- 
sented your  compliments  and  thanks  to  Antonius, 
and  I  save  that  letter  to  Manlius.  I  have  hi- 
therto  written  to  you  the  more  seldom,  because 
I  was  both  at  a  loss  for  a  proper  conveyance, 

and 


^  Orig.  Ad  CcBcilianamfalulam  spectat.  There  is  here  a 
play  of  words  which  cannot  be  expressed  in  English,  arising 
from  Caecilius  being  the  name  of  the  family  of  Metellus,  and 
that  of  a  famous  comic  poet. 

'  Chilius  and  Archias  were  two  Greek  poets,  and  friends  of 
Cicero. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


61 


-it 


and  for  matter  to  write.     Farewel,  I  have  done 
you  justice. 

I  shall  undertake  whatever  Cincius  may  dele- 
gate to  me  concerning  your  affair  ;  but  he  is  at 
present  more  employed  in  his  own  business,  in 
which  I  am  not  wanting  to  serve  him.  If  you 
continue  fixed  to  any  one  residence,  you  may  ex- 
pect to  hear  from  me  frequently,  but  let  me  hear 
likewise  often  from  you.  Acquaint  me  with  the 
situation  and  beauty  of  your  country-seat;  and 
if  you  possess  any  prose  or  poetry  written  in  com- 
mendation of  Amaltheum,  let  me  have  it  I  am 
pleased  with  the  thoughts  of  erecting  one  upon 
Arpinum,  I  will  send  you  some  of  my  composi- 
tions in  return ,  but  I  have  at  present  nothing 
that  is  finished. 


EPISTLE  XVII. 


JL  HE  great  fluctuation  and  inconstancy  to  which 
the  taste,  the  opinion,  and  the  sentiments  of  my 
brother  Quintus  are  exposed,  I  have  learnt  from 
your  letters,  in  which  copies  of  his  have  been 
ti'ansmitted  to  me.  This  gives  me  trouble  and 
concern  proportioned  to  the  great  affection  which 
I  retain  for  you  both ;  nor  do  I  less  wonder, 
what  incident  has  given  my  brother  Quintus  such 
disgust  and  such  a  change  of  sentiments.     But, 

indeed,. 


<f« 


CICERO'S  Ef^ISTLES 


indeed,  I  have  perceived,  for  some  time,  thS 
same  thing  that  I  saw  you  suspected  before  his 
departure,  that  somewhat  lay  uneasy  upon  hi» 
spirits,  that  somewhat  hurt  his  mind,  and  thai 
some  dark  suspicions  were  brooding  within  him. 
I  had,  for  a  great  while  before,  Oft^n  endeavoured 
to  cure  him  of  this,  and  I  redoubled  my  endea- 
vours after  the  provinces  were  allotted,  but  I 
neither  understood  his  disgust  to  be  so  grealt  a» 
your  letters  express,  nor  did  I  make  the  progress  I 
could  have  wished  for.  I  comforted  myself,  how- 
ever, with  the  thoughts  that  he  would  certainly  see 
you  at  Dyrrachium,  or  some  of  the  neighbouring 
places ;  w  hen  that  happened,  I  trusted  and  per- 
suaded myself,  that  every  thing  would  be  settled 
between  you,  not  only  after  you  had  talked  and 
disputed  with  one  another,  but  even  at  your  first 
sight  and  meeting.  It  does  not  signify  for  me  to 
set  forth  to  you,  who  know  those  things  so  w  ell, 
how  gentle,  how  sprightly,  my  brother  Quintus 
is,  how  susceptible  of  disgust,  and  how  flexible 
in  shaking  it  off.  But  it  has  unfortunately  hap- 
pened that  I  have  nowhere  seen  him.  Thus, 
the  artful  insinuations  of  some  people  have  pro- 
ved too  strong  for  the  ties,  the  friendship,  and 
the  former  affection  (which  ought  to  be  very 
powerful)  that  subsisted  between  you.  But,  in- 
deed, I  can  more  easily  conjecture,  than  describe* 
the  root  of  this  uneasiness,  because  I  am  afraid, 

that 


f 

% 


•J 


I 


1    ? 


1 1 


TO  ATTICUS. 


65 


ihat  while  I  defend  my  own  relations*,   I  may 
bear  hard  upon  yours.     For  my  opinion  is  that, 
if  any  disadvantageous  impression  has  been  made 
upon  him  at  home,  whatever  it  is,  it  ought  to  be 
removed  by  her  who  is  the  author  of  it ;  but  when 
I  see  you,  I  shall  more  fully  lay  before  you  th^ 
unhappy  cause  of  this  whole  affair,   which  ex- 
tends,  indeed,   farther  than  it  appears.     I  am 
quite  ignorant  what  grounds  my  brother   had, 
strong  enough  to  induce  him  to  write  those  let- 
ters to  you  from  Thessalonica,  or  to  express  him-* 
self  as  you  think  he  did,  both  at  Rome,  and  upon 
his  journey  with  your  friends ;  but  all  my  hopes, 
of  allaying  this  uneasiness,  rest  upon  your  good 
//  nature.     For  if  you  lay  it  down  as  a  rule,  that 
the  minds  of  the  best  of  men  are  oftentimes  ea- 
sily irritated,  and  easily  pleased,   and  that  this 
pliancy,  as  I  may  call  it,  or  softness  of  nature,  is, 
for  the  most  part  attached  to  the  most  excellent 
dispositions,  and,  above  all  things,  that  we  ought 
to  bear  with  onp  another's  uneasiness,  failings, 
and   humours,   even  though   hurtful,   I   am  in 
hopes  that  all  these  matters  will  be  adjusted.     I 
beg  that  you  would  contribute  all  that  lies  in  you 
towards  this,   for  it  is  with  me,   who  love  you 
above  all  thir^gs,    a  point  of  the  utmost  conse- 
quence, 


1  Alluding  to  Ppmponia,  iister  to  Atticus^  and  wife  to  Ci- 
cero's brother. 


6-4 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


> 


TO  ATTICUS. 


6S 


quence,  that  all  my  friends  should  love  you,  and 
that  vou  should  love  them. 

That  part  of  your  letter  to  me,  was,  by  no 
means,  necessary,  in  which  you  explain  those 
offices,  both  in  the  city  and  the  provinces,  you 
iMive  at  certain  times,  and  even  under  my  consul-" 
ship  declined.  I  am  no  stranger  to  the  candid, 
noble  disposition  of  your  mind,  nor  did  I  ima- 
gine that  we  differ  in  any  respect,  except  the  line 
of  life,  which  we  have  respectively  chosen.  The 
love  of  power  and  glory  prompted  me  to  the 
pursuit  of  public  offices  ;  your  view,  and  an  ir- 
reprehensible  view  it  was,  led  you  to  seek  philo- 
sophical retirement.  As  to  that  solid  glory  which 
is  founded  in  probity,  in  application,  and  in  the 
observance  of  duties,  I  prefer  neither  myself,  nor 
any  man  in  the  world,  to  you.  With  regard 
to  affisction  towards  me,  after  that  of  my  brother 
and  family,  I  believe  yours  to  be  the  greatest 
Amidst  the  various  vicissitudes  of  my  life,  I  have 
witnessed,  believe  me,  I  have  thoroughly  wit- 
nessed, your  joys  and  anxieties  for  me.  Often 
did  your  kind  complim^its,  upon  my  success^ 
add  to  my  pleasure ;  often  did  your  consolation, 
in  my  trouble,  take  from  my  pain. 

But  now,  while  you  are  absent,  irreparable  is 
my  loss,  not  only  for  your  excellent  advice,  but 
for  those  entertainments  which  your  conversation 
afforded  me.  Need  I  notice  to  vou  the  state  of 
public  affairs,  a  subject,  in  which  I   never  can 

permit 


i 


I 


j)ermit  myself  to  be  remiss  ?  Need  I  mention  my 
employments  in  the  forum,  to  which  I  teve  been 
hitherto  led  in  my  pursuit  of  public  honours, 
and  which  I  now  pursue  that  I  may  maintain  the 
dignity  to  which  they  have  raised  me?  Need  I 
mention  my  domestic  concerns  in  whidi  I  was  so 
much  at  a  loss,  both  before,  and  since  the  depar- 
ture of  my  brother,  for  you,  and  your  advice. 
In  short,  it  is  incompatible  with  my  toil,  with  my 
rest,  with  my  business,  with  my  pleasure,  witli 
my  affairs  in  the  forum,  with  my  affairs  in  my 
family,  with  my  public,  with  my  private  concerns, 
that  I  should  be  longer  without  your  endearing 
counsels,  your  highly  valued  conversation. 

Often  did  modesty  restrain  both  of  us  from 
adverting  to  those  matters ;  but  now  such  animad- 
version is  absolutely  necessary,  on  account  of 
that  passage  in  your  letter,  in  which  you  vindi- 
cate and  establish  with  me,  the  purity  of  your 
character  and  person.  But  now  it  comes  into 
my  mind,  that  under  the  untowardly  situation  of 
my  brother's  alienated  and  rankled  temper,  tliere 
is  this  happy  circumstance,  that  you  have  for- 
merly, at  times,  declared  youf  resolution  of  de- 
clining the  province  to  me  and  your  friends,  and 
we  were  fully  satisfied  of  your  intention.  There- 
fore, as  you  have  not  been  in  company  together, 
this  measure  will  appear  tlie  result  of  your  incli- 
nation and  judgment,  and  not  of  any  difference 

Vol.  I.  F  and 


. 


66 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


to  ATTICUS. 


67 


and  dissention  between  you.  Thus  the  violation 
that  has  happened  to  the  friendship  betwixt  you 
and  him,  shall  be  removed,  and  that  which  is  now 
so  religiously  preserved  between  you  and  me, 
shall  become  inviolable. 

The  administration  of  public  affairs,  under- 
which  we  now  live,  is  weak,  wretched,  and  va- 
riable. I  suppose  you  have  heard  that  our 
knights  are  almost  at  open  variance  with  the  se- 
nate. '  The  first  thing  they  took  very  much  amifes, 
was  a  decree  which  passed  the  senate,  for  inqui- 
ring into  their  corrupt  practices  as  judges.  I 
happened  not  to  be  present  when  this  decree 
passed,  and  perceived  that,  without  openly  avow- 
ing their  displeasure,  the  equestrian  order  were 
highly  disgusted  with  it.  I  indeed  reproached 
the  senate  concerning  it,  as  I  thought  became  me, 
in  the  most  peremptory  manner;  and  considering 
the  indelicacy  of  the  subject,  I  enlarged  with 
great  weight  and  authority. 

There  is  another  delicate  point  with  the 
knights,  which,  though  hardly  justifiable,  I  have 
yet  supported  and  recommended.  Those  of  Asia, 
who  have  farmed  the  public  revenue,  complained 
in  the  senate-house,  that  they  are  in  danger  of 
breaking  through  the  avarice  of  the  censors; 
that  the  revenues  are  rated  too  high,  and  they 
demanded  a    reduction  of  their  payment.      I 

was 


Nvas  the  first  who  spoke  for  this  petition  \  and  I 
only  was  its  second  support.  For  Crassus  pushed 
them  on  to  this  presumptuous  demand.  The 
whole  affair  is  odious ;  their  demand  is  shameful, 
and  implies  an  acknowledgment  of  their  rash* 
ness.  There  w  as  the  greatest  danger  that  they 
would  come  to  an  open  breach  with  the  senate, 
if  they  did  not  obtain  somewhat.  The  weight 
of  this  whole  affair  fell  upon  me,  and  I  succeeded 
so  far,  that  the  senate  met  in  great  numbers,  and 
with  great  frankness;  and  on  the  1st  and  2d  of 
December,  I  enlarged  much  upon  the  dignity  of 
the  two  orders,  and  the  union  that  ought  to 
subsist  between  them.  The  affair,  however,  was 
not  finished  ;  but  the  disposition  of  the  senators 
is  manifest  For  Metellus  the  consul,  was  the 
only  member  who  opposed  me.  Cato,  however, 
our  patriot  hero,  was  about  to  speak ;  but  the 
right  of  speaking  did  not  come  to  his  turn  till  it 
was  dark^,  and  the  house  rose. 

Thus 


^  Egoprinceps  in  adjutonhus,  atqiie  adeo  secundus.  All  this 
management  shows  how  pliable  a  politician  Cicero  was.  His 
conduct,  indeed,  betrays  the  absence  of  all  solid  principle.  In 
order  to  acquire  popularity  with  the  Equites,  he  presents  and 
supports  a  claim  which  he  himself  acknowledges  to  be  unjust 
and  odious,  and  this  inconsistence  he  is  not  ashamed  to  avow 
to  his  friend  Atticus. — E. 

^  It  appears  from  this,  and  many  other  passages,  that  the 
senators  spoke  and  voted,  according  to  their  seniority  and  rank. 


68 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


Thus  in  conformity  to  my  views  and  disposi- 
tion, I  use  all  the  means  in  my  power  to  cement 
this  coalition.     But,   because  those  matters  are 
very  delicate,  I  am  paving  a  certain,  and  a  safe 
way,   as   I  hope,    for   preserving  my   interest; 
which,  though  I  cannot  sufficiently  explain   in 
writing,   yet  I  will  give  you  some  intimation   of 
my  manner.    I  am  extremely  intimate  with  Pom- 
pey. — I  know  what  you  are  about  to  say,   but  I 
will  use  caution  wher€  caution  ought  to  be  used ; 
I  will,    however,    take  another  opportunity  of 
writing  you  more  fully  concerning  my  schemes  in 

public  affairs. 

You  must  know  that  Lucceius  intends  without 
delay,   to  stand  for  the  consulship,  for  no  more 
than  two  candidates  are  talked  of.    Caesar  think* 
of  uniting  with  Lucceius,  by  the  means  of  Ar- 
rius,  and  Bibulus  imagines  that  he  can  unite  with 
Cffisar,  through  Caius  Piso.     This  you  say,  is  ri- 
diculous enough,  but  not  so  ridiculous  as  you 
imagine.    Need  I  add  any  thing  farther  ?  I  have, 
indeed,  abundance  to  say  ;  but  will  defer  writing 
any  more,  till  another  opportunity.  Let  me  know, 
if  I  am  to  expect  you.     You  see  how  diffident  1 
am  in  soliciting  what  I  so  earnestly  desire,  1 
mean  your  speedy  return  to  this  place.     Decem- 
ber 5  th. 


EPISTLE 


TO  ATTICUS- 


69 


EPISTLE  XVIIL 

You  must  know  that  at  present  I  want  nothing 
so  much  as  a  certain  friend,  to  whom  I  can  im- 
part whatever  gives  me  concern ;  the  man  who 
loves  me,   who  is  wise  in  himself,  the  man  with 
whom  I  converse  without  guile,  without  dissimu- 
lation, without  reserve.  For  my  brother  is  absent, 
who  is  the  very  soul  of  sincerity  and  affection 
for  me.     As  to  Metellus,  he  is  as  devoid  of  these 
sociable  qualities,    as  the  sounding  shore,   the 
empty  air,  or  the  uncivilized  waste.     But  thou, 
my  friend,  where  art  thou,  who  hast  so  often 
reasoned   and  talked  away  my  cares,  and  the 
anguish  of  my  mind ;  thou  partner  of  my  pub- 
lic,  thou  witness  of  my  private  concerns ;  thou 
partaker  of  all  my  conversation,    thou  associate 
in  all  my  counsels,  where,  I  say,   art  thou  ?  So 
forsaken,  so  forlorn  am  I,  that  my  life  knows  no 
comfort,  but  what  it  has  in  the  company  of  my 
wife,  my  charming  daughter,  and  my  dear  little 
Cicero  ;  for  our  interested,  varnished  friendships, 
serve  indeed  to  make  a  kind  of  figure  in  the  fo- 
rum, but  they  are  without  domestic  endearment. 
Thus,  in  the  morning,  when  my  house  is  filled, 
when  I  proceed  to  the  forum,  surrounded  with 
hordes  of  friends,  1  cannot,  in  all  that  mighty 
CQnfluence,  find  a  person  to  whom  I  can  indulge 

my 


70 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


71 


my  humour  with  freedom,  or  whisper  my  com* 
plaints  in  confidence, 

I  therefore  expect  you,  I  want  you,  nay  I  sum- 
mon you  to  my  relief;  for  many  are  my  perplex*^ 
ities,  many  are  my  troubles,  which,  did  I  once 
enjoy  your  attention,  I  think  I  could  dissipate  in 
the  conversation  of  one  familiar  walk.  But  I 
shall  here  conceal  from  you  all  the  agonies  which 
I  suffer  in  my  private  affairs ;  nor  will  I  trust 
them  to  a  letter,  which  is  to  be  conveyed  by  a 
bearer  unknown  to  me.  Yet  the  stings,  which  I 
endure,  for  I  would  not  have  you  to  be  too  much 
alarmed,  are  not  intolerable.  My  anxieties,  in- 
deed, haunt  and  tease  me,  and  can  be  allayed 
only  by  the  counsels  and  conversation  of  the 
friend  I  love. 

As  to  public  affairs,  though  they  lie  at  my 
heart,  yet  my  inclination,  to  offer  them  any  re- 
medy daily  diminishes.  For  if  I  were  to  give 
you  a  brief  state  of  what  happened  after  your 
departure,  I  think  I  should  hear  you  cry  out 
that  the  Roman  government  could  be  of  no  long 
continuance.  For  the  first  public  act,  in  which 
I  engaged,  after  your  departure  was,  if  I  mis- 
take not,  the  tragical  intrigue  of  Clodius.  Here 
I  imagined  that  I  had  a  fair  field  for  restraining 
licentiousness,  and  for  bridling  our  young  men ; 
and  indeed  I  was  warm,  and  poured  forth  all  my 
strength  and  fire  of  genius,  not  from  any  particu- 
lar spite,  but  from  a  sincere  desire  to  serve  my 

country, 


I 


country,  and  to  heal  her  constitution,  which  had 
been  wounded  by  a  mercenary,  prostituted  judg- 
ment.    Now  you  shall  hear  what  followed  upon 

this. 

We  had  a  consul  forced  upon  us,  and  such  a 
consul,  as  none  but  philosophers,  like  us,  can  be- 
hold without  a  sigh.  What  a  calamity  was  this  ? 
The  senate  had  passed  a  decree  concerning  cor- 
ruption in  elections  and  trials.  This  decree  ne- 
ver passed  into  a  law;  the  senate  was  con- 
founded, the  Roman  knights  were  disobliged. 
Thus  did  one  year  overthrow  the  two  barriers  of 
the  government,  which  I  had  erected,  by  taking 
authority  from  the  senate,  and  breaking  the 
union  of  our  orders. 

Another  extraordinary  year  has  commenced, 
with  this  singular  circumstance : — The  anniver- 
sary sacrifices  of  Juventas  are  not  performed, 
because  Meipmius  has  initiated  into  his  holy 
mysteries,  the  wife  of  Lentulus,  w  ho  like  ano- 
ther Menelaus,  took  it  so  ill,  that  he  has  divorced 
her.  It  is  true,  the  ancient  shepherd  of  Ida  in- 
jured Menelaus  alone ;  but  this  Paris  of  ours  has 
injured  Agamemnon,  as  w ell  as  Menelaus.  One 
Herennius,  whom  you,  perhaps,  know  nothing  of, 
is  a  tribune  of  the  people;  but  you  may  know 
him,  for  he  is  of  your  tribe,  and  his  father  Sex- 
tus  used  to  be  the  paymaster  of  your  election 
jnoney.  This  man  has  transferred  Clodius  to  the 
commons ;  and  prevailed  with  all  the  tribes  of 

the 


i 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


the  people*  to  pass  a  vote  in  the  Campus  Mar- 
tiu3  concerning  his  adopted  son.  I  gave  him  9k 
proper  reception,  as  usual,  but  the  fellow  is  in- 
corrigibly stupid.  Metellus  proves  an  excellent 
consul,  and  my  very  good  friend ;  but  he  hurts 
his  authority,  because  he  has  suffered  the  forma- 
lity* of  the  peoples  assembling  in  tribes  to  pass. 
As  to  the  son  of  Aulus,  good  God  !  what  a  dunce, 
iFv^hat  a  spiritless  creature  he  is,  ar^d  how  deserving 
13  he  of  the  abuse  which  Palicanus  every  day 
pours  out  against  him  to  his  face.  Flavins  has 
promoted  an  Agrarian  law,  in  which  there  is, 
indeed,  no  great  matter,  and  is  much  the  same 
with  that  of  Plotius.  But  in  the  meantime,  not 
^  inan  can  be  found  who  pays  the  slightest  atten^^ 

tion 


1  Clodius,  in  prosecuting  his  spite  against  Cicero,  procure^ 
himself  to  be  adopted  in  the  manner  here  related  amongst  the 
(jomraoners  of  Rome,  to  qualify  him  to  be  chosen  a  tribune  of 
the  people.  The  regular  way  of  confirming  this  adoption^ 
•was  by  tlie  people  assembling  according  to  their  Curi^,  or  se-t 
veral  wards  j  but  the  tribunes  had  no  power  of  summoning 
those  Curiae,  which  were  composed  of  housekeepers.^  Heren- 
Tkhis,  therefore,  assembled  the  people  by  their  tribes,  at  which 
all  the  inhabitants  of  Rome,  of  a  certain  age,  assisted  and  vo» 
ted,  and  where  Clodius  thought  himself  sure  of  carrying  hij 
point,  by  his  Interest  amongst  the  lower  people.  It  appears, 
however,  that  the  consuls  had  a  negative  upon  the  tribunes  iq 
convokmg  this  assembly  of  the  tribes. 

*  Orig.  Halct  diets  causa.      Tliis  appears  to  have  been  a 
(ant  expression  amongst  the  Romans  in  their  courts  of  law. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


719 


attention  to  the  interests  of  the  republic'.     Our 
friend  Pompey  (for  I  would  have  you  to  know 
that  he  is  my  friend)  preserves,  by  his  silence, 
the  honours  of  the  triumphal  robe-,  which  he  is 
permitted  to  wear  at  the  public  shows.     Crassus 
would  not,  for  the  world,  speak  any  thing  to  dis- 
oblige.    I  need  to  say  no  more  of  all  the  others, 
who  could  see  their  country  sunk,  if  their  fish- 
ponds  are  saf«.     One  patriot,  indeed,  we  have, 
but  in  my  opinion,  he  is  patriotic  more  from 
courage  and  integrity,   than  from  judgment  o? 
genius,  I  mean  Cato.     He  has  for  these  three 
months  plagued  the  poor  farmers  of  the  revenue, 
though  they  have  been  his  very  good  friends; 
nor  will  he  suffer  the  senate  to  return  any  an- 
swer to  their  petition.     Thus,  we  are  forced  to 
do  no  kind  of  business,  before  that  of  the  reve- 
nue is  dispatched,  and  I  believe  even  the  depu- 
tations will  be  set  aside.^    . 

You 


1  Orig.  iroXmMs  ««.f  «S  oiag.    ReipuMka  vir  deditus,  ne 
qvidem  ptr  sammum.  This  is  a  proverbial  expression,  in  which 
there  is  an  alliteration  in  the  original,  incapable  of  being  ren- 
dered in  English.    The  sense  is,  no  one  pays  a  shadow  of  at- 
tention to  the  public  good ;  for  «/&  ova?  signifies  not  the  least. 
Thus  Philo  speaking  of  the  Essenes,  writes,  E,i«oj<as  ovSt  mxg 
icfuri,  of  merchandise  they  have  not  the  faintest  knowledge.— E. 
*  Orig.  Togulam  illam  pictam  silentio  tuelur  suam.    This 
privilege  is  mentioned  by  several  other  authors,  and  was  con- 
ferred upon  Pompey  upon  his  return  front  Asia. 

'Monsiear  St.  Heal  translates  this  passage,  Elje  croimeme 

gu'on 


\ 


74 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


You  see  what  storms  we  encounter,  and  from  '•* 
what  I  have  written,  you  may  form  a  clear  judg-  - 
ment  of  what  I  have  omitted.     Pray  think  upon ' 
returning  hither ;  and  though  it  is,  indeed,  a  disa- 
greeable place,  let  your  affection  for  me  prevail 
so  far  upon  you,    as  to  bear  with  it,  with  all  its 
inconveniencies.     I  will  take  all  possible  care  to 
prevent  the  censors  from  registering  you,  before 
your  return  \     But  to   delay  your  return  to   the 
very  last  moment^,  will  betray  too  much  of  the 
minute  calculator  ;  therefore  I  beg  that  you  will 
let  me  see  you  as  soon  as  possible.     Dated  Fe- 
bruary 1st,  under  the    consulship   of    Quintus 
Metellus,  and  Lucius  Afranius. 

EPISTLE  XIX. 

X  WILL  not  say  that,  if  I  had  as   much  leisure 
as  you,  but  that,  if  I  had  a  mind  to  make  my  dis- 
patches 


qii07i  renvoira  a  un  autre  temes  tes  audiences  des  ambassadeurs, 
and  he  is  followed  by  Monsieur  Mongault,  but  they  seem  both 
to  be  mistaken.  For  the  Legationes  here  spoken  of  seem  to 
have  been  the  deputations  mentioned  to  have  been  postponed 
in  the  fourteenth  letter,  and  regarded  the  deputations  sent  from 
Rome. 

*  It  appears  as  if  some  fine  attended  an  absence  from  the 
public  emoluments  by  the  censors. 

2  Orig.  Sub  lustrum.  These  lustra,  every  five  years  in  them 
the  whole  people  were  numbered,  and  were  different  from  the 
enrolments  mentioned  immediately  before. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


75 


patches  as  short  as  yours  are,  I  would  exceed 
you  in  the  length,  and  in  the  frequency  of  my 
correspondence.     It  happens  that,  in  the  prodi- 
gious and  incredible  variety  of  my  engagements, 
i  never  suffer  a  letter  of  mine  to  come  to  your 
hands,  without  some  intelligence  or  other,   and 
without  my  opinion  upon  it     In  the  first  place  I 
will  lay  before  you,  as  you  are  a  good  patriot, 
the  state  of  the  republic.     In  the  next  place,  as 
you  are  my  dearest  friend,  I  will  write  you  some- 
thing, which  I  imagine  you  will  not  be  displeased 

to  know. 

As  to  the  republic,  we  are  chiefly  taken  up 
with  the  fears  of  a  Gallic  war.     For  our  allies, 
the  Edui'  are  in  arms;  the  Sequani  have  been 
beaten ;  the  Helvetians  without  all  doubt,  have 
taken  the  field,  and  made    incursions  into  our 
province  ^     The  senate    had  decreed    that  the 
states  of  Gaul  should  be  allotted  to  the  consuls ; 
that  new  levies  should  be  made ;  that  all  appoint- 
ments should  be  void,  and  that  plenipotentiaries 
should  be  sent  to  those  states  to  endeavour  to 
prevent  them  from  joining  the  Helvetians.     The, 
plenipotentiaries  named  were  Quintus  Metellus 

Creticus 


1  The  Edui  were  the  inhabitants  of  what  is  now  the  duchy 
of  Burgundy.  The  Sequani  inhabited  the  Franche-comte,  and 
the  Helvetians  were  the  Swiss. 

2  This  country  is  still  called  Provence  in  France. 


« 


76 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


Creticus*  and  Lucius  Flaccus%  and  to  crown' 
the  whole,  Lentulua*,  the  son  of  Clodianus. 
And  here  I  cannot  help  noticing,  that,  when  of 
all  the  consulars  my  lot  came  out  first,  the  se- 
nate, in  ^  full  house,  uaauimously  decreed  that 
I  should  remain  in  Rome.  After  me,  the  same 
compliment  was  paid  to  Pompey,  thereby  intima- 
ting that  we  two  were  retained  as  pledges  of  pub- 
lic safety.  I  think  1  hear  you  now  say  what  oc- 
casion have  you  for  a  herald,  when  you  can  so 
finely  blazon  out  your  own  praises. 

The  affairs  of  the  city  are  as  follow.  An  Agra- 
ri^  law  has  been  most  furiously  demanded  by 
th^  tribune  Flavius,  at  the  motion  of  Pompey, 
which  has  nothing  popular,  except  the  character 
of  Ihe  mover^  I  was  extremely  well  heard  by 
^J  the  assembly,  when  I  took  from  that  law  every 
thing  that  could  be  prejudicial  to  private  per- 
sons ; 


»  He  was  consul  with  Hortensius  in  the  year  of  Rome  684. 

*  lie  was  praetor  during  the  cqpsulship  of  Cicero,  who  af- 
terwards spoke  for  him  in  an  oration  which  is  still  extant. 

3  Oriff,  TO  iiri  r-n  (fiaxv  (/.v^ov.  Ointment  upon  a  pulse,  a  pro- 
verb to  denote  any  thing  precious  wasted  by  blending  it  with 
something  mean  and  common.  The  9ax»)  was  LentuLus,  in 
allusion  of  the  latin  lens,  while  /uti'^o»  meant  the  embassy— E. 

*  He  had  been  questor.  Thus  those  plenipotentiaries  were 
chosen  from  the  consular,  the  praetorian,  and  the  questorial 

ranks. 

5  There  was  a  great  difference  between  the  lator,  or  the 
carrier  through  of  a  law,  and  the  auctor,  or  its  mover  before 
the  people. 


TO  ATtlCUS. 


# 


sons ;  when  I  excepted  out  of  it  that  estate,  which 
had  been  sold  under  the  consulate  of  Pdbliu^ 
Mucins  and  Lucius  CalphurniusS  when  I  coti- 
firmed  Sylla's  planters  iti  their  pOSSfes^iOns ;  wh^ 
I  secured  to  those  of  Volaterraund  Artetitium, 
the  estates  which  Sylla  had  confiscated*,  but  haft 
not  divided  out ;  and  there  was  one  measure  to 
which  I  had  no  exception,  th&t  the  mOtiey  arising 
for  five  years  from  oilr  new  subsidies,  should  b^ 
converted  into  an  augmentation  fund,  for  making 
farther  acquisitions  of  land.     Thfe  senate  oppo- 
sed this  whole  Agrarian  scheme,  because  they 
suspected  that  Pompty  wanted  to  acquire  some 
tiew  powers.    On  the  other  hand,  he  supposed 
^  the. 


»  They  had  been  consuls  in  the  year  of  Rome  g20,  at  the 
time  Gracchus  passed  the  Agrarian  law,  which  afterwards  cost 
him  his  life.    By  that  law  no  private  person  could  possess  above 
«  hundred  «cres  of  land  whieh  had  been  a^ifdprtated  to  tJfe 
put*c  detnesne ;  that  all  who  possessed  m^re,  should  be  obli- 
ged to  part  with  it  to  the  poorer  citifiJetis,  -ahd  that  ^U  the  re- 
maining  demesne  lands  of  the   republic  should  be   divided 
mmong  them  likewise.     All  this  was  so  far  from  being  execu- 
ted, that  the  last  mentioned  lands  w'eresdd  to  private  persbiis 
at  an  under  rate.     Flavius  therefore  insisted  upon  those  bar- 
gains bfeing  void,  and  tliat  the  lands  should  be  applied  to  the 
purposes  of  the  Agrarian  law,  and  given  to  Pompey  s  soldiers, 
though  they  had  been  in  tlie  possession  of  private  persons  for 
leventy-two  years. 

«  Though  the  original  possession  of  those  lands  was  v«fy  un- 
warrantable 3  yet  Cicero  thought  that,  as  it  had  continued  ^ 
long,  it  was  against  true  policy  to  alter  it. 


78 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


the  passing  of  the  law  with  all  his  interest.  Asf 
for  my  part,  1  lost  no  credit,  even  with  the  friends 
of  the  law,  while  I  confirmed  all  private  persons 
in  their  possessions;  for  our  strength,  you  know, 
lies  with  the  men  of  property.  But  I  gave  satis- 
faction to  the  people,  and  what  I  much  wished, 
also  to  Pompey,  by  the  proposal  I  made  of  new 
purchases;  which,  if  they  were  honestly  managed, 
I  was  of  opinion,  would  have  swept  away  all  the 
dregs  of  Rome,  and  might  have  peopled  the  soli- 
tary wastes  of  Italy.  But  this  whole  scheme 
grew  cold  upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  war. 

Metellus  is  really  an  excellent  consul,  and  my 
very  good  friend.  As  to  the  other  inanimate 
creature,  he  is  too  senselebs  to  know  the  nature 
of  the  purchase  he  has  made'.  So  much  for 
public  matters ;  unless  you  think  it  a  public  mat- 
ter, that  one  Herennius,  who  is  of  your  tribe,  a 
tribune  of  the  people,  a  very  great  scoundrel, 
and  at  the  same  time,  a  beggar,  has  already  very 
often  applied  to  the  people  concerning  trans- 
planting Publius  Clodius  into  the  order  of  com- 
mons ;  but  he  has  been  frequently  opposed  by 
the  other  tribunes.  These  are,  I  think,  all  our 
public  matters. 

As  to  my  private  concerns ;  after  the  famous 

5tb 


*  Meaning  the  consulate,  which  Cicero  implies  to  have  been 
bought  by  the  consul. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


^9 


►ith  of  December',  when  to  the  envy  and  hatred 
of  many,  I'  mounted  to  that  splendid,  that  im- 
mortal pitch  of  glory,  I  have  not  forborn  to  ex- 
ert a  magnanimity  suitable  to  that  great  proceed- 
ing, and  to  maintain  the  dignity  1  then  acquired 
and  pix)fessed.     But  after  I  had  fully  discovered 
the  insignificance  and  impotence  which  the  judges 
betrayed  by  the   acquittal  of  Clodius;  when  I 
afterwards  saw  how  easy  it  was  to  make  a  breach 
between  the  senate  and  our  farmers  of  the  reve- 
nue, though  I  still  kept  well  with  both,  then   I 
could  perceive  plain  intimations,  that  I  was  hated 
by  some  of  your  friends ;  I  mean  those  country 
.-gentlemen,  who  are  more  concerned  for  their 
fishponds,   than  for  the  commonwealth.     From 
that  time,  I   have  thought  it  proper  to  enlarge 
the  foundation  of  my  interest,  and  to  strengthen 
myself  with  new  supports. 

In  the  first  place,  therefore,  I  prevailed  upon 
Pompey,  who  had  been  but  too.  long  silent,  to  get 
i  so  much  the  better  of  his  taciturnity,  that,  in  the 
senate-house,  not  once,  but  often,  and  in  long 
•  speeches,  he  adjudged  to  me  the  glory  of  having 
saved  this  empire,  and  this  world  from  destruc- 
tion. Though  this  is  a  fact  too  bright  to  require 
an  evidence,  and  too  plain  to  want  a  panegyrist, 

and 


1  This  was  the  anniversary  dgy  of  the  death  of  the  con- 
spirators, with  Catiline,  whom  Cicero  caused  to  be  strangled 
in  prison. 


80 


CICERO'^  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS, 


81 


end  therefore,  though  his  applause  was  of  no 
great  importance  to  ni€,  yet  it  was  to  the  repub- 
lic, because  of  some  reprobates  who,  from  the 
unsettled  state  of  public  affairs,  were  in  hopea 
^  seeing  Pompey  and  me  counteracting  one 
another.  But  we  are  now  so  riveted  in  senti- 
ments, that  our  union  gives  the  greater  strength 
to  our  interest,  and  greater  ability  to  serve  the 

public. 

As  to  the  endeavours  to  stir  up  the  hatied  of 

our  dissolute  and  effeminate  young  men  against 

me,  1  have  soothed  them  so  much  by  a  certain 

polite  deportment  I  assumed,   that  I  am  now 

their  only  favourite.     In  short,  I  now  throw  out 

invectives  against  no  person ;  at  the  same  time, 

I  stoop  to  nothing  that  is  mean,  or  unbecoming 

my  character ;  my  whole  conduct  is  so  tempered, 

as  that,  without  swerving  from  my  duty  to  my 

country,  I  apply  to  my  private  concerns  with 

greater  caution  and  care  than  ever,  because  of 

the  weakness  of  the  true  patriots,  the  intrigues 

of  the  envious,  and  the   hatred  of  my  enemies. 

But  I   do  all  this  in  such  a  manner,  notwith* 

standing  my   new  coalitions,  that  still   I    think 

<he  mrary  Sicilian  Epicharmus  is  whispering  in  my 

ear  the  words  of  his  song: — 

Be  sober-minded,  arid  slow  to  believe, 
These  are  the  nerves  of  wisdom^. 

And 


\ 


*^  And  thus,  I  think,  I  have  given  you,  as  it  were, 
a  plan  of  my  conduct  and  way  of  living. 

As  to  the  business,  concerning  which  you  have 
so  often  written  to  me,-  I  can,  at  present,  do  you 
no  service.  The  decree,  you  complain  of,  pas- 
sed through  the  great  zeal  of  the  foot  senators  \ 
without  countenance  from  any  of  my  friends. 
As  to  what  you  say  of  my  attending  when  the  de- 
cree was  drawn  up",  you  may  perceive,  from  the 
very  words  of  it,  that  my  presence  was  occasioned 
by  another  motion,  which  was  made  at  the  same 
time.  As  to  the  clause  concerning  the  free  peo- 
ple ^  it  was,  without  due  authority,  added,  and 
engrossed  by  the  younger  Servilius*,  who  amongst 
the  last,  delivered  his  opinion.  But  it  cannot, 
at  this  time,  be  altered.     And  indeed  there  has, 

for 

*  Cicero  means  the  lo\jrer  ranks  of  the  senators,  who  were 
called  Senatores  Pedarii,  from  their  walking  to  the  side  on 
which  they  voted,  and  their  not  being  suffered  to  speak,  be- 
cause they  had  not  arrived  at  the  Ciirule  offices. 

-  When  a  decree  of  the  senate  was  drawn  up,  a  committee 
of  the  senate  was  generally  present,  whose  names  were  inserted 
'  as  witnesses  to  the  act. 

3  Those  were  the  people  who  were  governed  by  their  own 
municipal  laws,  and  were  exempted  from  subsidie^.  It  appears 
as  if  the  Sicyonians,  who  were  free  people,  had  borrowed  a 
sum  pf  money  of  Atticus,  and  had  mortgaged  some  of  their 
revenues  for  the  payment,  which  mortgage  was  dissolved  by  the 
vote  of  the  senate,  and  perhaps  with  great  justice. 

*  He  was  consul  in  the  years  of  Rome  705  and  "12. 

Vol.  I.  G 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


for  some  time,  been  a  discontinuance  of  those 
crowds  of  creditors',  wliich  at  first  assembled  in 
such  numbers-  However,  if  you,  by  any  arts, 
can  extort  froiu  the  Sicyonians  somewhat  of  their 
money,  I  wish  you  to  inform  me. 

1  have  sent  you  the  memoirs  of  my  consul- 
ship, written  in  Greek,  in  which,  if  there  be  any 
thing,  which  may  appear  to  an  Atl^euian,  incor- 
wmt  or  inelegant,  I  siiall  not,  I  tliink,  make  the 
same  apology  to  you  as  LucuUus"  did  ftt  Pa- 
inrmo,  for  his  own  memoirs,  that  he  had  inter- 
tfiersed  them  with  certain  unintelligible  and  soie- 
cistical  expressions,  that  they  might  the  more 
ftflily  be  believed  to  be  the  composition  of  a 
Roman,  If  any  such  ornaments  are  found  iii 
jmy  works,  they  sUnd  there  witliout  my  know- 
ledge or  consent  When  I  have  finished  them  in 
Latin,  I  will  send  them  to  you ;  you  are  to  ex- 
pect a  third  in  verse,  that  no  species  of  compo- 
sition might  be  omitted,  which  is  likely  to  re- 
dound to  rny  honour.  And  here  you  must  not 
remind  me  of  the  adage,  **  That  a  brave  father  is 
best  extolled  by  a  degenerate  son'."     Here  you 

are 

1  Ik  seems,  the  case  of  Atticus,  was  a  leading  ooe  fpr  many 
others. 

«  He  wrote  severd  histories  in  Greek,  particularly  that  of  htf 
own  glorious  campaign  against  Mithridates. 

3  Only  a  part  of  this  verse  is  cited  in*  the  original.  The  whole 
of  it  is  as  follows :—  ' 


TO  ATTICUS. 


88 


l\ 


are  not  to  tell  me  my  trumpeter  is  dead.     For  if 

there  is,  under  the  sun,  any  merit  that  exceeds 

mine,  let  it  have  its  due  applause,   and  let  me 

bear  the  reproach  of  not  having  done  it  justice. 

The  compositions,  however,  that  I  speak  of,  arc 

not  panegyrics,  but  narratives. 

My  brother  Quintus  in  his  letters,  exculpates 

himself  by  many  solemn  asseverations  from  the 

charge  of  having  ever  spoken  a  word  of  you  thai 

was  unbecoming  ;  but  this  is  an  affair,  which  w^ 

shall  minutely  and  attentively  investigate  in  tb^ 

presence  of  each  other*     I  insist  upon  your  pay*- 

ing  me  a  visit  some  time  or  other.     Cossinius, 

the  bearer  of  this  letter,  appears  tQ  me  to  be  p. 

very  honest,  sedate  majm,   to  love  you  heartily, 

-and  to  answer  the  character  you  gave  of  hiioft. 

Dated  March  the  1 5th. 

« 

ff^o  shall  praise  a  Jot  her,  if  not  his  unfortunate  sons. 

The  pertinence  of  its  application  consists  in  this.  Cicero  de- 
scribes his  great  exploits,  when  consul,  in  such  splendid  co- 
lours, as  might  lead  his  readers  to  infer  that,  since  that  time  he 
had  done  nothing  worthy  of  fame  and  applause  j  ai\4  mu^, 
therefore,  be  iu  the  situation  of  the  son,  who,  incapable  him- 
self of  glorious  deeds,  is  content  with  celebrating  the  high 
achievements  of  his  father.— E. 


G2 


EPISTLE 


igii     -1.  .mMiiMiii 


84 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


r> 


EPISTLE  XX. 

In  my  return   from   Pompeianum^  to    Rome, 
May  the  12th,  I  received  from  our  friend  Cin- 
cius,  your  letter  dated  the  13th  of  February,  and 
which  I  am  now  to  answer.     In  the  first  place, 
then,  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  know  that  you  are 
satisfied  as  to  the  judgment  I  have  formed  con- 
cerning your  affairs.     In  the  next  place,    I  feel 
the  highest  satisfaction   that  your   conduct    has 
been  so  moderate  in  circumstances,    in  which   1 
and  my  brother,  I  freely  own,  appear  to  have 
acted  with  too  much  severity  and  unkindness. 
In  this,  I  think  you  discover  the  affections  of  a 
warm  heart,  as  well  as  the  sentiments  of  a  great 
and  a  wise  man.     Your  expressions  to  me  upon 
that  head,  are  so  kind,   so  affectionate,  so  obli- 
ging, and  so  tender,  that  I  have  no  right  to  re- 
peat my  counsels,    or  even  to  expect  so  much 
gentleness  and  good  nature  in  any  man.  I  there- 
fore think  it  highly  improper  to  write  more  upon 
that  subject,  till  we  meet ;  and  then  if  any  thing 
'  offers  farther,  we  will  fairly  discuss  it. 

What  you  write  to  me  concerning  public  af- 
fairs, is  friendly  and  prudent,  and  your  views  and 

mine 

1  This  town  stood  near  Naples,  at  tlie  foot  of  mount  Vesu- 
vius, and  was  consumed  at  the  same  time,  that  Pliny  perished 
there. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


85 


H 


K  '  * 


mine  are,  in  the  main,  the  same.  As  to  me,  I  will 
not  descend  one  step  from  my  dignity,  nor  will  I 
trust  myself,  without  my  guards,  in  another  mans 
garrison.    The  person\    concerning  whom  you 
write,  is  destitute  of  comprehension  and  elevation 
of  mind,    and  is  altogether  cringing  and  menial. 
My  connections  with  him,  however,   have,  per- 
haps, served  the  purpose  of  making  my  circum- 
stances more  easy.  But,  indeed,  it  was  of  greater 
service  to  the  public  than  to  me,  that  I  should 
repel  the  attacks  of  profligate  citizens,  by  fixing 
in  my  favour,  the  wavering  affections  of  a  man 
so  eminent  by  his  fortunes,  his  authority,  and  his 
credit  with  the  public,  and  to  blast  the  hopes  of 
the  wicked,    by  bringing  him  over  to  extol  the 
patriotism  of  my  conduct.     Yet  in  obtaining  this 
end,  I  would  deem  the  sacrifice  a  dear  purchase, 
which  might  in  the  slightest  degree,  derogate  from 
my  dignity;  but  I  have  managed  every  thing  in 
such  a  manner,  that  my  dignity  is  not  diminished 
by  his  friendship,  while  his  authority  is  strength- 
ened  by  my  countenance. 

In  other  respects,  I  act  in  such  a  manner,  as  to 
avoid  the  imputation  of  my  having  ever  left  any 
thing  to  chance.     In  regard^  to  those  worthy 

friends, 


1  Meaning  Pompey. 

2  Cicero  alludes  to  an  adage,  which  is  preserved  in  Suida$ 
and  in  Plutarch :  Ivocprav  th*x^s»  '»'«^^''  ''°*^^"'  ^^^  ^^^^  Sparta 
for  thy  country,  honour  it  with  thy  conduct.— E, 


86 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


87 


friends^  whom  you   mention,   and   that  Spartan 
glory,  which  you  say  I  have   acquired,  I   shall 
ever    be    so   far  from  abandoning   them,   that, 
should  they  abandon  me,  yet  shall  I  never  depart 
from  my  former  sentiments.     I  would,  however, 
^  have  you  to  know,  that  since  the  death  of  Catu- 
lus,  I  can  no  longer  stand  by  the  party  of  the 
nobles,  with  any  safety  or  with  any  dignity.     For 
as  Rhinton',  if  I  mistake  not,  says,   "  One  half 
"  of  them  are  good  for  nothing,  and  the   other 
"  half  think  of  nothing."      By  those  senators, 
who  mind  their  fishponds  more  than  their  office 
as  statesmen,  I  am  envied  and  opposed ;  but  I 
will  describe  their  conduct  to  you  in  another  let- 
ter, or  when  we  first  meet     In  the  meanwhile, 
nothing  shall  tear  me  from  the  senate ;  and   in 
this,  I  act  upon  principles  of  interest  as  well  as 
of  virtue ;  nor  indeed  have  I  reason  to  repent 
of  my  attachment  to  that  order. 

I  have  already  informed  you,  that  I  had  not 
great  hopes  from  the  senate  of  your  Sicyonian 
affair.  We  hear  no  more  of  the  complaint  of 
creditors ;  it  will  therefore  be  a  tedious  matter  to 
succeed  that  way,  and  I  would  have  you  to  fight, 

if 

1  Rhinton  was  a  Greek  comic  poet.  The  verse  cited  from 
him  is  Iambic : 

*0i  /Af»  waf  ov^u  ttcif,  'ois  V  owJiK  ixtXth 

The  Optlmates,  or  the  aristocratical  party,  were  become  too 
degenerate  to  deserve  support  from  Cicero,  some  of  them  being 
destitute  of  ability,  others  of  principle. — E. 


I 


if  poBiible,  with  some  other  weapons.  When  the 
decree  passed,  no  regard  was  paid  to  those  whom 
it  affected,  and  the  foot-senators  with  unanimity 
and  eagerness,  divided  with  that  motion.  Mat- 
ters are  not  yet  ripe  for  correcting  it,  because 
there  are  no  complainants,  and  a  great  many 
people  befriend  it,  some,  through  ill-nature, 
others,   through  a  conviction  that  it  is  a  right 

measure. 

Your  friend,  the  consul  Metellus,  turns  out  a 
tnost  excellent  magistrate ;  I  think  him,  however, 
to  blame,  in  one  respect,  that  he  does  not  much 
seem  to  relish  our  pacific  accounts  from  Gaul. 
It  is  my  opinion,  that  he  hankers  after  a  tri- 
umph ;  in  this  he  is  not  perhaps  so  defensible, 
but,  in  every  other  respect,  he  is  great.  As  to 
the  son  of  Aulus,  his  conduct,  in  his  own  consul- 
ship, has  been  such  as  to  disgrace  the  name  of 
consul,  and  to  be  but  a  foible  to  set  forth  the 
greatness  of  Pompey\  I  have  sent  you,  by  Lu- 
cius  Cossinius,  the  history  of  my  consulate  in 
Greek;  I  suppose  my  Latin  performance  will 

give 

»  The  original  is  'tnruvm  mstrl  magni.  Cicero,  like  other 
writers  of  his  age,  is  fond  of  playing  upon  words,  and  his  wit 
on  this  occasion,  consists  in  the  similitude  of  Wo^w/ov  to  W*to^, 
the  Greek  name  of  consul.  The  son  of  Aulus  was  not  Waroy, 
the  consular  luminary  of  Rome,  but  'vwuirwi,,  a  speck  on  the 
face  of  Pompey.  The  commentators  and  our  translator,  over- 
looking the  paranomasia,  do  not  appear  to  have  understood 
tlie  full  import  of  the  passage. — E. 


88 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


89 


give  you  more  pleasure,  because  one  Greek 
looks  with  an  eye  of  jealousy  upon  another.  If 
I  meet  with  performances  from  other  authors 
upon  the  same  subject,  I  will  send  them  to  you, 
yet  when  people  have  once  read  my  work,  they 
lose,  I  know  not  how,  all  taste  for  that  of  any 
other. 

For,  that  I  may  return  to  my  private  affairs, 
our  worthy  friend  Lucius  Papirius  Paetus  has 
made  me  a  present  of  the  books  that  had  been 
left  by  Servius  Claudius.  When  your  friend 
Cincius^  acquainted  me,  that  there  was  notliing 
in  this  Cincian  law,  that  could  hinder  me  from 
accepting  them,  I  told  him  joyfully,  that  they 
should  be  welcome  if  they  were  brought.  Now, 
if  you  love  me,  if  you  think  that  I  love  you,  do 
all  that  you  can  by  your  friends,  by  your  follow- 
ers, by  your  guests,  by  your  freemen,  nay,  em- 
ploy your  very  slaves,  to  prevent  the  loss  of  a 
single  line.  For  I  have  now  very  great  occasion 
for  the  Greek  books,  which  I  suppose,  and  for 
the  Latin  ones,  which  I  know,  he  left  behind 
him.  The  truth  is,  I  daily  take  more  and  more 
pleasure  in  the  amusement  I  find  from  those 
studies,  when  I  rest  from  mv  labours  in  the  fo- 
rum.     You  will  in  the  highest  degree  gratify  me, 

if 

^  Cicero  here  plays  upon  the  word  Cincius,  because  the  law, 
•gainst  senators,  extorting  presents  from  their  dej)endants,  was 
called  the  Cincian  law. 


if  you  be  as  strenuous  in  this  affair,  as  you 
have  been  in  those  which  you  thought  lay  most 
at  my  heart.  I  recommend  to  your  care,  the  af- 
fairs of  Pastus  himself,  who  desires  to  return  you 
many  thanks  for  what  you  have  already  done. 
That  I  may  see  you  soon  is  not  only  my  wish,  but 
my  request. 


CICERO'S 


t 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO 


\ 


ATTICUS. 


kMi 


BOOK  11. 


ur-i       M' 


mJ    1*. 


El>IsrLE  I. 


s 

4. 


1  WAS  met  by  your  slave  on  the  1st  of  June,  on 
my  journey  to  Antium,  as  I  was  leaving,  not 
without  regret,  the  gladiatorian  shows,  exhibited 
by  Marcus  Metellus.  From  him  I  received  your 
letters,  and  your  Greek  history  of  my  consulship, 
a  present  which  gave  me  the  greater  pleasure,  as 
I  had  sometime  before,  put,  into  the  hands  of 
Cossinius,  for  you,  some  Greek  memoirs  of  mine 
upon  the  same  subject ;  for,  had  1  read  yours 
beforehand,  you  would  have  charged  me  with 
having  copied  you,  without  acknowledging  my 
obligations.  But  give  me  leave,  to  say,  for  I 
read  it  with  great  eagerness,  that  your  work  is  not 

finished 


I 


TO  ATTICUS. 


93 


92 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


finished  in  your  usual  taste  and  elegance.  It 
was,  however,  adorned  by  the  neglect  of  orna- 
ment, as  ladies  appear  the  sweeter  for  using  no 
perfume.  On  the  other  hand,  my  book  is  en- 
riched with  all  the  graces  of  the  most  celebrated 
Grecian  schools,  and  fully  exhibits  the  design, 
the  correctness,  the  colouring  of  Isocrates,  Aris- 
totle, and  their  followers  \  Let  me  tell  you  that 
the  book  which  you  slightly  glanced  over  at 
Corfu',  as  I  understand  by  your  other  letters, 
and  of  which  you  received  a  complete  copy  from 
Cossinius,  is  a  present,  I  would  not  have  ven- 
tured to  have  made  you,  had  I  not  approved  of 
it  after  grave  and  mature  deliberation.  Let  me 
tell  you  likewise,  that  when  I  had  sent  it  to  Pos- 
donius'  at  Rhodes,  that  it  might  invite  him  to 
treat  the  same  subject  with  greater  elegance,  and 
when  he  had  read  over  my  memoirs,  he  wrote  me 
they  were  so  far  from  inviting,  that  they  had  ab- 
solutely 

'  This  version  exhibits  the  spirit^  rather  tlian  the  letter  of 
the  origina],  which  is  as  follows : — Mens  autem  liler  totum 
Isocraiis  fMpo^xtov  (Pigmentorum  arculam)  atque  omnes  ejus 
discipulorum  arculas,  ac  non  nihil  etiam  Aristotclica  pigmata 
consumpsit. — Literally  rendered  it  runs  thus : — But  my  book 
has  consumed  ike  whole  perfume  box  of  Isocrates,  all  the  dres- 
sing chests  of  his  followers,  together  with  the  paint  of 
Aristotle, 

2  This  was  the  capital  of  Corcyra,  a  small  island  now  belong- 
ing to  the  Venetians. 

'  This  was  a  famous  stoic  philosopher  under  whom  Cicero 
had  studied. 


solutely  deterred  him  from  any  attempt  of  that 
kind.  In  a  word,  I  have  covered  all  Greece  w  ith 
confusion.  Thus,  I  am  now  no  longer  plagued 
with  those  who  daily  teazed  me  for  some  subject, 
which  they  could  embellish  by  their  language. 
If  you  are  pleased  with  the  performance,  you 
w  ill  take  care  to  publish  it  at  Athens,  and  the 
other  Greek  towns,  for  it  seems  calculated  to 
throw  a  lustre  upon  my  conduct. 

I  have  sent  you  the  orations  which  you  re- 
quested to  see,  though  too  insignificant  to  deserve 
that  name ;  and  I  will  send  you  more,  since  you 
are  pleased  even  with  those  which  I  wrote  at  the 
importunity   of  our  youths.     If  Demosthenes, 
that  famous  countryman^  of  yours,  became  so 
illustrious  by  his  Philippic  orations,  in  which  he 
divested  himself  of   all  the  rigid  and  meagre 
forms  of  the  bar,  that  he  might  appear  in   the 
character  of  a  dignified  speaker  and  a  wise  states- 
.  man  ;  have  I  not,    I  say,  an  equal  title  to  fame, 
by  publishing  my  orations,  which  I  call  consular. 
The  first  of  them  was  spoken  in  the  senate-house, 
on  the  1st  of  January;   the  second  before  the 
people  ;  both  on  the  subject  of  the  Agrarian  law; 
the  third  was  for  Otho ;  the  fourth  for  Rabirius ; 
the  fifth  was  concerning  the  heirs  of  the  proscri- 
bed ;  the  sixth  was  pronounced  when  I  gave  up 

my 

1  This  is  a  compliment  to  Atticus,  who  was  violently  in  love 
with  Greece  and  its  literature. 


94 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


my  province  in  tbe  assembly  of  the  people ;  the 
levcnth  banished  Catiline  from  Rome ;  I  spoke 
the  eighth  before  the  people  the  day  after  his 
flight ;  th«  ninth  was  delivered  in  the  assembly, 
on  the  day  when  the  AUobroges  made  their  dis- 
coveries ;  and  the  tenth  in  the  senate,  on  the  5th 
of  December ;  and  these  with  two  short  ones, 
which  serve  as  a  sort  of  appendixes  to  those  upon 
the  Agrarian  law,  form  the  whole  collection  which 
I  shall  take  care  you  shall  receive.  Farther,  as 
you  are  pleased  with  my  actions  as  well  as  my 
writings,  you  shall,  in  those  books,  have  a  full 
view  of  my  conduct,  as  well  as  of  my  eloquence, 
which,  had  you  not  called  for  it,  I  should  not 
have  exhibited. 

You  ask  me  the  reason  why  I  so  much  press 
your  return  to  Rome ;  and,  without  refusing  to 
come,  you  bint,  that  you  have  a  great  deal  of 
business  upon  your  hands,  and  that  )^u  would 
fly  to  see  me,  not  only  to  do  me  service,  but  to  do 
me  pleasure.  The  truth  is,  I  know  of  no  abso- 
lute necessity ;  but  it  appeared  to  me,  that  you 
might  have  marked  out  the  times  of  your  absence 
les«  unkindly.  You  have  indeed  been  too  long 
absent,  especially  as  you  are  in  the  neighbour** 
hood,  and  as  I  neither  enjoy  you,  nor  have  you 
my  company.  Now,  indeed,  I  have  some  repose ; 
but  if  the  madness  of  the  effeminate  Clodiu« 
should  carry  him  much  farther,  I  shall  seriously 
urge  your  return.  Metellus,  however,  checks  him, 

and 


It 


TO  ATTICUS. 


9^ 


y 


^0d  will  cb^ck  him  to  some  purpose.  Indeed 
though  a  consul,  he  w  a  »»cere  patt^iot,  mi  ^ 
I  always  thought,  a  good  man. 

As  to.  Clodius,  he  now  solicits,  withwt  t«y 
jnask,  for  the  tribuneship  of  the  people.     When 
this  matter  came  before  the  senate,  I  confouuded 
rtie  fellow,  cemured  his  incgni^tancy  in  ^tan4iag 
for  the  tribuneship  at  Rome,  when,  but  the  other 
4ay,  he  declared  in  Sicily,  he  w^uld  stand  for  the 
^dileship.    I  said  that  we  had  no  real  rc^aaon  to 
l^e  alsurm^,  si»c^  be  wpwld,  in  the  character  of  a 
Plebeian,  have  tio  more  opportvinity  for  distres- 
&i«g  his  cpuutry,  than  th^  Patricians,  whose  ex- 
ample he  followed  under  my  consulship.    In  the 
next  place,  having  understood  that  he  ha4  boas- 
ted in  an  assembly  of  the  people,  of  having  com^ 
to  Rome  ill  seven  days,   from  the  streigUts  of 
Sicily,  and  that  h^  had  entered  the  city  by  night, 
to  prevent  the  crowds  who  were  to  come  out  to 
meet  him ;  I  said  there  was  nothing  strange  in  ft 
man's  coming  in  ^vea  days  from  Sicily  to  Rome, 
when  in  three  hours  he  could  oome  and  go  from 
Rome  to  Interamna ;  that  it  was  not  the  first  time 
he  had  entered  the  city  by  night,  and  that  nobody, 
by  going  out  to  meet  him,  had  obstructed  his  ap- 
proach, when  they  ought  to  have  done  it  most^ 
'  In 

1  Orig,  Non  esse  hum  olviam,  m  turn  quidem  cum  in  mi^^- 
imedeluit.  Meaoing  that  upon  his  return  he  should  h»fc 
jDeen  forbidden  to  «nter  RoraCr 


96 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


i< 


ii 


ii 


li 


it 


In  a  word,  I  teach  this  impudent  man  modesty, 
not  only  by  the  grave  continued  severity  of  my 
address,  but  by  such  occasional  keen  raillery  as 
the  following. 

While  we  were  attending  a  candidate,  I  made 
him  the  subject  of  my  wit  and  satire.  He  asked 
me  "  whether  I  used  to  assign  any  place  for  the 
"  Sicilians  at  the  gladiatorian  shows."  I  told 
him  by  no  means.  "  But,  replies  he,  I  will ; 
though  they  are  come  but  lately  under  my  pa- 
tronage. But,  continues  he,  my  sister,  whcf 
has  so  much  room  as  a  consular's  w  ife,  allows 
me  only  a  few  inches."  O  !  replied  I,  "  I  dare 
to  say  your  sister  w  ishes  you  to  have  as  many 
"  inches  as  you  can  desire  ^"  This  you  say,  was 
not  speaking  in  a  very  consular  stile ;  I  allow  it ; 
but  I  despise  vulgarity  even  in  the  w  ife  of  a  con- 
sul. For  she  is  a  turbulent  w  oman,  prone  to  de- 
clare war  with  her  husband,  and  not  only  with 
her  husband,  but  even  w  ith  her  gallant, '  because 
they  are  my  friends  in  this  affair. 

With  regard  to  your  inquiries  about  the  Agra- 
rian law,  it  seems,   at  present,  to  be  forgotten. 

As 

^  Orig.  Sed  soror,  quce  tantum  haleat  consularis  loci,  unum 
mihi  solum  pedem  dat.  Noli,  inquam,  de  uno  pede  sororis 
queri :  licet  etiam  alterum  tollas.  This  passage  alludes  to  the 
supposed  incest  of  Clodius  with  his  sister,  who  was  the  consul 
Metelius's  wife^  but  it  is  not  proper  to  explain  the  meaning  of 
the  passage  itself. 

'  Meaning  Fabius. 


*ro  ATTICUS. 


97 


I 


As  to  the  gentle  chastisement  you  give  me  con- 
cerning my  friendship  with  Pompey,  I  would  not 
have  you  imagine  that  I  look  upon  it  to  be  any 
security  to  me  ;  but  as  affairs  were  circumstanced, 
had  there  been  any  difference,  the  public  must 
have  necessarily  been  thrown  into  the   greatest 
confusion.     Now,    my  management  and  caution 
to  prevent  this  w  as  such,  that  I  did  not  deviate 
from  my  own  virtuous  plan  of  conduct;  but  I 
have  brought  him  to  be  a  better  patriot,  and  in 
some  degree  to  correct  that  giddiness,  with  which 
he  courts  the  populace.     For,  be  it  know  n  to  you 
that  he  does  not  run  out  so  much  in  applause  of 
his  own  actions,  as  of  my  conduct,  against  which 
so  many  people  have  endeavoured  to  prepossess 
him.  ^   He  says  that  he  has  served,   but  I  have 
preserved,  the  public.     I  know  of  no  advantages 
that  I  can  draw  from  this  declaration,   but  the 
public  can   certainly  draw    many.     What  if  I 
should  make  a  better  patriot  of  Caesar,  whose 
sails  are  now  full-swelled  with  the  gale  of  popu- 
lar favour  ;  shall  I  not  then  serve  my  country  ? 

Supposing,  even,  that  I  have  not  an  enemy,  and 
that  all  mankind  should  do  me  justice,  by  giving 
me  their  friendship,  is  the  application  which 
heals  the  rotten  parts  of  the  republic  less  valua- 
ble than  that  which  cuts  them  oii?  But  now,  at  a 
time  when  that  body  of  cavalry,  which,  when  you 
led  their  way,  and  carried  their  colours,  I  posted 
in  the  avenue  of  the  capitol,  has  abandoned  the 

Vol.  I.  H  senate; 


} 


98 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS, 


99 


senate ;  at  a  time  when  our  great  men  think  them- 
selves high  as  heaven,  if  they  can  bring  their 
mullets  in  their  fishponds  to  feed  out  of  their 
hands ;  at  a  time  when  they  mind  no  other  busi- 
ness, do  you  not  think  that  I  am  useftiUy  em- 
ployed, in  taking  the  will,  from  those  who  have 
the  power,  to  hurt  our  country  ? 

My  admiration  of  Cato  is  not  inferior  to  yours ; 
but  still,  with  tiie  best  intentions  and  the  strict- 
est honour,  he  sometimes  hurts  the  public ;  for 
his  sentiments  are  more  suited  to  the  perfect  com- 
monwealth of  Plato,  than  to  the  low  rabble  of 
Romulus.     Can  there  be  a  proposition  more  just 
than  that  a  man  should  be  brought  to  the  bar  for 
receiving  money,  while  he  sat  upon  the  bench. 
This  was  Cato's  opinion ;  the  senate  came  into 
it ;  the  knights  declared  war  against  the  w^hole 
order,  but  not  against  me,  because   I   divided 
against  the  question.     What  could  be  more  im- 
pudent than  the'petition  presented  by  the  farmers 
of  the  revenue  ?  It  would  have  been,  however, 
prudent  to  have  suffered  that  loss,    rather  than 
have  forfeited  the  friendship  of  the  order.     Cato 
opposed  them  and  carried  his  point.     But  what 
is  the  consequence,  now  that  the  consul  is  im- 
prisoned, and  now  thatall  is  in  an  uproar  ?    Not 
a  man  of  that  order  has  shewed  the  least  affection 
for  the  constitution,   wliich,  under  me,   and  the 
consuls  who  succeeded  me,  they  so  bravely  de- 
fended.    You  say  what  of  all  this  ?  Are  we  to 

bribe 


-k 


bribe  them  to  do  their  duty  ?  What  have  we  to  do 
else  ?  Are  we  to  be  insulted  by  our  freedmen, 
are  we  to  be  the  slaves  of  our  slaves  ?  But,  surely, 
you  will  say,  here  my  efforts  ought  to  terminate'. 

Favonius  has  dealt  more    honestly  with  my  , 
tribe  than  with  his  own ;  but  be  has  ruined  that 
of  Lucceius.    ,He  has  brought  a  groundless  im- 
peachment against  Nasica,  and  spoke  to  it  in  so 
aukward  a  manner,  that  one  could  have  sworn  he 
had  a  mule  rather  than  a  Alolon,  of  Rhodes,  for 
his  master  of  rhetoric  ^     He  was  somewhat  dis- 
pleased with  me  for  speaking  in  his  defence,  and 
he  is  now  attacking  him  again  for  the  good  of  the 
public.     I  will  write  to  you  concerning  the  pro- 
ceedings of  Lucceius,  after  I   have  seen  Csesar, 
who  will  be  here  in  two  days.     You  are  to  thank 
Cato,  and  his  ape  Servilius,   for  the  losses  you 
have  sustained  from  the   Sicyonians.     But,  in^ 
deed,  do  not  many  worthy  men  labour  under  the 
same  grievance  ?  Let  us,  however,  beai'  with  it, 
since   it  is  passed,   lest,  in  time  of  any  future 
commotion,  we  be  left  by  ourselves. 

X  My 

*  Orig,  *aA.i5  inrovhh  enovgh  of  labour,  i.  e.  in  preserving 
the  harmony  of  tlfe  different  orders,  no  more  efForts,  no  far- 
ther sacrifice  ought  to  be  made  by  me. — E. 

5  There  is  a  jingle  here  in  the  original,  which  I  have  imita- 
ted in  the  translation.  Ita  ut  Rhodi  viikretur  molts  potius, 
quam  Moloni  operam  dedisse.  Molon  was  a  famous  teacher  of 
rhetoric  at  Rhodes. 


9 


\ 


100 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


My  Amalthea  expects,  and  requires  your  pre-' 
sence.  I  am  wonderfully  delighted  with  my  Tus- 
culanum  and  Pompeianum,  though  indeed  I,  who 
prevented  a  general  bankruptcy,  am  ready  to 
become  bankrupt  myself,  through  the  debts  I 
have  contracted  to  build  them.  I  am  in  hopes 
that  every  thing  in  Gaul  is  quiet.  You  may  daily 
expect  the  Prognostics*  with  my  orations,  which 
are  but  trifles.  In  the  meanwhile,  let  me  know 
what  resolution  you  have  come  to  concerning 
your  return  hither.  For  I  was  told  from  Pom- 
ponia,  that  you  was  to  be  at  Rome  in  the  month 
of  July.  This  is  somewhat  different  from  what 
you  gave  me  to  understand,  by  the  letters  you 
wrote  me  since  your  departure. 

I  wrote  you  before,  that  Paetus  has  made  me 
a  present  of  all  the  books  that  were  left  him  by 
his  brother,  and  it  rests  upon  your  friendship  to 
make  this  present  turn  out  to  my  account  As 
you  love  me,  take  care  that  they  are  preserved, 
and  safely  conveyed  to  my  hands.  You  cannot 
do  me  a  more  agreeable  piece  of  service  than 
this  ;  and  in  carefully  preserving  all  those  books, 
the  Latin  as  well  as  the  Greek,  I  shall  then  look 
upon  the  present  as  yours.    I  have  delivered  your 

letters 


*  A  poem  of  Aratus,  a  Greek  poet,  whom  Virgil  has  often 
imitated,  and  indeed  copied  in  his  Georgics.  This  poem  Ci- 
cero had  rendered  into  Latin,  a  copy  of  which  he  sent  to  his 
friend.— E. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


16t 


letters  to  Octavius^,  but  had  no  conversation  with 
him ;  for  I  did  not  think  they  related  to  your  af- 
fairs in  the  province;  nor  did  I  reckon  you 
amongst  the  number  of  usurers  ;butlhave  writ- 
ten as  I  ought,  with  fidelity- 


EPISTLE  IL 

X  ENTREAT  you  by  your  friendship  for  me,  to 
pay  every  attention  to  my  nephew's  recovery, 
with  whose  indisposition  I  sincerely  sympathize. 
I  have  just  laid  down  the  treatise  of  Dicaearchus 
upon  the  Pollenean  republic,  and  have  now  before 
me  a  whole  pile  of  his  works.  What  a  great  au- 
thor he  is  !  And  how  much  more  may  you  learn 
from  him  than  from  Procilius.  If  I  mistake  not, 
I  have  at  Rome  his  treatises,  concerning  the  Co- 
rinthian and  Athenian  governments.  Take  my 
word  for  it,  read  him,  I  recommend  him,  he  is  an 
admirable  writer.  Were  Herodes  a  man  ot 
sense,  he  would  read  him,  before  he  wrote  ano- 
ther word.  He  attacked  me  by  letters,  but  I  per- 
ceive that  he  attacks  you  in  person.  I  should 
have  joined  in  Catiline's  conspiracy,  instead  of 
destroying  it,  had  I  imagined  that  I  was  to  be 

doomed 


^  He  was  father  to  the  emperor  Augustus  Caesar,  and  was 
then  governor  of  Macedonia. 


102 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


doomed  to  hear  him.     Yoii  are  wrong  in  the  af- 
fair of  Lollius,  but  right  as  to  Vinius. 

Now  that  I  think  of  it,  the  first  day  of  the 
month  is  at  hand,  but  where  is  Antony^  ?  Are 
the  judges  summoned  ?  For  I  am  given  to  under- 
stand, that  Nigidius^  threatened  in  an  assembly, 
that  he  would  summon  any  judge  who  shall  ab- 
sent himself.  I  wish,  however,  that  you  would 
let  me  know  all  you  can  learn  concerning  the  jour- 
ney of  Antony ;  and  because  you  will  not  come  to 
tliis  place,  I  request  you  to  sup  with  me  at  Rome, 
the  last  of  this  month,  and  this  you  must  not  fail 
to  do.     Take  care  of  your  own  health. 


EPISTLE  III. 


I 


OUGHT  speedily  to  recompense  the  good 
news',  which  you  have  sent  me,  by  another 
equally  acceptable  to  you.  Valerius  is  acquitted 
upon  the  defence  made  for  him  by  Hortensius, 

and 

1  He  was  Cicero's  colleague  in  the  consulship,  and  though 
he  commanded  die  army  that  defeated  Catiline,  he  was  after- 
vrzrds  banished  for  being  concerned  in  his  conspiracy,  though 
be  was  defended  by  Cicero. 

«  He  was  tribune  all  the  following  year,  and  as  such  had  a 
power  of  compelling  the  judges  of  Antony  to  attend. 

»  The  original  from  its  brevity,  is  obscure.  Primum,  ut  opi- 
nor,  MvxyytXsx,  l  e.  deleo  tihi  ivxrf^»,  I  owe  you  the  reward 
of  good  neics.-~-^. 


TO  ATTICUS- 


103 


nnd  this  it  is  apprehended,  through  the  interest 
of  Caeso  Atilius  ;  and  I  suspect  with  you,  that  our 
great  man^  has  been  taking  an  undue  liberty  in 
the  same  affair.  For  I  am  neither  pleased  with 
his  military,  nor  with  his  civil  accoutrements ^ 
You  shall  know  the  whole  matter  when  you  come 

hither. 

You  must  know,  that  in  finding  fault  with  the 
narrowness  of  my  windows,  you  find  fault  with 
the  institution  of  Cyrus  ^  For  when  I  disco- 
vered the  very  same  fault  that  you  do,  Cyrus  told 
me,  that  objects  did  not  appear  so  agreeable 
through  wide  windows,  and  that  supposing  A  to 
be  the  eye  that  sees, ,  B  and  C  to  be  the  object 
that  are  seen,  D  and  E  the  rays  of  light.  You 
know  the  rest  of  this  jargon.  For  if  we  were  to 
see  by  the  interposition  of  images,  they  would  be 
obstructed  in  those  narrow  passages,   so  that  the 

stream 

^  Ew/xf  «T»jo  the  powerful  man,  meaning  Pompey. 

2  Mihi  ejus  caligae,  ut  fasciis  cretatce,  displicehant'  The 
caligco  were  greaves,  used  by  soldiers,  and  the  fasciis  were  a 
sort  of  fillets  or  rollers  to  wrap  around  the  legs,  instead  of 
stockings,  and  formed  a  part  of  tlie  civil  common  dress.  Pom- 
pey wore  these  in  the  city  as  badges  of  honour,  and  as  such 
gave  offence  to  Cicero  and  others.  In  the  use  of  such  fillets, 
as  insignia  of  rank  and  triumph,  originated,  it  appears  probable, 
the  order  of  the  Garter  with  us. — E. 

^  The  wit  of  our  author  here  consists  in  an  obscure  play  upon 
words.  The  instruction  of  the  architect,  who  appears  to  have 
been  called  Cyrus,  Cicero  stiles  Yivfov  vahiait,  which  is  the  title 
of  a  well  known  book  written  by  Xenophon. — E. 


104 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


105 


stream  of  rays  is  now  easily  admitted.  If  there 
is  any  thing  else  you  dislike,  let  me  know,  and  I 
will  rectify  it,  provided  it  be  of  such  a  nature  as 
to  be  corrected  by  expence. 

January  is  at  length  arrived,  in  which  the  fate 
of  the  elections  is  to  be  decided :  and  here  I  lay 
before  you  an  account  of  my  political  conduct, 
in  the  Socratic  manner,  by  exhibiting  a  view  on 
both  sides  ;  but,  like  him,  I  shall  close  the  whole 
with  my  own  opinion.  It  is  indeed  a  thing  of 
great  weight.  For  I  must  either  oppose  the  Agra- 
rian law,  by  an  ineffectual,  though  glorious  resist- 
ance, or  I  must  agree  to  it,  which  is  not  unlike 
retiring  to  Solonium  or  Antium^ ;  or  I  must  as- 
sist in  it,  which  I  understand  Caesar  expects  me 
to  do.  Cornelius  has  been  at  my  house,  I  mean 
Balbus',  Caesar's  intimate.  He  assured  me  that 
Caesar  would,  in  all  his  conduct,  be  directed  by 
Pompey  and  me,  and  that  he  would  endeavour 
to  reconcile  Crassus  to  Pompey.  From  all  this 
it  follows,  that  my  coalition  with  Pompey  remains 
firm ;  that  I  may,  if  I  please,  have  the  friendship 
of  Caesar ;  that  I  may  enter  into  favour  with  my 
enemies,  into  peace  with  the  people,  and  secure 
a  tranquillity  to  my  old  age.  But,  against  this, 
I  am  cautioned  by   the  following  admonition, 

given 

^  These  were  two  pleasant  country  seats  in  Italy. 

'  This  peirson  made  a  great  figure  at  Rome  under  Caesar^ 
though  "€  was  a  Spaniard  by  birth. 


m 


given  me  in  the  third  book  of  a  poetical  workV 
known  to  you : — 

Meanwhile  the  course  of  honour  and  of  truths  | 
Which  you^  when  consul  held,  pursue,  and  thus 
Increase  your  fame,  and  virtuous  applause. 

As  Calliope  herself  dictated  to  me  these  senti- 
ments in  a  book  written  in  favour  of  the  aristo- 
cratic party,  I  can  have  no  doubt  that 

Without  a  sign  his  sword  the  brave  man  draws. 
And  asks  no  omen  but  his  country's  cause'^. 

But  we  will  reserve  these  matters  for  our  walks' 
at  the  compitalitia.  Do  not  forget,  the  day  before 
that  festival.  I  will  order  the  bath  to  be  made 
warm,  and  Terentia  invites  Pomponia.  We  shall 
likewise  have  your  mother's  company.  Bring 
along  with  you,  out  of  my  brother's  library,  the 
Treatise  of  Theophrastus  upon  the  Pursuit  of 
public  Honours. 

^  This  is  a  stroke  of  that  excessive  vanity  which  distinguishes 

Cicero's  character  j  for  this  poem  was  probably  written  by  him- 
self and  in  his  own  praise. 

^  Orig.  'E/s  otmos  avisos  (X[jLvvs<r9xt  irt^i  ftxr^-ns.  Unum  augit^ 
rium  optimum pugnare  pro  patria.  This  is  a  fine  sentiment 
taken  from  Homer,  who  puts  it  into  the  mouth  of  Hector,  in 
the  12th  book  of  the  Iliad. 

*  The  compitalitia  was  an  unfixed  feast  in  Rome,  generally 
beld  in  December  or  the  beginning  of  January. 

EPISTLE 


106 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


107 


EPISTLE  IV. 

Y  ou  have  greatly  obliged  nie  in  sending  me 
Serapion's  book,  of  which,  between  ourselves,  I 
understand  scarcely  the  thousandth  part  I  have 
given  orders  for  you  to  be  paid  for  it  in  ready 
money,  to  prevent  your  putting  it  to  the  account 
of  your  presents.  But  now  that  I  mention  mo- 
ney, I  beg  you  will  take  care  at  any  rate  to  make 
up  that  afl'air  with  Titinius.  If  he  will  not  stand 
to  what  he  has  offered,  I  am  extremely  well 
pleased  that  the  bad  purchase  should  be  retur- 
ned, if  it  be  agreeable  to  Pomponia ;  if  he  be 
not  satisfied  with  this,  let  the  money  be  returned, 
rather  than  create  dispute.  I  was  very  desirous 
that  before  you  went  away,  you  should  bring  this, 
as  you  have  done  other  things  to  an  amicable 
conclusion '. 

You  tell  me  then;  that  Clodius  is  to  be  com- 
missioned with  an  embassy  to  Tigranes.  I  wish 
I  knew  upon  what  terms^ ;  but  I  learn  this  with 

indifference. 

^  There  are  many  dark  readings  in  the  preceding  passages  3  I 
l^ve  translated  them  in  the  manner  I  thoiight  most  agreeable 
to  probability  and  common  sense. 

^  The  reading  here  is  likewise  very  dark.  The  embassy  spo- 
ken of  was  probably  the  result  of  the  newly  cemented  friend- 
ship between  Caesar  and  Pompey,  who  could  not  otherwise 
compass  his  favourite  pointy  of  having  his  actions  in  the  east 
confirmed. 


A 


I 


indifference.  That  will  be  a  much  more  proper 
time  for  our  free  legation',  when  my  brother 
Quintus  shall,  as  I  hope  he  will  be,  settled  in  ease 
and  leisure  ^  and  when  it  shall  he  known  how 
that  priest  of  impiety  shall  conduct  himself.  In 
the  meanwhile,  I  converse  with  the  muses,  and 
pursue  my  studies  with  great  calmness,  eager- 
ness, 

1  A  free  legation,  or  Legatio  libera,  was  no  other  than  a  form 
pf  a  leave  of  absence  granted  by  the  senate  to  one  of  their 
body,  under  pretext  of  a  public  employment  abroad. 

2  Cicero's  l^rother  Quintus  had  been  for  some  time  governor 
(of  Asia,  and  Cicero  was  at  this  time  soliciting  the  senate  for 
leave  for  him  to  return  to  Rome. 

3  Iste  sacerdos  Bonce  dece,  that  priest  of  the  goddess  Bona, 
This  is  an  ironical  description  of  Clodius.    The  expression  car- 
ries an  allusion  to  the  intrigue,  which  he  had  with  Pompela,  the 
wife  of  Caesar.     Being  unable  to  gain  access  to  her,  he  took 
the  opportunity,  while  in  her  own  house,  she  was  celebrating 
the  mysteries  of  the  goddess  Bona  Dea,  to  enter  disguised  in  a 
woman's  habit.     He  wa^  however  discovered,  and  the  intrigue, 
as  it  was  a  violation  of  the  most  solemn  mysteries,  was  made 
the  subject  of  prosecution,  but  was  acquitted  in  consequence 
of  having  bribed  tlie  judges.     In  reference  to  the  same  intrigue, 
Cicero  calls  him  elsewhere,  Illafuria  muliehrium  religionum, 
that  violator  of  the  matron  rites ;  none  but  women  being  per- 
mitted to  be  present  in  it.    The  Bona  Dea,  according  to  Plu- 
tarch, was  supposed  to  have  been  a  Dryad,  witli  whom  the  god 
Faunus  had  an  amour.     Her  mystic  ceremonies  were  held  in 
the  highest  veneration,  and  conducted  witli  the  utmost  secrecy. 
So  far  was  it  from  being  lawful  for  any  male  to  be  present,  that 
as  Seneca  tells,  if  the  picture  of  a  male  animal  happened  to  be 
in  the  room,  where  those  mystic  rites  were  performing,  it  was 
tliought  necessary  to  cover  it. — Plut.  in  Cks.  Sen.  epist.  97. — E. 


iOS 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


109 


ness  and  delight.  I  never  think  of  envying  Cras* 
sus,  or  repent  having  acted  up  conformably  to 
my  character.  As  to  the  geography,  I  will  take 
care  to  give  you  satisfaction,  but  I  promise  no- 
thing certain.  It  is  a  great  undertaking ;  I  will, 
however,  agreeably  to  your  desire,  endeavour  to 
give  you  some  specimen  of  my  labours  that  way 
from  my  journey.  Let  me  know  all  you  can  learn 
of  public  affairs,  and  especially  who  ^e  likely  to 
be  chosen  consuls ;  yet  am  I  by  no  means  anxi- 
ous\  I  am  determined  to  think  no  more  of  po- 
litics. 

I  have  seen  the  wood  belonging  to  my  wife, 
but  I  should  think  myself  master  of  all  Epirus, 
did  I  but  possess  Dodona's  grove.  About  the 
1st  of  next  month,  I  shall  be  either  at  Formia- 
num  or  Pompeianum ;  if  I  should  not  be  at  the 

former, 

^  No  dramatic  writer  ever  drew  human  nature  in  so  ridicu- 
lous a  light  as  Cicero's  character  appears  from  his  epistles. 
While  he  is.  upon  the  rack  of  ambition,  jealousy,  and  vain- 
glory, he  is  perpetually  preaching  up  lessons  of  philosophy, 
disinterestedness,  retirement,  and  patriotism ;  and  yet,  like  a 
lover,  who  breaks  with  his  mistress,  whilst  Cicero  quarrels  with 
the  world,  and  is  every  minute  threatening  to  leave  it  -,  he 
makes  it  plain  by  every  word  and  action  that  drops  from  him, 
that  he  is  afraid  lest  the  world  should  take  him  at  his  word, 
and  every  succeeding  expression  contradicts  the  former.  One 
cannot  help  feeling  for  the  weakness  of  so  great  a  man,  and  it 
must  give  a  reader  of  understanding  pain,  that  Cicero's  confi- 
dence in  his  friend  has  published  to  all  the  world  (I  wish  I 
could  not  call  it)  the  badness  of  his  heart  in  this  respect. 


former,  I  beg,  as  as  you  love  me,  that  you  will 
come  to  Pomgeianum;  it  will  give  me  great 
pleasure,  and  iris  nothing  out  of  your  road.  I 
have  given  orders  to  Philotimus,  that  the  wall 
do  not  obstruct  you,  and  you  may  do  with  it 
as  you  propose.  I  think,  however,  that  you 
should  consult  Vetius.  At  such  a  juncture  as 
this,  when  the  life  of  every  worthy  man  is  so  in- 
secure, I  think  it  a  mighty  matter  to  enjoy  for 
one  summer  the  pleasure  afforded  by  my  Pala- 
tine academy.  But  still  I  would  not  have  my 
sister  and  her  boy  to  live  in  any  danger  of  being 
buried  in  ruins\ 


EPISTLE  V. 

X  NOW  have,  and  I  long  have  had,  a  strong  de- 
sire to  visit  Alexandria  and  the  rest  of  Egypt, 
both  that  I  may  get  rid  of  this  disgust  of  mankind, 
and  that  I  may  return  with  pleasure  to  society. 
But,  considering  the  dangers  of  the  present  time, 
and  the  men,  who  are  desirous  of  my  absence,  1 
repeat  with  Hector,  I  fear  for  the  Trojans,  men 
and  women,    xvith  their  sweeping  trains".      For 

what 

*  This  relate*  to  some  inconveniencies  that  had  happened 
through  a  partition-wall  that  divided  the  house  of  Cicero  and 
his  brother  upon  mount  Palatine. 

^   Orig.  AthoiAxt  T^vois,  koii  T§ua^xs  iKKicri'CJkZsKHS.     They  are 

the 


no 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


Ill 


what  will  our  nobility  say,  if  indeed  we  have  any 
nobles  still  remaining?  Can  tliey  say  that  I 
have  been  bribed  for  doing  my  duty  ?  Our  friend 
Polydamus  would  then  be  the  first  to  reproach 
me,  I  mean  Cato,  whom  I  deem  to  be  himself  a 
host.  But  what  will  be  said  of  me  six  hundred 
years  hence  by  historians  ?  I  fear  their  testi- 
mony more  than  I  do  the  unmeaning  garulity  of 
my  contemporaries.  But  I  am  of  opinion  that  we 
must  bear  all,  and  wait  with  patience.  If  they 
offer  me  that  employment,  I  shall  be  at  liberty 
either  to  take  or  refuse  it ;  for  there  is  ome  cre- 
dit even  in  refusing.  If  therefore,  Theophanes 
should  converse  with  you  on  that  subject,  do  not 
in  positive  terms  reject  the  offer. 

I  expect  to  learn  from  you  what  is  going  on  at 
Rome,  what  Arrius  is  saying,  and  how  he  bears 
his  forlorn  state ;  whether,  as  the  report  goes, 
Pompey  and  Crassus,  or  as  my  letters  intimate, 
Servius  Sulpicius,  and  Gabinius,  are  to  be  con- 
suls ;  what  new  laws  are  passing ;  in  short,  whe- 
ther there  are  any  news  at  all,  and,  as  Nepos  is 


gomg 


the  words  of  Hector  (H.  yi.  442.)  to  his  wife,  when  advising 
him  not  to  return  to  the  field  of  battle.  His  presence  was  the 
chief  defence  of  the  city  j  and  his  retreat,  he  knew,  would  ex- 
jK)se  it  with  its  inhabitants  male  and  female  an  easy  prey  to  the 
conquerors.  With  more  than  Grecian  hostility  the  ambition 
of  Caesar  and  Pompey  was  besieging  tiie  freedom  of  Rome  j  and 
Cicero  was  vain  enough  to  imagine,  that  his  retirement  would 
facilitate  its  capture  by  the  ambitious  foes  of  liberty. — E. 


I 


i 


going  abroad,  who  is  to  have  the  augurship.  This 
is  the  only  allurement  with  which  the  men  in 
power  can  hope  to  secure  my  interest.  You  see 
my  want  of  firmness.  But  what  have  I  to  do 
with  ambition  ?  I,  who  wish  to  retire,  and  to 
apply  my  whole  time  and  attention,  to  subjects  of 
philosophy.  This  is  my  present  turn  of  thinking, 
I  wish  I  had  never  thought  otherwise.  But  now, 
as  I  find  by  experience,  how  trifling  those  pur- 
suits are,  which  1  once  imagined  to  be  so  glori- 
ous,  I  think  now  of  no  connections  but  with  the 

nine  Muses. 

Let  me  however  know  the  truth  concerning 
Curtius,  and  whether  any  one  is  thought  of  to  fill 
his  place,  and  what  is  to  become  of  Publius  CIo- 
dius  ;  and  take  pains  to  inform  me  all  that  you 
have  promised.  I  beg  you  to  let  me  know  the 
precise  day,  on  which  you  think  to  leave  Rome, 
that  I  may  make  you  certain  as  to  the  place 
where  I  shall  then  reside,  and  immediately  sit 
down  to  write  me  a  letter  concerning  those  mat- 
ters 1  have  mentioned  in  mine,  for  I  am  very  im- 
patient to  hear  from  you. 

T 
EPISTLE  VI. 

As  to  the  account  of  my  journey  which  I  pro- 
mised you  in  my  former  letters,  I  can  give  you 
no  great  encoiu'agement  to  expect  it       I  am 

grown 


112 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


113 


grown  so  fond  of  the  leisure  which  I  enjoy,  that 
I  cannot  without  violence  be  separated  from  it 
I  therefore  amuse  myself  with  my  books,  of  ' 
which  I  have  a  great  number  at  Antium,  or  I 
count  the  waves,  for  the  season  is  too  tempestu- 
ous for  fishing,  and  I  have  no  inclination  to 
write.  For  the  geopraphical  work  which  I  in- 
tended to  write,  is  an  arduous  undertaking  ;  and 
Eratosthenes,  whom  I  proposed  for  my  pattern, 
is^  blamed  by  Serapion  and  Ilipparchus.  What 
would  you  think  of  consulting  Tyrannio  ?  The 
subject,  be  assured,  is  difficult;  a  tedious  uni- 
formity characterises  the  whole  of  it,  nor  is  it  so 
susceptible  of  embellishments  as  I  thought  it 
to  be  ;  and  w  hat  is  worse  than  all,  I  want  but  the 
slightest  excuse  for  being  idle. 

The  chief  employment  of  my  time,  at  present, 
is  to  debate  with  myself,  whether  I  shall  reside 
at  this  place  or  at  Antium,  where  I  had  rather 
be  a  magistrate^  than  a  consul  at  Rome.  But 
you  have  acted  more  prudently,  by  purchasing  / 
a  house  at  Buthrotum.  But,  rely  upon  it,  the 
city  of  Antium  much  resembles  that  town.  In 
a  place  so  near  Rome,  there  are  many  who  have 

never 

^  This  Cicero  calls  Duumvir,  who  was  one  of  the  two  chief 
magistrates  in  a  Colonial  town,  and  corresponded  to  the  office 
of  a  consul  at  Rome.  For  this  reason  it  was  shared  between 
two,  which  was  the  number  of  the  consuls.  Vid.  Adam's  Ant. 
p.  74.-^E. 


■r 


never  seen  Vantinius\  and  there  is  none,  beside 
myself,  who  does  not  wish  all  the  twenty  com- 
missioners^ hanged  ;  where  nobody  molests,  and 
everybody  loves,  me.  This  indeed  is  a  delightful 
place  for  the  study  of  politics,  for  at  Rome  I  have 
no  leisure,  nor  even  inclinations  to  do  this.  I 
therefore  entrust  you  only  with  my  anecdotes  of 
certain  characters^  which  are  in  the  manner  of 
Theopompus,  but  more  severe.  This  work  I 
have  not  dedicated  to  the  service  of  the  republic, 
except  that  I  shew  my  hatred  towards  those  who 
seek  its  ruin  :  and  I  have  acted  this  part  not 
from  resentment,  but  from  the  pleasure  of  writing. 
But  to  come  to  the  purpose  of  this  letter  ;  I 
have  written  to  the  city  questors  about  the  affair 
of  my  brother  Quintus.  Let  me  know  their  an- 
swer, whether  we  have  any  hopes  of  being  paid 
in  Roman  coin,  or  be  obliged  to  accept 
the  Asiatic  coin  of  Pompey*.      You  will  likewise 

come 

^  This  tribune  was  one  of  Cicero's  leading  enemies. 

2  These  commissioners  were  nominated  by  Caesar,  for  exe- 
cuting the  Agrarian  law,  which,  the  year  before,  had  been 
carried  in  by  Flavius. 

3  This  author  was  a  disciple  of  Isocrates,  and  wrote  a  sarcas- 
tical  history  of  his  own  times. 

4  Orig,  Cistophoro  Pbmpeiano.  There  is  a  pretty  allusion 
here.  There  was,  in  A^a,  a  very  small  kind  of  coin,  which 
bore  the  impression  of  a  mystical  coffer  or  Cistay  and  was  there- 
fore called  by  the  Romans  Cistophori.     When  Pompey,  after 

his 

Vol.  I.  I 


\ 


114 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


115 


come  to  some  resolution  about  the  wall.  There 
is  another  thing  I  had  almost  forgotten.  Tell  me 
at  what  time  you  think  of  leaving  your  present 
residence. 


EPISTLE  VIL 

1  SHALL  bestow  repeated  and  long  continued 
labour  on  my  geographical  work.  In  the  mean- 
while you  call  upon  npe  for  two  orations,  one  of 
which  I  tore  in  pieces,  and  therefore  could  not 
transcribe  it ;  and  the  other  I  am  unwilling  to 
send,  as  containing  praise  of  the  man  whom  I  do 
not  love^  I  will  however  think  of  this  matter. 
At  least,  you  shall  have  some  compositions  of 
mine,  to  sliow  you  that  I  am  not  irrecoverably 
indolent.  I  am  much  entertained  with  what  you 
write  concerning  Publius ;  and  I  beg  you  will 
bring  me  the  particulars  of  the  whole,  after  you 
have  traced  it  to  the  fountain-head.  In  the 
meantime,  make  me  acquainted  with  all  you 
know,  or  apprehend,  especially  in  respect  to  the 
subject  of  the  embassy.  It  is  true,  before  I  read 
your  letters,    I  wished  him  gone,  not,  indeed, 

from 

his  conquests  in  the  East,  brought  its  knmense  riches  to  Rome, 
he  left  this  species  of  money  to  the  Asiatics  j  and  his  questors, 
who  were  paymasters  to  the  Roman  governors,  insisted  upon 
Cicero's  brother  receiving  his  salary  in  that  coin. 
*  Meaning  perhaps  Pompey. 


t 


from  any  fear  of  joining  issue  with  him\  for  I 
have  a  strange  propensity  for  litigation ;  but  I 
was  in  hopes  he  might  lose  thereby  all  the  popu- 
larity, if  he  acquired  any,  from  his  becoming  a 
Plebeian.  I  could  have  told  him  ;  *'  So,  you  are 
"  become  one  of  the  people,  that  you  may  go  to 
"  compliment  a  king.  When  was  it  ever  known, 
*'  that  the  kings  of  Armenia  were  complimented, 
"  by  any,  under  the  rank  of  a  Patrician."  In 
short,  I  was  in  a  fit  humour  to  goad  him  on 
the  subject  of  the  embassy.  If  he  should  refuse 
it,  and,  as  you  write,  if  he  should  thereby  dis- 
oblige those  who  were  the  most  active  in  solicit- 
incr  and  patronizing  the  law  for  his  adoption, 
we  shall  then  have  fine  diversion. 

Indeed,  to  confess  the  truth,  our  friend  is 
cavalierly  treated.  In  the  first  place,  he,  who 
was  once  the  only  man  in  Caesar's  house,  cannot 
be  admitted  into  it  now  amongst  twenty  others. 
In  the  next  place,  he  was  named  to  one  embassy, 
and  appointed  to  another.  I  suppose  that  the 
lucrative  office,  for  collecting  the  money,  is  re- 
served to  Drusus  of  Pisaurum^  or  to  the  glutton 

Vatinius ;  ^ 

• 

1  Differre  vadimonium  is  a  legal  phrase,  and  signifies  to  put 
off  a  trial.  Cicero  wished  to  avoid  at  the  time  any  dispute  with 
Clodius ;  but  to  have  the  diflference  between  them  decided  on 
some  future  occasion. — E. 

2  This  person  was  praetor  in  the  year  of  Rome  703>  and  both 
he,  and  Vattinius,  were  very  lewd  persons. 

12 


116 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


117 


Vatinius  ;  while  Clodius  is  appointed  to  this  needy 
commission,  which  is  no  better  than  an  honoura- 
ble exile  to  a  man  like  Clodius,  whose  future 
tribuneship  is  so  necessary  for  the  purposes  of 
his  party.  If  you  love  me,  exasperate  him  as 
much  as  possible.  My  whole  hopes,  for  the 
public,  are  that  tliese  men  will  disagree,  which 
I  understand  from  Curio,  is  already  commenced. 
Arius  is  in  a  rage  at  missing  the  consulship.  Our 
African  potentate'  is  already  at  variance  with  the 
young  and  sanguinary  part  of  the  nobility.  If 
the  breach  should  be  widened,  by  a  dispute  about 
the  augurship,  I  hope  I  shall  have  frequent  oc- 
casions of  entertaining  you  with  letters  on  that 
subject  The  hint  you  suggested,  that  even  the 
five*^  commissioners  begin  to  complain,  I  wish 
you  would  farther  explain.  If  I  rightly  compre- 
hend your  meaning,  it  is  a  more  favourable  cir- 
cumstance than  I  expected. 

But  I  would  not  have  you  think  that  I  want 
to  be  informed  by  you,  from  any  desire  I  have 
to  interfere  in  politics  again,  or  that  I  still  long 
to  be  concerned  in  public  affairs.  I  have  long 
since  lost  all  relish  for  power,  even  when  I  might 
have  enjoyed  it      But  now  tliat  I  am  forced  to 

leave 

1  Orig.  Megabocchus.  This  was  another  nickname  of  Pom- 
pey.  Bocchus  was  a  victorious  prince,  who  reigned  in  Mau* 
ritania. — E. 

*  lliis  relates  to  private  history,  which  is  not  now  recover- 
able. 


i4 


leave  the  ship,  after  having  resigned,  but  not 
abandoned,  the  rudder,  I  am  desirous  of  behold- 
ing, from  dry  land,  the  shipwreck  of  my  succes- 
sors.    For,  as  your  friend  Sophocles  says, 

Sweet  is  the  couch  zvken  winter's  storms  invade. 
And  rattling  rains  the  downy  slumbers  aid\ 

Be  sure  to  give  directions  about  the  wall.  I 
will  rectify  that  mistake  concerning  Castriccianus^ 
My  brother  specified  one  sum  to  me,  though  he 
mentioned  another  to  your  sister.  My  wife  pre- 
sents her  compliments  to  you ;  and  my  son  de- 
sires you  to  answer  for  him  to  Aristodemus,  in 
the  same  manner  as  you  did  for  his  brother, 
your  nephew.  I  will  attend  to  what  you  write 
concerning  Amalthea.    Take  care  of  your  health. 


EPISTLE  VIII. 

W  HEN,  in  my  usual  manner,  I  waited  towards 
the  evening  for  a  letter  from  you,  then  comes  a 
message,  that  my  slaves  were  arrived  from  Rome ; 
I  call  for  them,  I  inquire  after  letters,  <  they  cell 
me  they  have  none.     What  nothing  from  Pom- 

ponius  ? 

^  Ong.  xaTt  info   rtyn  WiLtSis  a,x.Hitv  "^^ly^ai^os  iv^H<m  (ppeu. 

2  He  was  agent  for  the  Asiatic  provinces.     The  text  here  is 
mutilated. 


118  CICEROS  EPISTLES 

nonius?     The  fellows  were  frightened  at  the 
manner  in  which  I  spoke,  and  looked,  and  con- 
fessed they  had   received  letters,  but  had  lost 
them  on  the  road.     You  peed  not  doubt  that  I 
stormed  exceedingly;  because,   for  some  time 
past,  no  letters  have  come  from  you  destitute  of 
some  useful  or  entertaining  matter.     Now,  if  in 
yours  of  the  15th  of  April,  there  was  any  business 
of  moment,  let  me  be  informed  of  it  as  soon  as 
possible,  and,  even  if  it  contained  only  wit  and 
humour,  pray  let  me  have  it  again.     You  must 
know  that  young  Curio  has  been  to  pay  me  his 
compliments.     His  information,  concerning  Clo- 
dius,  is  very  much  in  the  same  strain  with  your 
letters :  as  to  himself,  he  professed  an  irrecon- 
cilable hatred  towards  haughty  tyrants.      He 
assured  me  that  our  young  people  of  quality  were 
equally  incensed  against  them,  and  resolved  to 
endure  them  no  longer.     It  is  well  with  us,  if  we 
can  trust  to  them ;  for  my  part,  I  will  set  about 
somewhat  else."     I  apply  to  writing  history ;  and 
vet,  though  you  take  me  for  a  Saufeius',  no  man 
is  more  indolent. 

I  am  now  to  give  you  an  account  of  my  stages, 
that  you  may  be  certain  where  to  find  us.  About 
the  21st  of  April,  I  think  of  being  at  Formiae,  as 
you  suppose  me  flot  to  pay  a  visit,  at  such  a  time 

as 


TO  ATTICUS. 


119 


I 


as  this  is,  to  the  delightful  bason'.  About  the 
1st  of  May,  I  leave  Formiae  to  go  to  Antium  by 
the  3d,  for  public  diversions  are  to  be  exhibited 
there  from  the  4th  to  the  7th,  of  which  I  want 
my  wife  to  participate.  From  thence  I  think  of 
going  to  tusculanum,  from  the  Arpinum,  and  ' 
about  the  1st  of  June,  to  return  to  Rome.  Do 
you  therefore  order  it  so  as  to  see  me  either  at 
Formiae,  or  Antium,  or  Tusculanum.  Give  me 
another  copy  of  your  last  letter,  widi  some  ad- 
ditions. 


'  This  person  vi  as  a  great  reader. 


EPISTLE  IX. 

I  SHALL  be  glad  to  hear  that  my  friend  is  in 
health.  When  the  questor  Caecilius  informed 
me,  that  he  was  to  send  a  slave  to  Rome,  I  sat 
down  in  haste  to  write  this  letter,  that  I  might 
receive  an  account  of  that  strange  conversation 
which  passed  between  Clodius  and  you,  I  mean 
what  you  mention  as  well  as  what  you  omit ;  be- 
cause, as  you  write,  they  would  take  up  too  much 
time.  But,  above  all,  I  would  have  you  to  know, 
that  nothing  will  delight  me  more  than  the  par- 
ticulars of  that  conversation,  which  our  modern 

Juno 

1  Meaning  the  Bajije,  a  town  near  tlie  Promontory  of  Mile- 
num. 


V, 


120 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


121 


Juno^  will  no  doubt  impart  to  you  on  her  return 
from  Solonium  ;  and  which,  if  omitted,  cannot 
again  be  recovered.  Now,  if  the  stipulations 
concerning  me,  have  not  been  observed,  I  am 
quite  happy,  that  the  Jewish  conqueror^  and  in- 
triguer with  the  populace,  may  know  what  thanks 
he  ought  to  return  to  the  splendid  encomiums  1 
bestowed  upon  him  before  the  people,  and  of 
which  you  may  expect  a  divinely  inspired  recan- 
tation. 

For,  so  far  as  I  can  conjecture,  if  that  glutton 
shall  continue  in  favour  with  our  potentates,  he 
may  well  boast  that  he  has  subdued,  not  only  the 
cynical  consuP  but  the  monarchs  of  the  streams. 
For  I  can  give  him  no  manner  of  umbrage,  after 
I  am  stripped  of  my  interest,  and  of  my  power 
with  the  senate.  But  if  he  should  quarrel  with 
them,  it  will  be  ridiculous  for  him  to  persecute 
me  ;  let  him,  however,   do  this  if  he  pleases. 

Our 

^  Boumts  literally,  ox-eyed,  an  epitliet  of  Juno,  who  had  an 
incestuous  intercourse  with  Jupiter  her  brother.  It  is  here  ap- 
plied in  reference  to  the  same  crime,  to  the  sister  of  Clo- 
dius. — E. 

*  Orig.  Hierosolymarius.  Meaning  Pompey,  who  had  con- 
quered Judea. 

'  Clodius  called  Cicero  the  cynic  consul,  on  account  of  the 
vigour  and  severity,  which  he  experienced  from  him.  The  ori- 
ginal of  the  monarchy  of  the  streams  is,  piscinarum  Tritonihus, 
tritons  of  the  fshing-ponds,  and  means  those  senators,  who 
were  more  concerned  about  the  fishing-ponds  on  tlieir  estates, 
than  the  interests  of  their  country. — E. 


I 


U 


i 


Our  great  men,  believe  me,  have  whirled  round 
their  political  hoop'  with  greater  dexterity,  and 
less  noise,   than  I  expected.     That  it  did  not  re^ 
ceive  the  check  that  might  have  been  given  to  it, 
was  owing  to  Catb  in  the  first  place,   and  in  the 
next,  to  the  villany  of  those  who  have  violated 
the  TElian-,  the  Julian-Licinian,  and  the  Ceecili- 
an-Didian  laws  ;  who  have  wasted  all  the  means 
of  public  safety  ;  who  have  invested  tetrarchs  ^ 
with  the  titles  and  possessions  of  kings  ;  and  have' 
enriched  a  fe^  with  the  spoils  of  their  country. 
I  can  now  foresee  to  what  quarter  the  public 
hatred  will  be  directed,  and  where  it  will  fix.     I 
will  give  you  leave  to  say,  that  I  have  profited 
nothing  from  the  knowledge  either  of  men   or 
booksj^'if  you  see  not  the  people  again  wish  for 
the  times  of  my  consulate.     For  if  the  powers 
assumed  by  a  whole  senate,  galled  the  public, 

how 

1  Orig,  Festive,  mihi  crede,  et  minore  sonitu,  quamputaram, 
orhishicinRep.  est  conversus.  This  alludes  lo  a  diversion 
which  scliool-boys  have  in  England,  that  of  driving,  before 
them,  a  hoop,  to  which  were  fixed  bells,  or  pieces  of  metal, 
that  made  a  jingling  noise. 

2  We  have  already  mentioned  the  ^lian  law.  The  other 
two  laws  mentioned  here,  provided,  under  severe  penalties, 
that  every  bill  moved  for  to  the  people,  should  be  exposed  for 
a  certain  time,  about  twenty-seven  days,  and  prescribed  other 
formalities  before  a  bill  could  pass  into  a  law,  all  wh.ch  Caesar 

had  broken  through. 

3  This  alludes  to  Pompey,  who  had  made  the  tetrarch  Dejo- 

tarus  a  king. 


'i  imnw  I  iiim'   i-'i 


]9t 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


123 


how  tliink  you  will  it  bear  the  same  powers  when 
they  are  engrossed,  not  by  the  people,  but  by 
three  men  of  boundless  ambition  ^ 

Well,  let  them  proceed  in  their  own  way  ;  and 
appoint  what  consuls,  and  tribunes  of  the  peo- 
ple, they  please  ;  let  them  even  invest  the  bloated 
Vatinius,  with  the  pontifical  robe  ;  yet  a  short 
time  will  ennoble  not  only  those*  who  have  given 
offence,  but  Cato  himself,  the  most  obnoxious 
'man  in  the  opposition.  For  my  own  part,  if 
your  old  friend  Clodius,  would  allow  me,  I  am 
thinking  of  philosophizing'  in  good  earnest 
Should  he  attack  me,  I  shall  only,  like  a  true 
philosopher,  defend  myself,  and  denounce  war 
against  that  man  who  shall  molest  me.  My  coun- 
try must  forgive  me ;  if  I  have  not  done  for  her 
more  than  I  ought,  as  I  have  done  more  than  I 
was  required  to  do.  I  would  rather  be  a  pas- 
senger, with  a  bad  pilot  at  the  helm,  than  be 
myself  a  good  pilot  for  such  worthless  passen- 
gers. 

Now  as  to  what  you  want  to  know  ;    I  think 
of  removing,  about  the  3d  of  May,  from  Formiae 

to 

'Viz.  Caesar,  Pompey,  and  Crassus. 

*  Videbis  hrevi  tempore  magnos  non  mode  eos,  ^c.  You  will 
shortly  see  those  made  great,  in  allusion  to  Pompey,  who  had 
just  before  assumed  the  title  of  Magnus. — E. 

^aXnmw.     II.  xxiv.  369. 


ti 


to  Antium,  from  thence  I  shall  go  about  the  7th, 
to  Tusculanum.  But  when  I  return  from  For- 
miEE,  where  I  propose  to  stay  till  the  last  of 
April,  I  will  inform  you  farther.  My  wife  sends 
you  her  compliments,  as  my  little  Cicero  does 
his  to  Titus  of  Athens. 


EPISTLE  X. 

\^nAT  do  our  great  men  deny  that  Clodius  is 
made  a  Plebeian  ?  This  is  indeed  a  specimen  of 
their  legal  government  not  easily  to  be  endured' 
Let  Clodius  send  me  a  person  to  take  my  de- 
position  ^  I  will  swear  that  our  friend  Pompey, 
this  colleague  of  Balbus,  told  me,  at  Antium, 
that  he  assisted  at  the  rites  for  that  purpose. 

1  received  from  you  at  the  same  time,  two 
very  agreeable  letters.    I  know  not  how  to  re- 
compense 

1  Caesar  and  Pompey,  in  order  to  appoint  Clodius,  their 
creatvre,  a  tribune,  made  him  a  plebeian  j  but  afterwards, 
through  fear  or  mistrust  of  him,  wished  to  withhold  from  him 
that  office,  and  therefore  denied  that  he  was  actually  so  be- 
come.  This  barefaced  violation  of  truth,  Cicero  observes,  is 
but  a'bad  specimen  of  that  usurpation,  which  they  concealed 
under  the  fair  name  of  (regnum)  government. —E. 

«  There  is  something  here  very  inconsistent  with  Cicero's 
conduct,  unless  he  speaks  ironically,  which  I  strongly  suspect. 
Caesar  and  Pompey  were  somewhat  afraid  of  Clodius,  and  be- 
gan  to  dispute  his  adoption  j  and  Pompey,  it  seems,  even  denied 
that  the  augural  ceremonies  for  it  had  been  observed. 


124 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


compense  you  for  your  good  news.  I  must  there- 
fore acknowledge  myself  to  be  in  your  debt.  Let 
me  inform  you,  however,  of  an  adventure.  After 
I  had  safely  arrived  from  Antium,  at  the  three 
Taverns  upon  the  Appian-way,  on  the  19th  of 
April,  I  met  with  my  friend  Curio,  who  was 
coming  from  Rome,  and  likewise  with  his  slave 
who  brought  me  your  packet.  Curio  asked  me 
about  news;  I  told  him  I  had  none.  Publius, 
said  he,  stands  for  the  tribuneship  of  the  people. 
What  will  you  say  to  this  ?  Nay  farther,  he  is 
the  bitter  enemy  of  Caesar,  and  wants  to  be  cho- 
sen, that  he  may  repeal  all  that  has  been  done 
in  Ceesar's  consulship.  How,  replied  I,  does 
Caesar  take  this?  He  denies,  answers  Curio, 
that  he  ever  intermeddled  in  his  adoption.  Cu- 
rio then  gave  me  a  full  account  how  much  he, 
Memmius,  and  Metellus  Nepos,  were  at  variance 
with  Caesar.  I  then  embraced  and  parted  with 
my  Curio,  that  I  might  return  to  your  letters. 

Who  can  prefer  speaking  to  writing  ?  How 
much  more  did  I  learn  from  your  letters,  than 
from  his  conversation,  concerning  the  reports  of 
the  day  !  The  schemes  of  Clodius,  the  arts  of 
the  modern  Juno,  and  of  Athenio*  the  standard- 
bearer  of  sedition,  the  letters  sent  to  Pompey, 
and  the  conversation  between  Theophanes  and 

Memmius. 

»  Cicero  here  calls  Vatinius  by  the  name  of  Athenio,  who 
had  raised  the  slave  war  in  Sicily. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


125 


( 


\ 


M 


Memmius.  In  short,  how  have  you  raised  my 
expectation  concerning  that  sumptuous  enter- 
tainment !  My  curiosity  has  all  the  impatience 
of  hunger.  I  dispense  with  your  writing  me  any 
account  of  it,  because  I  prefer  to  have  it  from 
your  own  mouth. 

You  desire  me  not  to  relax  in  my  habit  of 
writing.     Materials  indeed  grow  upon  my  hands, 
but  the  agitation  of  public  affairs,  like  the  fer- 
mentation of  the  vintage  in  autumn,   has  not  yet 
subsided.     When  the  general  tranquillity  is  re- 
stored, I  shall  know  better  how  to  form  a  judg- 
ment of  what  I  am  to  treat     If  I  do  not  send 
you  soon  what  I  write,  yet  you  shall  be  the  first, 
and,  for  some  time,  the  only  person  to  whom  I 
shall  communicate  my  thoughts.     You  are  in  the 
right  to  admire  Dicaearchus,    he    is   a  worthy, 
honest  man,  and,  far  less  tyrannically  disposed^ 
than  our  tyrants  arc*.     I  wrote  this  letter,  at  four 
in  the  afternoon,  on  the  IQth  of  April,  as  soon  as 
I  had  read  yours.     But  I  think  of  giving  them, 
next  day,  to  the  first  person  I  can  find  going  your 
way.     My  wife  is  delighted  with  your  letters,  and 

desires 


1  Cicero  is  so  fond  of  punning  that,  with  the  utmost  frigidity 
of  taste  and  wit,  he  plays  upon  the  most  remote  analogy  in  the 
meaning  of  words,  or  the  faintest  jingle  in  their  sound.  The 
proper  name  Dicaearchus  may  be  interpreted  ^iKxtac^x°^>  ^  J^^^ 
magistrate  ;  and  this  he  opposes  to  a^<xa<af;^o/,  unjust  magis- 
tratesy  meaning  Caesar  and  Pompey. — E. 


126 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


dtesires  that  you  may  know  she  wishes  you  sin- 
cerely well ;  and  Cicero  tlic  philosopher  sends 
his  compliments  to  Titus  the  politician. 


EPISTLE  XL 

X-/0  you  not  admire  my  gravity  ?  I  refused  to 
be  a  spectator  of  the  publi^  shows  at  Antium» 
For  I  thought  it  a  contradiction  in  terms,  for  me, 
who  if  desirous,  while  travelling,  to  avoid 
the  appearance  of  pomp  and  ostentation,  how- 
ever gratifying,  I  should  betray  at  the  same 
time  a  frivolous  fondness  for  it,  by  frequenting 
public  places.  I  will  therefore  expect  you,  till 
the  7th  of  May,  at  Formiag.  Now  let  me  know 
on  what  day  I  am  to  see  you.  Dated  at  ten  in 
the  morning,  from  the  Appian-maket.  I  sent 
off  another,  some  time  before,  from  the  three 
Taverns. 


EPISTLE  XIL 

A  CANNOT  help  observing  to  you,  that  while  I 
am  at  Formiae,  I  think  myself  out  of  the  world. 
While  I  was  at  Antium,  there  did  not  a  day  pass, 
in  which  I  was  not  better  informed  of  what  was 
doing  at  Rome,  than  they,  who  were  on  the  spot. 

For 


TO  ATTICUS, 


127 


For  I  learned  from  your  letters,  not  only  what 
was  doing  at  Rome,  but  what  was  passing  all 
over  the  empire ;  I  learned  not  only  present  oc- 
currences, but  future  events.  But  here  I  have 
no  information,  but  what  I  can  collect  from 
some  accidental  traveller.  For  this  reason,  I 
expect  you  in  person,  yet  I  desire  that  you  will 
dispatch  this  servant,  whom  I  have  ordered  im- 
mediately to  return  to  me,  with  a  voluminous 
epistle  filled  with  an  account  not  only  of  your 
actions  but  also  of  your  sentiments. 

Let  me  know  the  precise  day  when  you  leave 
Rome.  I  intend  to  remain  at  Formiae,  till  the 
6th  of  May.  If  you  cannot  come  hither  before 
that  time,  perhaps  I  shall  see  you  in  the  city. 
For  why  should  I  invite  you  to  Arpinum,  which, 
as  Homer  makes  Ulysses  say,  "  is  the  rough 
mother  of  a  generous  breed,  and  all  that  my 
soul  can  want  or  wish  \"  This,  with  my  com- 
pliments, is  alL 


EPISTLE  XIII. 

Xlow  unfortunate  is  it,  that  nobody  has  deli- 
vered you  that  letter  which  I  wrote  from  the 
three  Taverns  immediately  upon  the  receipt  of 

your 

*  Orig.  Tpyi)(^et  aiX\  ayaiQ'n  xaporpoipos.    art  tyft'y*  ^is  yams  Jvnofun 
yAvxefWTCfO  *AAo  t^tcrQott,     Odys.  ix.  2^, 


^ 


128 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO    ATTICUS. 


129 


your  most  agreeable  letters.  The  reason  is  this  ; 
the  packet.into  which  I  put  it,  was,  that  very  day 
on  which  I  delivered  it,  carried  to  my  house  in 
Rome,  and  brought  back  to  me  at  Formiae.  I 
have  therefore  ordered  your  letter  to  be 
carried  back  to  you,  to  inform  you  how  agreea- 
ble yours  proved  to  me.  You  write  that  all  is 
quiet  at  Rome ;  I  thought  as  much.  But,  be- 
lieve me,  it  is  not  so  in  the  country.  For  even 
our  peasants  are  impatient  under  the  tyranny  of 
your  great  men.  If  therefore  you  come  into  this 
land  of  cannibals,  1  mean  Formiae,  what  cla- 
mours, what  invectives  would  you  hear  !  What 
a  hatred  do  they  bear  to  the  great  man  !  His 
title  of  Great  is,  I  think,  become  odious  in  his 
name,  as  the  epithet  of  Rich  in  that  of  Crassus. 
Will  you  believe  me  ?  I  have  hitherto  met  with 
no  person  who  bears  all  those  matters  so  coolly 
as  I  do.  I  assure  you,  therefore,  that  I  am  now 
quite  a  stoic ;  and  it  would  be  a  difficult  task 
indeed  to  discompose  me.  When  you  have  re- 
ceived any  letters  from  the  Sicyonians,  hasten  to 
me  at  Formiae,  from  whence  I  think  of  setting 
out  on  the  l6th  of  Mav. 

il 


L 


EPISTLE 


EPISTLE  XIV. 

I  FEEL  much  curiosity  to  learn  the  conversation 
of  Bibulus,  and  your  conference  with   our  mp- 
dern  Juno  !     How  I  long  likewise  to  hear  con- 
cerning the  sumptuous  entertainment  which  you 
have  mentioned  !   Come  to  me,  then,  without  de- 
lay,  that  my  thirsty  curiosity  may  be  allayed  by 
your  information.     I  think,  however,  I  have,   at 
present,    great  reason  to  dread  that  our  great 
castle-builder',  when  he  shall  see  himself  vilified 
by  the  reproaches,   and  his  schemes  assailed  by 
the  opposition,  of  all  parties,  will  sink  into  ruin. 
For  my  part,  I  am  become  so  enfeebled,  that  if 
I  could  w  aste  away  my  days  in  the  mild  tranquil- 
lity which  I  now  enjoy,  I  should  prefer  to  be  a 
happy  slave,     rather  than   contend  for  liberty, 
though  crowned  with  success. 

You  are  constantly  advising  me  to  publish,  but 
that  cannot  be  done.  My  house,  from  the  crowd 
who  visit  me  here,  resembles  a  levee  more  than 
a  country  retirement.     How  much  do  the  visits 

of 

^  Sampsiceramus,  a  nickname  of  Pompey.  It  is  apparently 
a  corruption  of -J/afc/xw  xefa^syy,  a  potter,  or  builder  of  sand,  a 
vain  schemer,  or,  as  we  say,  a  castle-builder.  All  the  com- 
mentators have,  it  appears,  overlooked  the  import,  and  conse- 
quently, the  propriety  of  the  term. — E. 

Vol.  I.  K 


I 


130 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


to  ATTICUS. 


131 


of  these  people  resemble  the  rabble  in  a  fair  ! 
But  how  unequal  is  the  concourse  of  a  levee  to 
that  of  the  iEmilian  tribe  M     I  do  not  mean  the 
vulgar ;  nor  am   I   plagued  with  the    people  of 
quality  after  ten  o'clock.     You  must  know,  that 
Caius  Arrius  is  my  next  neighbour ;  nay,  we  even 
live,  in  a  manner,  under  the  same  roof;  and  he 
tells  me,   forsooth,  that  he  denies   himself  the 
pleasure  of  going  to  Rome,  that  he  may  have  the 
gratification  of  spending  the  day  with  me  in  phi- 
losophical conversation.     On  the  other  side  of 
me  resides  Sebosus,  the  man  who  was  once  the 
warm  friend  of  Catulus.     Where  shall  I  fly  ?     I 
would  go  directly  to  Arpinum,  were  it  not  more 
convenient  for  me  to  wait  for  you  at  Formiae,  at 
least  till  the  6th  of  May.     Consider  what  kind 
of  men  they  are,  who  thus  obtrude  themselves  on 
my  attention  ;  w^hat  a  fine  bargain  might  any  one 
have  of  my  estate  here,  while  I  am  persecuted 
w  ith  such  company.    And  yet  I  must  try  to  write, 
— what  an  impracticable  task  !  when  that  which 
1  am  to  write  requires  great  thought  and  great 
leisure.     I   shall  however  endeavour  to  satisfy 
you,  and  will  spare  no  pains  for  that  purpose. 


EPISTLE 


/ 


h 


1  Meaning  the  people  of  Formia,  who  were  engrafted  upon 
the  iEmilian  tribe. 


EPISTLE  XV. 

1  PERCEIVE  that  public  affairs  are  as  unsettled 
as  you  represent  them  to  be  in  your  letter  ;  and 
yet  the  variety  of  discourses  and  opinions  enter- 
tains me.     For  when  I  read  your  letters  I  think 
I  am  at  Rome ;  and,  as  it  happens  in  such  im- 
portant conjunctures,  I  hear  sometimes  one  thing, 
and  sometimes  another.     I  am  at  a  loss  to  see 
how  the  Agrarian  law  can  be  so  modified  as  to 
pass  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parties.     As  to  the 
noble  spirit  of  Bibulus,  in  deferring  the  election, 
it  only  betrays  his  real  sentiments,  without  serv- 
ing his  country.   Are  we  to  repose  any  confidence 
in  Clodius  ?    Let  him  by  all  means  be  made  a  tri- 
bune of  the  people.     This,  if  no  other  good  pur- 
pose is  answered,  will  bring  you  the  sooner  from 
Epirus.     For  I  can  by  no  means  see  how  you  can 
be  without  him,    especially  if  he  intends  any 
farther  animosity  against  me.     But  to  be  serious, 
I  make  no  manner  of  doubt,  but  that  you  would 
fly  hither,  should  any  thing  of  that  kind  happeii. 
Supposing,  however,   that  not  to  be  the  case, 
yet  whether  he  sinks  or  saves  his  country,  I  pro- 
mise to  myself  the  entertainment  of  a  charming 
scene,  provided  you  sit  by  me  while  I  enjoy  it-— 
Just  as  I  am  writing,   in  comes  Sebosus— I  had 
not  time  to  sigh,  when  Arrius  presents  his  niorn- 

K2  ing 


152 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


133 


ing  devoirs. — Now  do  not  you  think  this  to  be  an 
enviable  retirement  ?     What  ideas  must  we  have 
of  those  from  whom  I  have  escaped,  when  I  am 
content  to  live  with  men  like  these.     But  I  will 
return  to  my  native  hills  and  cradled  rocks  ;  and 
there,    if  unable  to   live  in  solitude,   associate 
with  the  uncivilized  clowns  rather  than  with  citi- 
zens like  these  :  but  still  as  you  write  me  nothing 
with  certainty,  concerning  your  journey,  I  will 
wait  for  you  at  Formiae  till  the  3d  of  May. 

My  wife  takes  it  very  kindly  that  you  have 
been  so  assiduous  and  active  in  her  aftair  w  ith 
Mulvius.  Little  does  she  know,  that  you  defend 
the  common  cause  of  all  who  possess  public 
lands.  You,  however,  are  to  pay  somewhat  of 
rent,  which  she  refuses  to  do.  She  joins  in  her 
compliments  to  you,  with  Cicero,  my  infant 
patriot 


EPISTLE  XVI. 

1  HAD  supped,  and  was  just  beginning  to  doze, 
when,  on  the  last  of  April,  I  received  your 
packet,  in  which  you  mention  the  partition  of  the 
Campanian  lands.  I  was  so  enlivened,  you  may 
well  suppose,  with  the  news,  that  my  drowsiness 
left  me  ;  and  I  lay  awake  from  thought  ratlier 
than^  uneasiness,  and  I  indulged  in  the  following 

reflections. 

In 


1 


In  the  first  place,  the  information,  which  your 
former  letters  gave  me,  that  a  friend  of  a  certain 
person  told  you,  he  was  to  propose  a  scheme, 
which  would  command  the  general  approbation, 
excited  in  me  greater  apprehensions  than  this  oc- 
casion required.     But  it  afforded  me  some  com- 
fort to  think  that  the  public  expectation,  which 
equalled  the  Agrarian  division,  terminated  in  so 
inconsiderable  a  bounty ;  since  if  divided  amongst 
five  thousand,  no  more  than  ten  acres  can  fall 
to  every  mans  share.     In  consequence  of  this, 
all  those  will  be  alienated,  who  ar^  excluded  from 
any  share  in  this  distribution.     I,  moreover,  re- 
flected that  this,  if  any,  would  inflame  the  men 
of  property,  who  were  already  violently  incensed; 
since  after  the  abolition  of  the  Italian  duties,  and 
the  division  of  the  Campanian  estates,  no  other 
revenue  is  left,  except  the  twenty  per  cent  ^  paid 
upon  the  manumission  of  slaves,  which  is  in  dan- 
crer  at  their  instigation  of  being  suppressed  in  the 
most  insignificant  assembly  of  the  populace. 

As  to  our  friend  Pompey,   I  am  unable  to 
ascertain  his  real  object — 

For 


*  This  was  a  tax  paid  upon  the  purchase  or  manumission  of 
jlaves,  and  run  up  in  the  nature  of  our  sinking  fund,  not  to  be 
applied  but  when  the  exigency  was  very  pressing. 


./i 


134 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


For  now  he  touches  not  the  slender  reed. 
But  blows  the  swelling  trumpet- — * 

To  such  extremities  is  he  at  length  reduced  !  For 
he  artfully  pleaded  that  he  approved  of  Caesar's 
laws,  but  that  Caesar  himself  ought  to  carry  them 
into  execution ;  that  he  was  always  for  an  Agra- 
rian law  ;  that  it  was  immaterial  to  him  whether 
it  was  acceded  to  by  the  tribunes  or  not ;  that  he 
would  cheerfully  agree  to  any  proposal  for  re- 
storing to  his  throne  the  Egyptian  monarch^; 
that  it  little   concerned  him  to  inquire  whether 
Bibulus  had  gone  through  all  tlie  ceremonies  of 
the  auspices  ;   as  to  the  farmers  of  the  revenue, 
he  would  most  cordially  alleviate  the  grievances  of 
that  order ;  that  he  could  not  foresee  or  be  an- 
swerable for  the  event,  if  Bibulus  should  enter 
himself  as  a  party  in  the  Forum. 

But  now,  vain  pretender,  what  do  you  say  to 
this  juncture?  You  have  imposed  a  tribute 
for  us'  up  on  mount  Libanus,  but  have  de- 
prived us  of  our  Campanian  estates  ;  and  what 
advantage  have  we  gained  by  this  ?  The  advan- 
tage, if  he  will  acknowledge  the  truth,  is  that  of 
being  enslaved  by  the  forces  of  Caesar,  yet  we 

are 


8  Ihis  related  to  fhe  dispute  concerning  tlie  succession  to  the 
crown  of  Kgypt. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


135 


are  awed  into  subjection,   not  so  much  by  those 
forces,  as  by  the  imbecility  and  ingratitude  of 
those,  who  call  themselves  men  of  probity;  who 
never  have  repaid,  who  never  have  thanked,  me 
for  my  services,    whether  acting  as  a  magistrate, 
or  pleading  in  the  senate.  If  I  opposed  that  party, 
I  should  find  out  some  sure  means  of  resistmg 
them  with  success.     My  plan,  however,  is  to  re- 
concile the  opposite  principles  of  your  admirer! 
Dicaearchus   with   my   favourite   Theophrastus, 
and  unite  in  my  own  conduct  the  active  life  of 
the  citizen  with  the  speculation  of  the  philoso- 
pher.     I  presume  I  have  already  given  Dicaear- 
chus abundant  satisfaction  ;  it  is  therefore  time 
for  me  to  pay  the  same  regard  to  a  sect,  which 
not  only  allows  me  to  repose,  but  blames  me 
for  having  ever  acted.     Therefore,  my  friend,  let 
us  apply  to  those  delightful  studies ;  let  us,  at  last, 
turn  to  the  path,  from  which  we   ought  never 
to  have  departed. 

As  to  what  you  write  concerning  my  brother 
Quintus,  his  letter  to  me  was  the  very  reverse, 
so  that  I  know  not  what  to  say  of  him.  For  in 
the  first  part  of  it  he  laments  the  inconveniences 
of  his  own  habitation;  and  then,  dismissing  his 
sorrow,  he  solicits  me  to  correct  and  publish  his 
annals.  I  wish,  however,  that  you  would  mind 
what  he  writes  concerning  the  duties  upon  the 
carriage  of  goods  ;  he  says,  that  he  has  been  ad- 

vised 


136 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS, 


137 


vised  to  refer  that  matter  to  the  senate.     He 
^bad,  it  seems,  not  seen  my  letter,  in  which,  after 
mature  deliberation,  I  give  it  as  my  opinion  that 
such  duties  ought  not  to  be  levied.     In  case  any 
Greeks  are  delegated  upon  that  business  from 
Asia,  I  desire  you  to  see  them,  and,  if  you  think 
proper,  lay  before  them  my  sentiments  on  that 
subject.     Were  it  in  my  power,  I  would  prevent 
an  important  cause  for  miscarrying  in  the  senate, 
and  satisfy  the  farmers  of  the  reveaue  in  some 
other  respects :  but,  if  no  satisfaction  could  be 
given  them,  I  w  ould,  to  confess  to  you  the  truth, 
be  more  disposed  to  gratify  the  whole  province 
of  Asia,  and  those  merchants,  whose  interest  is 
concerned  in  that  question.     This,  in  my  opini- 
on, is  the  reason  which  we  ought  to  adopt :   and 
I  wish  you  to  consider  it 

^But  do  the  questors  hesitate  to  receive  for  pay- 
ment the  Asiatic  coin  ?  For  if  after  we  have 
tried  every  thing,  this  should  be  found  the  only 
expedient,  I  had  rather  take  that  than  nothing. 
I  hope  to  see  you  at  Arpinum,  and  I  will  enter- 
tain you  with  our  country  fare,  since  you  are  out 
of  humour  with  the  sea-coast 


EPISLTE 


EPISTLE  XVIL 

I  AM  compelled  to  believe,  at  length,  that  things 
will  prove  as  you  have  predicted.  Pompey  in- 
troduces universal  confusion,  and  there  is  no 
evil  which  we  have  not  reason  to  apprehend  from 
him.  He  manifestly  aims  at  unlimited  dominion : 
what  other  inference  is  to  be  drawn  from  his  ex- 
traordinary marriage,  his  dividing  the  Campani- 
an  lands,  and  his  waste  of  the  public  money  ? 
Did  matters  rest  here,  they  would  have  been 
insupportable  evils.  But  the  nature  of  things 
is  such,  that  they  cannot  terminate  here. 

Such  outrages  are  not  in  themselves  desirable : 
and  they  are  pursued  only  as  avenues  to  the  most 
ruinous  ambition,  which  the  immortal  God  alone 
can  avert  The  pains  we  have  bestowed  upon, 
and  the  improvement  we  have  made,  in  philo- 
sophy, will  be  to  little  purpose;  if,  when  we. 
meet  at  Arpinum  about  the  10th  of  May,  we 
shall,  as  you  say,  weep  over  this  melancholy 
prospect      Let  us  rather  contemplate    it   with 

calm  and  disnified  firmness^ 

And 

f 

1  Cicero  here  acts  the  stoic,  which  he  dignifies  with  the  name 
of  philosopher.  But  this  is  all  affectation  ;  such  JnsensibiliQr 
was  not  his  temper,  it  was  not  his  principle  ;  though  from  his 
ambition  and  vanity  there  is  reason  to  infer,  that  he  was  more 

affected 


138 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


139 


And  yet  I  do  not  now,  as  formerly,  seek  re- 
fuge in  hope,  so  much  as  in  indifference,  and  an 
indifference  too,  to  which  I  am  a  stranger  in  all 
concerns,  but  those  that  are  public  and  political. 
But  let  me  confess  the  truth,  (for  it  is  well  for  a 
man  to  know  his  own  foibles,)  every  vain,  every 
aspiring,  sentiment  about  me  is  flattered  by  this 
state  of  affairs.  Nothing  used  to  mortify  me  so 
much,  as  the  fear  that,  six  hundred  years  hence, 
Pompey's  services  to  his  country  should  be 
thought  greater  than  mine.  But  now,  surely,  I 
need  not  have  any  such  apprehension  ;  for  he  is 
so  low  in  public  esteem,  that  the  meanest  wretch 
seems  a  patriot,  compared  to  him.  But  of  this 
we  will  talk,  when  we  meet  together.  For  it 
seems  to  me  that  you  will  be  at  Rome  before  me, 
of  which  I  shall  be  glad,  if  it  is  convenient  for 
you.  If  this  should  happen  as  you  write,  I  beg 
that  you  would  use  all  your  address  in  discover- 
ing fromTheophanes  how  I  sUnd  with  our  mighty 
monarch'.     Your  discoveries  will  serve  as  a  rule 

for 

affected  by  the  loss  of  his  own  consequence  and  power  than  by 
the  niin  of  his  country.  To  the  honour  of  the  Saviour  of  the 
#orkl  be  it  observed,  that  he  wept  in  silence  over  the  ap- 
proaching calamities  of  his  native  land,  and  this  he  did  from 
the  purest  and  most  patriotic  motives. — E. 

»  Jlabftrches,  the  title  given  to  Pompey  is  an  oriental  term,  and 
signifies  a  hieised  prince  alaph  haraky  and  is  applied  to  him  in 
reference  to  his  Asiatic  conquests.    The  word  was  imported  to 

Rome 


for  my  conduct.  Some  conjectures  also  may 
hence  be  formed  as  to  the  state  of  affairs  in 
general. 


EPISTLE  XVIIl. 

1  HAVE  received  from  you  some  letters,  in  which 
I  can  see  how  earnestly,  how  impatiently,  you 
long  to  receive  political  news.     We  are  besieged 
on  all  sides,  and  slavery  is  our  inevitable  doom. 
Death  or  banishment,  we  dread  as  greater  evils ; 
but  in  reality  they  are  evils  far  more  supportable 
than  the  state  to  which  we  are  reduced.     It  is  a 
state  indeed,  which  is  lamented  by  all ;  but  no 
one  dares  to  ^^lleviate  his  sorrow  by  avowing  it 
in  words.     The  object,  I  believe,  of  those  who 
are  at  the  helm,  is  to  exhaust  the  civil  revenue 
so  much,  as  to  leave  nothing  to  be  given  here- 
after.    The  young  Curio '  is  the  only  one  who 
treats  these  measures  with  open  and  decided  op- 
position.    He  receives  the  loudest  applause,  the 
most  honourable  encomiums,  in  the  forum,   and 
repeated  assurances  of  regard,  from  our  men  of 

property, 

Rome  from  Egypt,  where  it  was  used  as  the  title  of  a  ma- 
gistrate. Those  commentators  who  with  Hesychius  derive  the 
word  from  alala,  ink,  are  absurd. — E. 

1  This  was  a  favourite  slave  of  Cicero's  brother  duintus,  and 
was  the  cause  of  all  the  complaints  against  his  master's  govern- 
ment. 


140 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


property,  while  Fusius  is  followed  with  liisses  and 
reproaches. 

Bur  these,  you  will  say,  are  circumstances, 
which  excite  grief  rather  than  hope  ;  since  they 
discover  the  public  will  to  be  free  ;  while  the 
public  virtue  is  held  in  chains ^ 

Be  not  anxious  to  be  informed  of  minute  par- 
ticulars ;  but  be  satisfied  with  this  summary  and 
general  view.  There  is  not  a  shadow  of  hope 
of  future  liberty  for  private  persons,  nor  even  for 
magistrates.  And  yet,  melancholy  as  our  situa- 
tion is,  we  talk  more  freely  than  ever  in  our  so- 
cial and  festive  circles.  Sorrow  begins  to  prevail 
over  fear ;  every  thing,  however,  is  in  a  most 
desperate  condition.  There  is  likewise  a  detes- 
table article  in  the  Campanian  law,  which  obliges 
all  candidates  publicly  to  swear  to  their  own  con- 
demnation, if  ever  they  shall  so  much  as  propose 
to  alter  it  from  the  form  in  which  it  has  been 
left  by  Caesar.  Almost  every  body  has  readily 
taken  this  oath  ;  Laterensis  is  thought  to  have 
acted  with  prudence  in  declining,  rather  than 

accepting, 

*  TTiis  is  a  very  beautiful  passage.  His  es  rebus  non  spes 
sed  dolor  major ;  cum  videos  civitatis  voluntatem  solutam, 
virtutem  alligatam.  The  words  are  similar,  though  they  con- 
vey a  meaning  opposite  to  those  used  by  the  Marquis  de  la 
Fayette,  in  his  celebrated  Bill  of  Rights,  presented  to  the 
National  Assembly.  **  For  a  nation  to  love  liberty,  it  is  suffici- 
ent that  she  knows  it  j  and  to  be  free  it  is  sufficient  that  she 
wiDs  it."— E, 


TO  ATTICUS. 


141 


accepting,  the  tribuneship.  I  feel  indisposed  to 
add  any  more  about  public  affairs.  It  is  an 
irksome,  it  is  a  painful  task.  Compared  with 
the  universal  despondency,  I  support  myself  with 
manliness,  yet  not  with  a  fortitude  equal  to  the 
magnitude  of  the  occasion.  I  am  also  allowed  to 
retire,  if  I  wish,  under  the  pretence  of  a  free  le- 

ga^tion. 

Caesar  generously  invites  me  to  become  his 
lieutenant  But  this  does  not  sufficiently  protect 
me  against  the  impudence  of  Cl^dius,  and  it 
compels  me  to  leave  Rome  when  my  brother 
returns  to  '\\,  ♦ 

The  lieutenantship  is  the  safer  measure,  and 
at  the  same  time  it  does  not  preclude  my  visiting 
Ron^e,  when  I  am  so  disposed.  I  accept  this 
office,  but  do  not  think  I  shall  act  in  it.  That,^ 
however,  is  a  secret  to  all  but  you.  I  have  no 
inclination  to  retreat,  but  love  to  be  in  action. 
The  people  are  in  a  ferment.  But  I  must  say 
nothing,  and  do  you  in  this  respect  preserve 
silence. 

I  was  much  grieved  at  the  manumission  of  Sta- 
tins, and  some  other  matters,  but  I  am  now 
grown  quite  callous  to  every  thing  of  that  kind. 
I  wish  for  your  presence,  that  I  may  enjoy  both 
counsel  and  comfort ;  but  keep  yourself  in  such 
readiness,  that  if  occasion  demands,  you  may  fly 
to  my  assistance. 

EPISTLE 


\  ' 


wm  iipiiii  M 


w«i^^^iiiia«iliiiiiiiiii,|Mai|ppi^ 


1412 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  XIX. 

X  AM  greatly  distressed,  both  on  account  of  this 
commotion  in  the  state,  and  the  various  dangers 
with  which  I  am  surrounded.  But  nothing  gives 
me  greater  pain  than  the  manumission  of  Statins. 
**  But  not  to  mention  my  authority,  ^  that  he 
*'  should  disregard  even  my  displeasure  !"  I  am 
at  a  loss  how  to  behave,  yet  the  matter  is  of 
importance  only,  as  it  is  made  the  subject  of 
general  conversation.  As  to  myself,  I  cannot 
induls^e  even  transient  anger  against  those  whom 
I  love,  though  their  conduct  may  give  me  great 
and  sensible  concern. 

But  I  must  advert  to  affairs  of  greater  conse- 
quence. I  bear  with  indifference  the  threats  of 
Clodius,  and  the  difficulties  with  which  I  am  to 
struggle.  I  think  I  am  able  to  encounter  them  with 
the  greatest  honour,  or  to  decline  them  without 
the  least  discredit.  "  As  to  my  honour,  you  will 
"  perhaps  say,   that  it  has  been  too  long  con- 

"  suited. 


*  These  arc  the  words  of  Demi pho,  in  the  Phormic  ofTe- 
rente,  wheii  he  complains  of  his  son's  conduct,  in  manying 
without  his  consent,  and  even  bis  knowledge.  The  aathority 
which  a  father  had  over  a  son  was  absoKite  and  unlimited,  and 
equalled  that  of  a  master  over  his  slaves.  Hence  it  is  here 
calWd  imperium.     Vid.  Adam's  Roman  Antiq.  p.  47. 


k 


I* 


TO  ATTICUS. 


14^ 


"  suited  \  Think,  my  friend,  at  length  of  your 
•*  safety."  How  unfortunate  is  it,  that  you  are 
not  present;  nothing  would  escape  your  supe- 
rior discernment.  I  am  not,  perhaps,  so  discern- 
ing; and  my  sufferings  are  in  reality  owing  to 
my  integrity. 

You  must  know  then,  that  never  was  there 
any  thing  so  infamous,  never  any  thing  so  gene- 
rally detested  by  all  kinds,,  orders,  and  ages  of 
men,  as  is  the  present  situation  of  affairs.  It  is 
more  so  than  I  could  have  wished,  or  even  have 
believed  it  to  be ;  for  the  men  in  power  have 
taught  even  the  most  moderate  people  to  hiss  at 
their  conduct.  Bibulus  is  extolled  to  the  skies, 
but  I  know  not  for  what  reason.  He  is  cried  up 
as  the  only  man, 

IFho  saves  his  country  by  his  dilatory  caution"^. 

My  favourite  Pompey  gives  me  great  concern  in 
destroying  his  own  popularity.  He  has  nof  a 
follower.  I  fear  that  he  must  now  continue  con- 
nected with  Caesar  and  Crassus,  from  a  sense  of 
danger  as  well  as  inclination.     For  my  part,  I  do 

not 

^  AXts  5^of,  enough  of  the  oak,  a  proverb  borrowed  from 
those  who  lived  upon  acorns^  and  at  length  exchanged  them 
for  bread. — E. 

*  This  in  part  is  a  verse  of  Ennius,  where  he  describes  M, 
Fabius,  who  by  his  delay  in  engaging  Hannibal  defeated  him^ 
and  was  thence  called  Cunctator.^E. 


f 


I  - 


4? 


144 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


US 


not  oppose  that  party,  because  I  was  once  their 
friend  ;  nor,  from  fear  of  contradicting  all  I  have 
done,   approve  of  all  they   do.       I  obsei^e   a 

mean. 

The  people  discover  their  sentiments  chiefly 
at  the  theatre,  and  in  the  public  diversions.     For 
in  the  show  of  gladiators,    he  \  who   exhibited 
them,  and  all  his  friends,   were  loudly  hissed. 
At  the  Apollinarian  Plays',  the  tragedian  Diphi- 
lus  attacked  our  friend  Pompey  with  great  in- 
solence.    He  was  forced  a  thousand  times  to  re- 
peat the  expression,  "  To  our  sad  experience  art 
*'  thou  great"      The  whole  theatre  rung  with 
applauses  when  he  came  to  that  passage,   "  The 
time  will  come,  when  you  shall  lament  the  pre- 
eminence of  which  you  are  now  so  proud^"    And 
thus  the  play  proceeded.     You  would  say  that 
the  speeches  of  it  had  been  composed  by  some 
enemy  to   Pompey  to  suit  the  \;)Ccasion.      The 
loudest  plaudits  and  hissings  ensued,  when  the 

play 

^  This  was  Gablnius,  a  great  friend  to  Caesar  and  Pompey. 

«  Valerius  Maximus  tells  us,  that  Pompey  was  actually  pre- 
sent  at  these  plays,  and  that  the  player  pointed  to  him  when  he 
pronounced  the  words  in  question.  I  own  I  cannot  find  the 
inconsistency  so  much  talked  of  between  our  author  and  Vale- 
rius ;  smce  nothing  in  this  passage  is  absolutely  conclusive  that 
Pompey  was  at  Capua  during  the  exhibition  of  the  plays. 

'  When  we  compare  this  passage  with  the  fate  of  Pompey 
which  followed  afterwards,  we  cannot  help  concluding,  that 
the  Romans  were  at  this  time  perfectly  sensible  of  the  superi- 
ority of  genius  and  the  ambitious  views  of  Caesar. 


f 


f 


/ 


play  repeated,  **Ifyou  are  above  all  law  and 
virtue."    When  Caesar  entered,    a  dead  silence 
prevailed.      He  was  followed  by  the  younger 
Curio,   who  was  received  with  as  much  applause 
as  used   to  attend  Pompey,  when   he  returned 
from  his  great  services  to  the  state.     This  gave 
great  uneasiness  to  Cassar,  of  which  it  is  said  he 
complained  to  Pompey  at  Capua.     They  were 
displeased  with  those  knights,  who  rose  np  while 
they  were  clapping  Curio,  and  they  avowed  their 
hatred  against  the  whole  audience.     They  threa* 
tened  to  destroy  even  the  Roscian  and  the  Pro- 
vision  law  \     Every  thing  indeed  is  thrown  into 
confusion.     I  heartily  wish  their  conduct  should 
pass  without  public  animadversion.     But  this,  I 
fear,  is  not  to  be  expected.     The  people  now 
think  the  burthen  imposed  upon  them  to  be  in- 
tolerable.    But  the  general  voice  is  now  united, 
not  from  hopes  of  redress,    but  hatred  of  the 
oppressors. 

My  mortal  enemy  Clodius,  continues  his  njen- 
aces  ;  his  antipathy  is  inexorable,  and  is  now 
prosecuting  a  scheme  against  me,  which  will  de- 
mand your  immediate  assistance.     I  flatter  my- 
self, 

^  By  this  Roscian  law,  a  place  was  assigned  for  the  Roman 
knights  at  the  public  diversions.  The  law  for  the  distribution 
of  provisions,  appointed  a  certain  quantity  of  corn  either  to  be 
remitted  to  the  people^  or  to  be  distributed  amongst  them. 

Vol.  I.  L 


i' 


146 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICU9. 


tit 


p 


self,  that  the  consular  band  of  patriots  who  have 
hitherto  protected  ipe,  and  even  those  who  feel 
but  coolly  disposed  towards  me,  arc  still  firm  in 
my  interest.  Pompey  gives  me  unequivocal  as- 
surances of  his  friendship.  He  affirms  that  even 
Clodius  will  propose  no  hostile  motion  against 
me.     But  in  this,   though  himself  is  mistaken,  I 

am  not  to  be  deceived. 

I  am  invited  to  succeed  the  deceased  Cosco- 
nius'.     The  acceptance  of  this  office  would  en- 
tail upon  me  all  the  demerits  of  the  deceased, 
and  would  not  only  expose  me  to  the  public  re- 
proaches, but  remove  from  me  every  hope  of 
security  and  protection.      That  commission  is 
hated  by  all  patriots ;  and  should  I  act  in  it,  I  must 
take  upon  myself  another  man's  demerits  with 
my  friends,  without  lessening  the  load  of  envy 
I  have  contracted  from   the  profligate.     Caesar 
invites  me  to  be  his  legate,  which  would  open  a 
more  honourable  retreat  from  danger.     But  at 
this  time  I  am  averse  to  accept  this  offer.     The 
only  alternative  left  is  to  continue. tlie  conflict; 
yet  my  resolution  is  not  decidedly  fixed.     I  re- 
peat it,  I  wish  that  you  were  here  ;  I  will,  how- 
ever, call  upon  you,  if  I  am  under  an  absolute 

ijecessity. 

What  can  1  write,  what  can  I  say  more  ?     The 

republic 

1  He  had  been  praetor,  and  was  one  of  the  commissioners  for 
the  Agrarian  law. 


republic  h  mfalHbly  ruined  lliere  ii^  n6  dis^ 
sembling  it  longer,  I  write  this  with  a  hasty,  and 
indeed  with  a  trembling  hand.  If,  hereafter,  I 
shall  meet  with  a  person  to  whom  I  ean^  safely 
trust  my  letter,  I  will  write  you  moi-e  ett  hii^i 
but  supposing  I  only  give  you  hints,  you  will 
easily  understand  them.  In  such  letters,  I  will 
personate  La&litis,  and  address  joM  rni'der  the 
iwrtne  of  Furius.  Every  thing  else  shall  be  asnig- 
matieaP.  I  am  at  this  time  seeking  with  much 
assiduity  the  patronage  and  friendship  of  Caeci- 
K«s.  I  understand  that  you  have  received  tM 
protests  of  Bibulus^;  they  fire  out  friend  Pom- 
pey with  great  grief  and  anger. 


EPISI^LE  XX. 

JL  HAVE  complied  with  your  desire,  by  being,  a< 
far  as  I  could,  in  all  respects,  serviceable  to 
Anicatus.  I  received  Numestius  with  pleasure 
into  the  number  of  my  friendfe  upon  your  recom- 
mending him  so  warmly.  I  am  as  obliging  as  I 
IK)Ssibly  can  to  Csecilius ;    X  am  pleased'  with 

Varro^ 

^  He  was  Caesar's  colleague  in  the  consulsiiip,  and  finding 
all  his  opposition  to  Caesar's  actions  tended  only  to  endanger 
ftls  Own  life,  he  shut  himself  up  in  his  house,  and  was  satisfied 
•w^tH  publishing  thundering^ protests  against  all  the  proceedingf 
c^ the  government. 

L2 


-.^M 


148 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


Varro  ;  I  am  the  friend  and  favourite  of  Pom- 
pey.     *' But  you  will  ask  me,  Do   you   believe 
him  sincere  ?"  I  answer,  yes.     He,  has  thorough- 
ly convinced  me  that  he  is.     But  as  I  perceive 
that  those  writers,  whetlier  in  verse  or  prose,  who 
are  best  acquainted  with  mankind,  prescribe  the 
necessity  of  caution  and  distrust,  I  make  it  a 
point  to  be  cautious,  though  at  the  same  time  I 
cannot  help  being  convinced  of  my  friend's  sin- 
cerity.    Clodius  persists  in  his  menaces ;  Pom- 
pey  assures  me  there  is  no  danger  ;   he  swears 
to  this,  and  tliat  he  will  even  stake  his  own  life 
against  the  least  violence  that  shall  be  offered  to 
me.     The  thing  is  now  in  agitation,  and  will  let 
you  know  as  soon  as  any  measure  is  absolutely 
determined.     If  I  must  enter  into  action,  I  must 
call  upon  you  to  bear  a  part     If  I  am  suffered 
to  remain  quiet,   I  will  not  disturb  your  repose 
at  your  Amalthea. 

I  will  give  you  but  a  very  few  hints  concerning 
public  matters ;  for  I  am  now  even  afraid  that 
my  letters  will  betray  me.  Therefore  if  I  keep 
any  farther  correspondence  with  you,  I  must 
veil  my  meaning  ^in  allegories.  In  the  mean- 
while, let  me  tell  you,  the  state  is  dying  of  a  new 
kind  of  malady.  The  symptoms  are,  that  every 
body  joins  in  condemning,  and  lamenting  the 
present  measures  ;  they  complain  aloud  ;  their 
groans  are  distinctly  heard  ;  and  yet  no  one  sup- 
plies the  public  with  the  necessary  relief.     I  am 

of; 


TO  ATTICUS. 


149 


of  opinion  that  an  opposition  would  terminate  in 
a  general  slaughter,  and  yet  public  ruin  appears 
to  be  the  unavoidable  consequence  of  submission. 
The  applause  and  approbation  of  mankind  havi 
elevated  Bibulus  to  the  skies ;  his  protests  are 
read,  his  harangies  are  repeated  every  where. 
By  a  new  path  he  has  ascended  the  summit  of 
popularity,  for  nothing  is  now  so  grateful  to  the 
people  as  invectives  against  the  friends  of  the 
popular  party.  I  shudder  at  the  event  of  this 
explosion.  But  when  the  mists  shall  begin  to 
dispel,  I  will  exhibit  things  to  you  more  dis- 
tinctly. 

If  you  love  me,  as  I  know  you  do,  keep 
yourself  in  readiness  to  fly  to  me  the  moment  I 
solicit  your  assistance.  There  is  no  occasion  for 
your  changing  your  name  into  that  of  Furius. 
I  shall  be  Lseiius,  and  you  Atticus.  But  I  will 
correspond  with  you  neither  by  my  own  hand- 
writing, nor  under  my  seal,  at  least,  if  the  sub- 
ject should  be  of  such  a  nature  as  that  I  would 
not  wish  it  to  fall  into  strange  hands.  Diodotus 
is  dead,  and  has  left  me  a  hundred  thousand 
serteces^  Bibulus,  in  ait  edict,  dictated  in  the 
stile  and  spirit  of  Archilocus^,  has  adjourned  the 

consular 


1  About  six  hundred  pounds  of  our  money. — E. 

*  Archi locus  composed  severe  and  scurrilous  verses.  From 
the  metre  in  which  they  were  written^  they  were  called  /aw- 
Hcs.    Of  this  species  of  poetry  he  is  said  to  be  the  inventor. 

Horace 


150 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


consular  elections,  to  the  18tb  of  October.  I 
have  received  the  books  of  Vibius.  He  is  a 
wretched  poet,  but  yet  not  without  some  know-' 
ledge,  and  conveys  some  useful  instruction.  I 
will  return  the  poem  after  having  it  transcribed. 


EPISTLE  XXI. 

X  AM  unable  to  give  you  a  minute  account  of 
public  affairs.  All  is  lost;  things  are  more 
wretched  than  you  left  them  in  this  respect;  at 
that  time  the  tyranny  of  the  state  seemed  to  be 
relished  by  the  people,  though  not  by  the  patri- 
ots, yet  it  did  not  threaten  very  ruinous  conse- 
quences. But  at  present,  it  is  held  in  such  uni* 
versal  abhorrence  that  I  tremble  to  think  where 
the  explosion  shall  commence.  For  we  have 
experienced  the  passion  and  pride  of  those,  who, 
from  their  rancour  to  Cato,  have  ruined  every 
thing.  But  they  have  administered  to  us  a  poison 
^  slow,  that  wQ  seem  to  ej^pire  without  a  pang. 
iVt  this  time,  however,  I  am  fifraid  lest  the  flame 
shpuld  be  agfun  blown  up  by  the  hisses  of  the 
people,  ttie  speeches  of  the  patriots,  and  the 
discontents  of  the  Italians.  For  my  part,  as  I 
have  often  told  you,  I  was  in  hopes  that  the 

wheel 


Horace  thus  describes  him  iq  his  art  of  poetry.     Proprio  ral'ies 
ormavii  lamlro. — E. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


151 


wheel  of  govermnent  would  revolve  in  such  a 
manner  as  that  we  could  scarcely  hear  its  noise^ 
or  see  its  mark  ;  and  this  would  have  been  the 
case,  if  the  public  could  have  waited  till  the 
storm  was  blown  over  ;  b^t  having  long  siglied 
in  private,  tl^y  then  began  to  mji^rnwr  and  to 
speak  aloud,  and  at  last  becaua^  clamorous. 

Thus  our  friend,   unused  to  disgrace,   accus- 
tomed to  appl^se,  and  boroe  forward  on  a  tide 
of  glory,    is    now  altered  in  his    couatenance^ 
broken  in  his  spirit,  and  knows  noit  vyhere  to 
turn.     While  his  Yie^u^n  is  hazardous,  he  aees 
nothing  before  him  but  a  precipitate  ruin.     The 
worthy  hate  Urn,  the  profligate  do  not  iove  him. 
But  to  sliew  you  the  ^end^rness  of  my  heart,   I 
could  oot  refrain  fiom  tears,  when  on  the  S5th 
^f  Ju}y,  I  saw  him  declaiming  against  the  edicts 
of  JBibulus ;  he,  I  aay,  who  before  «sed  to  appear 
with  so  much  pomp  in  that  place,  possessing  the 
applause,  and  the  affections  of  the  people.     His 
appearance  was  so  mean  and  humiliating,  as  to 
excite  the  commiseration  of  every  observer,  and 
to  mortify  even  himself.     To  Crassus'  alone  it 
was  a  spectacle  of  pleasure,  to  all  others  of  great 
pain.     He  seemed  not  to  have  gently  descended, 


1  Crassus  hated  Ponipey  personally,  though  he  was  ah^  sti 
time  politically  connected  with  him. 


153 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


but  to  have  been  hurled  from  the  firmament  of 
his  glory  ^ 

Supposing  an  Apelles  were  to  see  his  Venus, 
or  a  Protogenes  his  Jalysus  daubed  with  mud, 
we  may  imagine  what  pain  the  artist  would  feel, 
and  I  own  it  gave  me  equal  concern  when  I  saw 
the  man,  whom  I  had  painted  with  all  the  colours, 
whom  I  had  adorned  with  all  the  touches  of  my 
eloquence,  thus  suddenly  disfigured  ;  while,  at 
the  same  time,  every  body  thought,  from  the 
affairs  of  Clodius,  that  I  owed  him  no  friendship; 
but  my  regard  is  of  such  a  nature,  that  it  cannot 
be  alienated  by  any  injury.  As  a  proof  of  what 
1  have  been  saying,  the  people  are  so  fond  of 
the  severe  edicts  of  Bibulus  against  him,  that  the 
street  where  they  are  stuck  up,  is  unpassable 
from  the  crowds  of  people  who  read  them.  As 
to  Pompey,  he  feels  them  so  much,  that  he  lan- 
guishes with  pain.  To  me  indeed  the  scene  was 
also  painful ;  because  I  saw  in  tortures  the  man 
whom  I  loved;  and  because  I  feared,  lest 
one  so  overbearing,    so  terrible  in  action,  and 

so 

*  This  description  of  the  fall  of  Pompey  well  illustrates  som^ 
lines  in  our  admired  Mr.  Gray, 

Ambition  this  shall  tempt  to  rise. 
Then  hurl  the  wretch  from  high. 
To  bitter  scorn  a  sacrifice 
And  grinn^g  infamy.  |5^ 


TO  ATTICUS. 


159 


C'»f 


so  unaccustomed  to  insults,  should  yield  to  the 
impulses  of  grief  and  revenge. 

What  will  become  of  Bibulus  I  know  not.  As 
things  stand,  he  is  at  the  summit  of  glory.  Por^ 
after  he  had  adjourned  the  elections  to  the  month 
jof  October,  a  measure  at  other  times  very  little 
agreeable  to  the  common  people,  Caesar  endea- 
voured, by  his  speeches,  to  instigate  them  against 
Bibulus.  But,  after  many  unconstitutional  de- 
clarations, he  could  not  extort  a  single  word 
from  the  assembly.  In  short,  they  perceive, 
that  they  possess  the  confidence  of  no  party,  and 
for  that  reason  1  am  the  more  afraid  of  violence. 

Clodius  still  cherishes  his  enmity ;  but  Pom- 
pey assures  me  that  he  will  adopt  no  hostile  mea- 
sure against  me.      It  is  dangerous  for  me  to  be- 
lieve him,  and  therefore  I  prepare  for  resistance. 
I  hope  that  I  have,  on  my  side,  the  warm  affec- 
tions of  all  the  orders,  and  that  I  shall  have  your 
assistance  when  I  require  it,  especially  when  it 
shall  appear  essential  to    my  welfare.       Your 
arrival,  if  seasonable,  will  confer  on  me  additi- 
onal wisdom,  spirit,  and  even  security.      Varro 
gives  me  much  satisfaction,   Pompey  speaks  as  if 
he  were  inspired ;  and  I  hope  that  I  shall  effect 
my  retreat  with  credit,  at  least  without  dishonour. 
Let  me  know  how  you  are  employed,  what  are 
your  daily  amusements,  and  what  you  have  done 
with  the  Sicyonians. 

EPISTLE 


154 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


15* 


EPISTLE  XXII. 

Jtiow  do  I  wish  you  had  stayed  at  Rome  !  I 
protest  you  should  have  stayed,  had  I  known 
what  was  to  happen.  For  we  should  easily  have 
managed  Clodius*,  at  least  we  should  have  been 
able  to  have  formed  a  judgment  of  his  future 
proceedings.  The  matter  stands  thus  at  present. 
He  runs  about ;  he  raves  ;  every  moment  he 
changes  his  measures,  and  menaces  all  he  meets  ; 
and  whatever  chance  throws  in  his  way  directs 
his  motions.  When  he  looks  to  the  government, 
which  is  now  so  generally  detested,  he  seems  to 
direct  his   attack  that  way ;  he  suddenly  turns 

upon 

'  Orig.  Nam  pulchetlum  nastrum  faciirime  ieneremus.  Moo- 
nsvec  St.  Real,  and  Monsieur  Mongatilt  trarrskte  this  expres- 
»ioD,  Nous  govamcrions  fadlenent  Ciodius, 

It  appears  from  this  passage^  as  I  have  transiated  it,  how 
great  an  opinion  our  author  hud  of  his  friend's  abilities  in  tlie 
mangement  of  parties.  We  cannot,  however,  help  observing, 
Ihat  Cicero  sometimes  requires  of  Attieus,  certain  services 
which  were  not  quite  agneeaWe  to  the  character  of  a  gentleman ; 
•odi  as  pumpii^  those  whom  he  viaited  and  stood  well  wiiii, 
for  their  secrets,  thai  he  might  reveal  them  to  our  author.  I 
am  afraid  there  is  somewhat  of  that  kind,  hinted  at  in  this  pas- 
sage 5  because,  when  we  compare  it  with  many  other  passages 
in  those  letters,  we  cannot  help  concluding,  that  one  of  the 
most  important  pieces  of  friendship  which  our  author  expected 
of  Attieus  was,  that  the  latter  should  be  a  secret  spy  for  him 
l^;x)n  the  conduct  and  conversation  of  the  friends  of  Clodius. 


[i 


upon  us,  as  soon  as  he  reflects  upon  their  inter'* 
e^ts,  and  the  strength  of  their  army\  As  to 
myself,  lie  threatens  me  botli  witli  force  and  le-* 
gal  prosecution. 

Pompey  as  he  has  himself  informed  me,  for  I 
Jjave  no  otJier  voucher,  has  treated  him  with  great 
severity;  and  told  him,  that  he  should  be  thought 
the  most  treacherous,    tlie  most   infamous    of 
mankind,  if  I  should  be  endangered  by  the  man, 
into  whose  liands  he  put  the  sword,  by  suffering 
him  to    be    enrolled   amongst    the    commons, 
Pompey  at  tlie  time,    farther  assured  me,  that 
hpth  Clodius,  and  Appius  promised  not  to  molest 
me ;  which  if  they  did  not  keep,  he  would  act 
in  such  a  manner,   as  to  convince  the  world, 
-that  he  regarded  nothing  so  much  as  the  long 
continuance  of  his  friendship  with  me.     After  a 
long  conversation  to  the  same  purpose,  he  added, 
that  Clodius,  though  reluctantly,  gave  him  hiiB 
hand,  and  assured  him,  that  he  would  do  nothing 
against  his  wishes.     Notwithstanding  this,  be  \mf^ 
continued  his  invectives  against  me  with  great 
rancour ,  but  indeed  I  should  not  have  trusted 
him,  though   his  conduct  had  been  otherwise, 
and  I  should   have  taken   the   same  measures  I 
now  take  for  my  defence.      My  measures  at 
present  are  such,  as  procure   me  accession  of 

popularity 

1  Alluding  to  two  legions  which  Caesar  commanded  in  Italy, 
and  which  he  afterwards  carried  to  Gaul. 


156 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


157 


popularity  and  interest,  as  they  do  not,  by  any 
means,  interfere  with  public  affairs.  I  apply 
myself  assiduously  to  the  bar,  and  to  my  busi- 
ness in  the  forum.  This,  I  perceive,  gives  sur- 
prising satisfaction,  not  only  to  my  clients,  but 
to  the  people.  The  resort  of  company  to  my 
house  is  great;  they  distinguish  me  with  honour 
in  the  streets;  the  glory  of  my  consulship  rises 
fresh  to  their  remembrance,  and  every  thing 
gives  me  intimations  of  their  affections.  Upon 
the  whole,  I  am  in  hopes  that  I  shall  soon  be 
able  to  sustain  the  combat  meditated  against  me. 
The  time  is  at  length  arrived,  when  I  feel  the 
want  of  your  advice,  your  affection,  and  your 
friendship.  Hasten,  therefore,  to  my  assistance; 
I  can  do  much  by  the  aid  of  Varro^  which,  when 
seconded  by  your  efforts,  will  be  more  effectual. 
We  can  then  gather,  we  can  then  learn,  from 
Clodius  himself,  many  things  which  must  come 
to  your  knowledge.  Indeed,  not  to  be  particular, 
many  advantages  will  accrue  to  me  from  your 
immediate  presence.  When  I  see  you,  depend 
upon  having  the  most  minute  information.  It 
must  be  before  Clodius  enters  upon  his  magis- 
tracy; for  that  is  the  most  critical  time.  I  am 
of  opinion,  that  if  here,  you  might,  through  the 

medium 

1  He  was  the  most  learned  of  all  the  Romans,  and  was  now 
1  favourite  with  Pompey.  He  had  been  aedile,  and  was  looked 
upon  to  be  a  rising  man  in  the  government. 


medium  of  his  sister,  induce  Crassus  to  sound 
Pompey;  and  then,  by  the  same  channel,  learn  how 
they  stand  affected  towards  me ;  and  this  would 
secure  me  from  disquiet,  or  at  least  from  mis- 
take. I  shall  afterwards  lay  before  you  the  par- 
ticulars of  my  intention,  my  danger,  and  my  si- 
tuation. 

Of  public  affairs,    I  have  notliing  worthy  of 
notice  to  impart,  but  that  the   people   cherish 
the  bitterest  hatred  against  the   usurpers;    but 
there  is  no  hope  of  redress.     You  may  easily 
conceive  that  Pompey  is  dissatisfied  with  himself, 
and  heartily  repents  of  his  conduct.     I  cannot 
distinctly  foresee  the  event;  but  a  terrible  explo- 
sion must,  in  a  short  time,  take  place.     I  have 
returned  the  works  of  Alexander,  an  inelegant 
orator,  and  a  very  indifferent  poet,  but  not  en- 
tirely without  his  merit.     I  feel  pleasure  in  re- 
ceiving Numerius  Numestius  in  the  number  of 
my  friends ;  and  can  testify,  from  my  own  expe- 
rience of  his  learning,   and  his  wisdom,  that  he 
well  deserves  your  recommendation. 


EPISTLE  XXIII. 

J[  BELIEVE  this  is  the  first  letter  you  ever  had 
from  me,  that  was  not  written  by  my  own  hand. 
From  whence  you  may  conclude  how  much  I  am 
distracted  with  business.   For,  I  had  not  a  leisure 

•  moment; 


) 


158 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


moment;  anrd,  when  I  went  out  to  take  the  air*, 
I  dictated  this  letter  in  my  walks.  In  the  first 
place,  I  want  you  should  know  that  our  friend 
Pompey  is  heartily  sick  of  his  condition,  and  that 
he  wouW  gladly  wish  tor  be  reinstated  in  the  place 
from  whence  he  is  fallen ;  that  he  has  made  me 
the  confident  of  his  melancholy  reflections,  and 
sometimes  posittrely  asks  my  advice  how  they  can 
be  cured.  But,  indeed,  I  know  not  how  to  ad- 
rise  hnn.  In  the  next  place,  you  must  know  that 
all  the  leaders  and  confederates  of  that  party 
are,  of  themselves,  dwindling  a^ray  without  an 
•f^posrtron ;  atrd  never  was  there  a  time  when 
people  were  more  united  than  they  now  are,  both 
in  sentiment?  and  speeches. 

As  to  my  o^vn  part  (for  I  know  you  expect  to 
be  informed  of  that  particular, )  I  assist  at  none 
of  their  public  counsels,  and  I  dedicate  myself 
entirely  to  the  business  and  labours  of  the  forum ; 
from  whence  you  may  easily  imagine,  that  I  have 
jfipeqfttent  opportunities  of  hearing  my  former  ac- 
tions mentioned,  with  the  warmest  wishes  that  the 
same  patriot  scene  should  now  be  reacted.  But 
the  brother  of  our  modern  Juno  continues  to 
hurl  his  menaces;  he  denies,  indeed,  all  to  Pom- 

pey; 

»  Orig.  recreand^e  voculce  causa.  From  this^  and  other 
passages,  it  appears  that  Cicero,  and  the  ancients,  used  to 
'#alfc  ia  order  to  opea  Ihoir  lungs,  which  was  of  vast  advantage 
to  their  voice. 


/ 


1  , 


y 


I 


TO  ATTICUS. 


159 


pey ;  but,  to  others,  he  acknowledges,  and  even 
boasts  of  his  menaces.  As  you  really  love  me 
therefore,  if  you  are  sleeping^. awake;  if  you  are 
standing,  move;  if  you  are  moving,  run;  if  you 
are  running,  fly.  I  cannot  easily  express  to  yon 
what  confidence  I  have  in  your  consummate  sa- 
gacity and  wisdom,  your  friendship,  and  your 
honour.  The  importance  of  the  subject  demands 
a  minute  detail;  but  so  closely  connected  are  our 
sentiments,  that  I  am  warranted  in  being  thus 
brief.  It  will  be  material  to  my  interest,  that 
you  should  be  in  Rome  by  the  time  when  Clodius 
enters  on  his  office ;  if  not,  when  the  assemblies 
i^re  held  for  his  election.     I  wish  you  well. 


EPISTLE  XXIV. 

N^THi^*^  could  be  more  pressing,  nothing 
could  be  more  earnest  for  your  coming  hither, 
than  the  letters  I  wrote  you  by  Numestius. 
Come,  if  you  can,  with  additional  swiftness- 
Take  not,  however,  this  importunity  amiss,  for 
I  know  how  much  you  are  my  friend;  I  know  how 
solicitous,  how  anxious,  your  aflfections  are;  but 
the  matter,  I  hope,  will  not  be  so  bad  in  the 
€vent,  as  it  is  in  the  prospect  Vettius\  my  in- 
former 

1  I  Qwn  that  thisj  anaongst  man/  other  qircunastances,  givet 

noe 


v 


\ 


160 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


former  in  the  Catiline  conspiracy,  as  I  have 
learned,  had  promised  Caesar,  that  he  would 
substantiate,  against  the  younger  Curio,  the 
charge  of  treasonable  crimes.  Having,  there- 
fore, insinuated  himself  into  the  confidence  of 
this  young  man,  with  whom,  as  it  appears,  he 
had  many  meetings,  he  went  so  far  as  to  inform 
him,  that  he  designed  to  let  loose  his  slaves  upon 
Pompey,  and  to  murder  him.  Curio  disclosed 
this  to  his  fatlier,  who  discovered  it  to  Pompey. 
The  matter  was  brought  into  the  senate-house, 
where  Vettius  appeared.  At  first  he  denied  that 
he  had  ever  any  conversation  with  Curio ;  but  he 
soon  changed  his  tone ;  for  he  immediately  de-* 
manded  to  be  admitted  an  evidence,  which  was 
easily  granted.  He  then  informed  the  house,  that 
Curio  was  at  the  head  of  a  conspiracy  of  young 
men;  in  which  Paulus  originally  entered  with 
Quintus  Caepio,  Brutus,  and  Lentulus,  the  son 
of  the  pontitF,  and  that  too  with  his  fathers 
knowledge.  He  then  said,  that  Caius  Septimus 
brought  him  a  dagger  from  Bibulus.  This  the 
senate  derided;  and  the  circumstance  of  Vettius 
being  without  a  dagger,  unless  the  consul  had 

given 

me  strong  suspicions,  that  we  know  but  half  the  story  of  Ca- 
tiline's conspiracy,  and  of  the  deaths  of  the  conspirators.  This 
Vettius,  upon  whom,  by  the  bye,  Cicero  relied  for  intelligence^ 
appears,  from  Cicero's  own  words  here,  to  have  been  a  fellow 
fitted  for  any  villany,  and  no  manner  of  credit  ought  to  hav« 
been  given  to  his  evidence. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


I6r 


i 


f 


given  him  one,  they  regarded  as  equally  absurd. 
Another  circumstance,  which  induced  the  house 
to  discredit  the  information,  was,  that,  on  the 
ISth^of  May,  Bibulus  had  warned  Pompey  ta 
guard  against  treachery,  for  which  he  had  Pom- 
pey's  thanks.  The  younger  Curip  was  brought 
in,  and  replied  to  all  that  Vettius  had  advanced, 
and  refuted  his  accuser,  by  the  impossibility  of 
the  youBg  men's  intending  to  attack  Pompey  in  the 
forum,  with  the  gladiators  of  Gabinius,  and  of 
Paulus's  being  their  leader ;  when  it  appeared^ 
that,  at  that  very  time,  Paulus  was  in  Macedo- 
nia. The  senate  decreed  that  Vettius,  having 
confessed  that  he  was  armed  with  a  weapon  ^ 
should  be  put  in  irons ;  and  whoever  attempted 
to  rescue  him,  should  be  deemed  an  enemy  to 
his  country.  Their  scheme,  according  to  the 
general  opinion,  was,  that  Vettius  should  be 
taken  in  the  forum  with  a  dagger,  and  his  slaves 
with  weapons,  and  that  then  he  would  have  asked 
to  be  admitted  an  evidence;  but  that  the  scheme 
was  disconcerted,  by  the  previous  information 
which  Pompey  received  from  the  Curiones.  The 
decree  of  the  senate  was  then  repeated  in  an  as- 
sembly of  the  people. 

Next  day,  however,  Caesar,  though  when  prae- 
tor. 


'/' 


*  This  was  a  kind  of  a  breach  of  the  peace,  a«  appears  by 
Cicero's  oration  for  Mllo. 


Vol.  I. 


M 


J    ' 


162 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICU& 


163 


t\ 


tor,  he  had  ordered  Quintus  Catulus  to  plead 
from  a  place  beneath  his  dignity  ^  authorised 
Vettius  to  ascend  the  rostrum;  a  situation  to 
which  the  consul  Bibulus  himself  presumed  not 
to  aspire.  Here  he  made  some  free  animadver- 
sions upon  public  matters ;  and  having  come  well 
prepared  and  instructed,  he,  at  first,  did  not 
implicate  C«pio  in  his  charge,  though  in  the  se- 
nate he  had  accused  him  of  atrocious  crimes. 
This  sufliciendy  evinces  that  his  motlier  had,  the 
preceding  evening,  effectually  interceded  for  the 
suppression  of  his  name'.     In  the  next  place,  he 

directly 

*  When  Caesar  was  praetor,  he  obliged  CatuJus,  who  wai 
m^  of  the  greatest  men  in  Rome,  to  account  for  his  conduct, 
while  he  was  one  of  the  commissioners  for  building  the  capi- 
tis. Bat  when  he  brought  him  before  the  rostrum,  he  ex- 
amined Catulus,  without  desiring  him  to  mount  it  For  no 
private  person  could  mount  the  rostrum,  witliout  leave  from  a 
magistrate  J  though  that  compliment  was  generally  paid  to  men 
&[  distinction,  who  were  no  magistrates}  and  Caesar  had  cvea 
bestowed  it  upon  so  infamous  a  fellow  as  Vettius. 

*  Grig.  Ut  appareret  noctem  et  noctumam  deprecaiionem  in* 
tercessisse.  The  reader  is  here  to  understand,  that  there  wa» 
an  intrigue,  which  was  very  freely  talked  of,  between  Servilia^ 
the  mother  of  Brutus,  who  was  likewise  called  Caepio,  from 
his  being  adopted  into  that  family,  and  Caesar,  who  was  thought 
to  be  the  fether  of  Brutus.  It  was,  therefore,  natural  for 
Caesar  and  Servilia  to  order  Vettius  not  to  mention  Brutus  upon 
this  occasion  5  though  Brutus  had  othen^'ise  great  provocation 
from  Porapey,  who  had  put  big  father  to  death,  and  so  was  a 
person  likely  enough  to  enter  into  any  conspiracy  against 
Pompey. 


X 


\ 


directly  named,  as  accomplices,  men  of  whom  he 
had  not  before  given  the  most  distant  intimation 
in  the  senate;  particularly  LucuUus*,  who,  he 
said,  frequently  sent  to  him  Caius  Fannius,  who 
had  acted  in  the  impeachment  against  Clodius ; 
Lucius  Domitius  iEnobarbus,  from  whose  house, 
he  said,  the  conspirators  were  to  break  out.  He 
did  not,  indeed,  expressly  name  me ;  but  he  said 
that  a  fine  speaker  of  the  consular  rank,  who 
lived  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a  present  consul*, 
had  told  him,  that  there  was,  at  this  time,  great 
occasion  for  an  Ahala  iServilius',  or  a  Brutus^ 
At  last,  when  the  assembly  was  dismissed,  and 
when  he  was  called  aside  by  Vatinius,  he  said  that 
he  heard,  from  Curio,  that  my  son-in-law  Piso, 
and  Marcus  Laterensis,  were  concerned  in  th^ 
conspiracy.  Vettius  is  now  accused,  before 
Crassus  Dives,  of  seditious  practices;  but,  sup- 
posing him  condemned,  he  will  pretend  to  make 
new  discoveries,  and  if  his  scheme  succeed,  we 

shall 


1  There  was  no  good  understanding  between  this  great  man 
aud  Pompey,  who  had  snatched,  both  from  him  ^nd  from 
Crassus,  the  glory  of  finishing  their  wars,  after  their  difficul- 
ties and  dangers  were  over. 

*  Cicero's  house  was  near  that  of  Cassar. 

*  Ahala  Servilius  was  general  of  the  horse  under  Cincinna- 
tiis,  and  killed  with  his  own  hand  Spurius  Malius,  who  wa» 
suspected  of  aspiring  to  the  government. 

*  The  same  who  expelled  the  Tarquini, 

Ms 


164 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


165 


shall  have  a  great  number  of  trials.   Though  I  am 
not  used  to  sHght  the  smallest  matter,  I  have  no 
apprehension  from  all  this.     I  can,  at  least,  per- 
ceive strong  indications  of  the  people's  affection 
for  me;  but  so  very  full  is  every  thing  of  wretch- 
edness, that  I  am  absolutely  tired  of  my  life.     A 
little  while  ago,   we  apprehended  a  general  mas- 
sacre, which  was  prevented  only  by  the  resolute 
reply  of  that  brave  veteran  Quintus  Considius\ 
By  this  discovery  the  dangers,  which  we  might 
have  foreseen  and  apprehended,  suddenly  burst, 
in  full  evidence,  before  the  public.     In  a  word, 
nothing  can  appear  more  wretched  than  my  situ- 
ation ;  nothing  more  enviable  than  that  of  Catulus, 
whether  I  regard  the  dignity  of  his  life,   or  the 
character  of  the  times.     Amidst  these  various 

dis-' 


The  story  was  this:  Caesar  filled  the  forum  with  his  troops, 
when  he  obtained  the  government  of  the  Gauls  for  five  years. 
.This  did  not  daunt  Cato  from  opposing  him  3  upon  which  Caesar 
was  so  exasperated,  that  he  ordered  Cato  to  be  carried  to  pri- 
son.    This  struck  a  damp  upon  the  people,  from  the  opinion 
they  had  of  Cato*s  virtue.     Caesar  was  afraid  of  the  conse- 
quences, and  saw  he  had  mistaken  his  measure;  and,  under- 
hand, he  prevailed  with  one  of  the  tribunes,  who  could  do  it, 
by  his  office,  to  restore  Cato  to  liberty;  but  he  still  continued 
his  guards  upon  the  senate  house;   the  terrors  of  which  drove 
great  numbers  of  the  senators  from  Rome.     Caesar,  one  day 
taking  notice  of  the  thinness  of  the  senate,  Considius  told 
him,  that  the  members  durst  not  attend,  for  fear  of  their 
lives.     Then,  said  Caesar,  why  do  you  attend ?     Because,  re- 
plied the  other,  I  am  too  old  to  fear  death. 


distresses,  my  mind  is  calm  and  undejected ;  and 
I  maintain  my  dignity  with  credit,  and  studied 
attention  to  propriety.  Pompey  desires  that  I 
will  not  be  uneasy  concerning  Clodius;  and,  in 
all  his  speeches,  he  gives  me  the  strongest  assu- 
rances of  his  friendship.  I  want  you,  my  friend^ 
to  be  the  director  of  my  conduct;  to  be  the  part- 
ner of  my  troubles,  and  the  sharer  of  all  my  af- 
fections. For  this  reason,  have  I  charged  Nu- 
mestius  to  entreat  you;  and  I  repeat  my  entreaty, 
if  possible,  in  a  more  earnest  manner,  that  you^ 
will  instantly  hasten  to  me.  Your  presence  would 
afford  me  fresh  life  and  vigour. 


EPISTLE  XXV. 

W  HENEVER  I  commend  to  you  any  of  your 
friends,  I  desire  you  to  inform  him  of  my  com-? 
mendation.  You  will  recollect  that  I  told  yoti 
in  my  letter,  how  obliging  and  serviceable  Varro 
has  been  to  me;  which,  as  Ilearn  from  your  re^ 
ply,  gave  you  much  pleasure.  I  wish  you  had 
communicated  this  to  him ;  and  inform  him,  that 
what  he  might  do,  would  impose  on  me  much 
greater  obligations,  than  what  he  has  done  in 
my  favour;  fbr  he  is  very  wary,  and  wonder- 
fully sagacious  in  discerning  the  dark  and  dis* 
guised  views  of  Caesar  and  Pompey.  That  we 
ought  to  yield  to  the  will  of  those  in  power,  is  a 

maxim. 


f 


no 


CICERO^  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


167 


maxim,  the  propriety  of  which  we  must  not  now 
call  in  question* 

As  to  your  friend  the  gardener^,  how  high  was 
I  raised  by  his  abundant,  ingenious,  and  elegant 
praise,  when  he  mentioned  the  prsetorship  of 
Raccus^,  and  the  conspiracy  of  the  Allobroges. 
No  commendation,  indeed,  could  have  been 
more  honourable,  more  affectionate,  or  more 
satisfactory.  I  desire,  by  all  means,  that  you 
let  him  know  you  have  all  this  from  me.  But 
why  should  I  speak  of  your  writing  to  this  place, 
as  I  have  done  in  my  former  letter,  when  I  think 
you  are  already  alighted,  and  entering  the  room. 
I  earnestly  expect,  I  earnestly  desire,  the  pre- 
sence of  my  friend ;  yet  my  expectation  and  de- 
sire are  not  greater  than  my  necessity  and 
danger. 

I  can  add  nothing  to  the  accounts  I  have  al- 
ready often  sent  you,  concerning  public  affairs. 
Nothing  can  be  more  desperate  than  the  state  of 
the  public,  and  nothing  more  detestable  than  its 
authors.  My  opinion,  my  hope,  my  conjecture 
ipUs  me,  that  I  am  entirely  secure  in  the  affec- 
tions 


tions  of  my  country.  Therefore  fly  to  me ;  you 
will  either  deliver  me  from,  or  participate  in, 
all  my  troubles.  I  do  not  farther  enlarge  in  this 
letter,  as  I  hope  that,  in  a  short  time,  we 
shall  talk  together  witliout  reserve.  I  wish  you 
well. 


%  Orig*  At  Hercule  alter  tuus  familiaris  Hortalus,  lliis  is 
a  low  pun  upon  the  name  of  Hortensius,  who  is  here  meant. 

^  This  Flaccus  was  accused  before  the  people,  and  was  de- 
fended by  Cicero ;  and  Hortensius,  who,  it  seems,  took  occt- 
tion  to  extol  Cicero,  by  putting  the  audience  in  mind/*  that 
Flaccus  was  praetor  the  same  year  that  Cicero  was  consul. 


CICERO'S 


\ 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO 


ATTICUS. 


\ 


BOOK  III. 


EPISTLE  I. 

I  WISH  I  may  see  the  day^  when  I  shall  thank 
you  for  having  compelled  me  not  to  end  my 
being.     Hitherto  1  feel  weary  of  life  ;  but  I  beg 

that 

1  The  reader  will  perceive,  that  Cicero's  incautious  conduct, 
during  his  consulship,    and  his  cowardly  behaviour,    when 
pushed  by  Clodius,  had  driven  him  into  severe  banishment, 
which  he  bore  with  unparalleled  despondency.     It  is  true,  the 
love  of  his  country  is  still  visible  through  aU  his  expressions  of 
personal  affliction  5  but  a  man  must  be  fond  of  Cicero  to  mad- 
ness and  enthusiasm,  should  he  deny  that  his  dejection  and  des- 
pondency  in  his  adversity,  were  only  proportioned  to  his  inso- 
lence and  vanity  in  his  prosperity.    This  is  often,  if  not  al- 
ways,  the  case  with  human  nature  >  nor  is  there  a  more  illus- 
trious instance  of  it  than  in  the  person  of  Cicero.    In  his  let- 
ters, where  he  lays  open,  without  reserve,  the  sentiments  of 

his 


170 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


that  you  will  instantly  meet  me  at  Viba, 
ta  which  I  have  many  reasons  for  retiring.  But 
if  you  come  to  that  city,  we  shall  settle  the  plan 

of 


TO  ATTICUS. 


171 


of  my  destined  retreat  Should  you  not  comply 
with  this  request,  I  shall  feel  disappointed ;  but 
I  have  confidence  in  your  readiness  to  oblige 
me. 


his  heart,  w«  find  bim,  by  turns,  blaming  or  blackening,  re- 
proving or  reviling,  the  greatest  men  of  Rome.  We  have  al- 
ready seen  with  what  contempt  he,  on  all  occasions,  charac- 
terises Pompey  5  how  he  loads  Crassus,  blames  Caesar,  vilifies 
Hortensius,  sneers  at  Lucnllus,  and  treats  even  Cato  as  a  wrong- 
headed  man,  of^a  narrow  genius,  and  more  fitted  to  mislead 
than  to  direct  a  party. 

Cicero  made  a  very  happy  choice  of  Atticus  for  his  confi- 
dent. He  was  a  Roman  knight,  wh«  had  formed  to  himself 
and  pursued,  a  scheme  of  pleasure,  which  that  age  thought  to 
be  rational,  and  succeeding  times  have  pronounced  to  be  amia- 
ble. He  was  a  professed  Epicurean,  and  acted  up  to  all  the 
refinements  of  that  sect,  both  in  morality  and  friendship.  His 
avowed  maxim  was,  to  be  easy  under  all  governments ;  and  as 
pleasure  was  his  pursuit,  he  foimd  he  could  succeed  only  by  be- 
coming, "  all  tilings  to  all  men."  His  knowledge  of  men  and 
books,  made  him  the  most  entertaining  companion  of  his  age ; 
while  his  good  sense,  and  experience  of  life,  gave  him  all  the 
advantages  that  could  be  sought  in  the  firiend,  or  die  man  of  ge- 
Dios.  Cicero,  whose  heart  was  good  when  uninfluenced  by 
fear  or  vanky,  found,  in  Atticus,  what  he  could  not  find  in  the 
world  besides,  a  man  void  of  prepossessions  for  any  party,  aod 
full  c^  benevolence  for  all  mankind.  But  Cicero  did  not  re- 
flect that  those  qualities,  so  seemingly  amiable,  meant  no  mare 
than  that  Atticus  was  resolved  not  to  be  troubled  with  any  thing 
that  concerned  hb  country  -,  and  wished  mankind  extremely 
well,  because  another's  unhappiness  gave  him  pain.  Thus  the 
patriotism  of  Atticus  was  too  diffiised,  and  his  friendships  too 
dissipated.  His  country  had  neither  benefit  from  his  abilities 
in  the  state,  nor  his  friends  from  his  credit  with  the  public. 

A  man 


EPISTLE  II. 


i 


T 


_  HE  reason  of  my  departure  was,  because,  in 
ray  situation,  there  was  no  place  where  I  could 

con- 


A  man  thus  formed,  whose  company  was  courted,  whose 
conversation  was  admired,  and  whose  person  was  esteemed,  by 
Sdl  parties,  must  have  soon  lost  his  character  and  credit  with  all, 
had  he  been  particular  upon  any  one  point  of  public  concemj 
and  such  the  case  of  Cicero  was.    That  he  avoided  this  is  evi- 
dentj  not  so  much  from  the  history  we  have  of  Atticus,  as  from 
the  repeated  intimations  of  our  autlior,  who,  by  turns,  adnio- 
nishes,  exhorts,  entreats,  and  even  reproaches  him,  for  his  m- 
scnsible  returns  of  fi-iendship.     It  is  true,  we  have  no  letters  of 
Atticus  to  Cicero.    But  one,  with  a  very  small  share  of  saga- 
city, may  venture  to  say,  that  they  were  full  of  genBral  assu- 
rances of  friendship,  of  exhortations  to  bear  his  misfortunes 
patiently,  of  the  conversation  he  had  with  one  great  man,  of 
the  promises  made  him  by  another,  and  of  the  declarations  of 
a  third  in  his  favour  j  but  without  coming  to  any  one  point 
which  Atticus  hazarded  for  his  friend,  or  in  which  he  risqued 
the  loss,  either  of  his  credit  or  his  interest,  with  the  Roman 
grandees.     Add  to  this,  it  is  not  impossible,  and  it  may  be  even 
gathered  from  many  parts  of  our  author's  works,  that  Atticus, 
in  his  frequent  unreserved  conversations  with  the  enemies  of 
Cicero,  might  have  dropt  some  hints,  from  which  they  might 
have  gathered  the  sentiments,  if  not  the  views,  of  our  au- 
thor. 


jMUi-  y"'--*!^'^ 


172 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


continue  longer  in,  than  the  seat  of  Sica*,  espe- 
cially as  my  sentence  is  not  engrossed  .  At  the 
same  time,  I  understand,  that  if  I  had  you  with 
me,  I  could  go  from  thence  to  Brundusium  5 
where,  without  your  protection,  I  could  not  con- 
tinue, on  account  of  Autronius^  Now,  as  I 
wrote  you  before,  if  you  come  to  me,  we  will 
concert  our  whole  plan  of  proceeding.  It  is,  I 
know,  a  troublesome  journey ;  but  the  whole  of 
my  misfortunes  are  attended  with  troubles  of 
every  kind.  I  am  so  astonished,  so  dejected,  that 
I  can  write  no  more.  Farewel,  my  friend.  Dated 
April  8,  upon  the  confines  of  Lucania. 

EPISTLE 

*j  '  ' 

*  Fundus  appears  to  have  signified  at  first  a  country  buildings 
and  then  the  land  belonging  to  it.  See  Adam's  Antiq.  p.  92. — 
The  phrase  in  fundum,  is  for  in /undo;  so  the  Greeks  some- 
times wrote  us  oixov,  into  the  house,  for  n  otKu,  in  the  house; 
tis  iTfrc^iaff  for  cy  airo^i^,  in  the  ashes. — E. 

^  Before  a  law  in  Rome  was  published,  it  was  posted  up  in 
three  fair  days,  in  the  whole  twenty-seven  days,  that  it  might 
be  amended.  The  bill  against  Cicero  imported,  that  he  should 
be  prohibited  from  fire  and  water  j  that  is,  from  all  the  ne- 
cessaries of  life;  and  that  it  should  be  penal  for  any  one  to 
give  him  shelter.  There  was,  however,  no  determined  dis- 
tance to  which  he  was  banished  j  and  the  law  was  posted 
up  till  that  should  be  ascertained.  Cicero  took  the  advan- 
tage  of  this  uncertainty  to  hover,  for  some  time,  upon  the 
coast  of  Italy. 

^  He  had  then  a  command  in  the  Roman  army  i  and  having 
been  engaged  in  Catiline's  conspiracy,  he  had  a  hatred  for 
our  author. 


t ' 


TO  ATTICUS. 


EPISTLE  III. 


173 


sj'iK^** 


X  HOPE  you  will  impute  it  to  my  misery,  rather 
than  my  watit  of  resolution,  that  I  so  suddenly 
left  Vibo,  where  I  solicited  you  to  meet  me.     I 
have  received  the  sentence  of  my  destruction,  in 
which  are  the  insertions  I  expected,  and  which 
imply  that  I  am  banished  four  hundred  miles 
from  Italy.     Finding  thus  that  I  was  not  at  liber- 
ty to  go  to  Vibo,  I  immediately  set  out  for  Brun- 
dusium, so  as  to  he  there  the  day  before  my  sen- 
tence had  taken  place,  both  to  save  Sica,  my  host, 
from  destruction,  and  likewise  because  the  isle 
of  Malta  was  too  near  to  Italy.     Do  you  now 
make  haste,  that  you  may  overtake  me ;  I  mean, 
if  I  am  received  there.     Hitherto  I  have  received 
very  kind  invitations,  but  I  dread  what  yet  re- 
mains.    My  friend,  I  greatly  regret  that  I  have 
not  put  an  end  to  my  existence.      It  is  chiefly 
owing  to  you  that  I  continue  to  live.     But  we 
will  talk  of  this  together.     Do  you  only  take 
care  to  come. 


EPISTLE  IV. 

I  ALWAYS   thought  it  would  be  the  greatest 
advantage  for  me  to  have  you  along  with  me, 
but  more  than  ever,  when  upon  reading  my  sen- 
tence, 


174 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


17S 


tence,  I  understood  that  nothing  could  happen 
more  desirable  for  me,  with  regard  to  my  in- 
tended journey,  than  that  you  should  join  me  with 
the  first  opportunity,  in  order  to  determine  whe- 
ther, after  having  left  Italy,  I  shall  pass  through 
Epirus  under  your  protection,  or  follow  some 
other  course.  I  therefore  entreat  that  you  would 
immediately  set  out  to  meet  me.  You  may  be 
the  more  able  to  do  this,  as  a  decree  is  already 
passed  concerning  the  government  of  Macedo- 
nia\  I  would  express  myself  to  you  nwre  at 
large,  were  it  not  that  my  circumstances  are  a 
sufficient  apology  to  one  who  is  my  ft*iend. 


EPISTLE  V. 

JVIy  wife  informs  me  in  frequent  and  warra 
terms  of  your  kindness  to  her.  I  am  greatly 
obliged  to  you  for  these  instances  of  your  friend- 
ship. I  live  in  misery  and  sorrow,  and  from  the 
agitation  of  my  mind  know  not  what  to  write  to 
you.  If  you  are  at  Rome,  you  cannot  now 
overtake  me  ;  but  if  you  are  on  the  road,  when 
we  meet  together,  we  will  concert  our  final  plan. 
All  I  beg  of  you  is,  that  as  you  have  ever  loved 

me 

^  Atticus  had  a  great  deal  of  business  in  that  province,  the 
government  of  which,  with  thai  of  several  adjacent  countries, 
Imd  been  granted  to  Piso^  through  the  interest  of  Clodius. 


I 


lae  personally,  you  will  t:ontinue  in  the  same 
affections.  I  am  still  the  same  man.  My  ene- 
mies have  robbed  me  of  all  my  external  comforts, 
but  not  of  my  internal  peace  and  satisfaction  \ 
My  friend  I  wish  you  well.  Dated  at  Thurium 
the  10th  of  April. 


EPISTLE  VL 

1  FLATTERED  mysclf  that  I  should  have  seen 
you  at  Tarentum  or  Brundusium,  for  many  rea- 
sons, especially  that  I  might  be  determined  a& 
to  my  residence  in  Epirus,  and  that  I  might 
have  your  advice  in  settling  other  matters.  My 
disappointment  in  this  respect  increases  the 
load  of  my  other  miseries.  I  am  setting 
out  for  Cyzicum^  in  Asia.  My  relatives  and 
friends  I  recommend  to  your  protection ;  as  to 
what  concerns  myself,  I  can  scarce  be  said  to 
live,  but  to  breathe,  and  that  too  with  pain. 
Dated  the  11  th  of  April  from  Tarentum. 

fJPISTLK 


*  Orig.  Inimici  mei  mea  mihi,  non  me  ipsum  adcmerunt. 
The  commentators  have  been  at  great  pains  to  puzzle  this 

passage,  which  I  hope  I  have  translated  ckarly  and  consistently 
with  the  original. 

*  This  was  a  town  in  Mysia  upon  the  Propontis. 


176 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


177 


EPISTLE  VIL 

I  ARRIVED  at  Brundusiura  on  the  18th  of  April, 
on  which  day  I  received  your  letters  from  your 
slaves,  and  three  days  after,  another  packet  was 
delivered  by  a  person  in  your  service.      I  am 
extremely  obliged  to  you  for  the  pressing  invita- 
tion with  wliich  you  have  favoured  me,  to  reside 
at  your  house   in  Epirus.     How  ardently  do  I 
wish  to  spend  all  the  time  of  my  exile  in  that 
place.     For  I  hate  a  crowd.  I  shun   mankind, 
scarcely  can  I  bear  the  light     Such  a  solitude, 
upon  so  friendly  a  spot,  would  be,  to  me,  by 
no  means  disagreeable.     But  in  the  first  place,  it 
is  too  far  from  the  road  to  interrupt  my  journey 
for  the  sake  of  a  few  days  entertainment.    In  the 
next  place,  I  shall  be  no  more  than  four  days  jour- 
ney distant  from  Autronius  and  his  associates ; 
and  lastly,   I  shall  be  without  you.       It  is  highly 
desirable,  that  the  place  of  my  destination  should 
be  so  fortified  as  to  secure  me  from  violence  :  but 
there  can  be  no  danger  of  being  molested  in  my 
journey  to  it  thither.    If  I  durst  venture,  I  would 
go  to  Athens,  were  it  situated  at  the  distance  I 
could  wish.     At  present,  many  of  my  enemies  re- 
side in  that  city.     I  have  not  your  company,  and 
I  am  afraid  that  that  town  may  be  interpreted 
to  be  within  my  prescribed  distance  from  Italy, 

neither 


I 


hfeither  do  you  write  me  on  what  day  I  am  to 

expect  you. 

Your  advice  and  consolation  have  hitherto 
restrained  me  from  doing  violence  to  myself. 
But  your  encouragements  have  not  been  able  to 
reconcile  me  to  the  course  I  have  followed,  and 
to  the  life  I  lead.  For  what  is  there  for  which  I 
should  now  desire  to  live,  especially  if  I  am  dis- 
appointed in  the  hopes  I  carried  with  me  out  of 
Rome  \  I  will  not,  indeed  I  will  not,  recount 
all  the  wretchedness  into  which  I  am  fallen, 
through  the  unexampled  injustice,  and  the  wick- 
edness, rather  of  the  men  who  envied,  than  of 
those  who  hated  me,  lest  I  should  awaken  my- 
self to  all  the  horrors  of  my  condition,  and  you 
to  a  feeling  of  my  sorrows.  One  thing  I  affirm, 
that  never  was  a  man  oppressed  with  such  a 
weight  of  calamity,  never  had  a  man  more  rea- 
son to  implore  death.  But  the  time  is  irrevo- 
cably passed  when  I  might  have  died  with  glory. 
The  remainder  of  my  days  cannot  repair,  they 
can  only  finish,  my  miseries. 

I  perceive,  that  you  have  collected  every  pub- 
lic incident  which  you  think  likely  to  flatter  my 
hopes  of  seeing  a  change  in  my  favour.     Those 

hopes 

^  Our  author's  friends  had,  that  they  might  get  rid  of  him 
with  the  less  trouble  to  themselves,  buoyed  him  up  with  the 
hopes  that  the  inconstancy  of  the  people  would  soon  recall  him. 

Vol.  L  N 


I)     ! 


178 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


179 


hopes  I  own  are  faint,  yet  to  please  you,  I  will 
live  in  the  indulgence  of  them.  Meanwhile,  if 
you  make  haste,  you  can  overtake  me,  for  I 
shall  either  stop  in  Epirus,  or  make  very  slow 
journies  over  the  mountains  of  Candavia^  It 
is  not  from  indecision  that  I  hesitate  <o  pas» 
through  Epirus,  but  because  I  have  not  as  yet 
ascertained  where  I  am  to  see  my  brotlier.  See 
him  did  I  say  !  IIow  shall  I  be  able  to  see  him  J 
How  shall  I  bear  to  part  with  him  !  This  com- 
pletes my  misery ;  of  all  my  sorrows  this  is  the 
most  oppressive^  I  would  write  to  you  oftener, 
and  more  fully,  did  not  grief  deprive  me  of  all 
my  senses,  and  especially  of  my  power  to  write. 
I  long  to  see  you,  I  wish  you  well.  Dated  from 
Brundusium  the  last  of  ApriL 


EPISTLE  VIIL 

xilS  I  was  leaving  Brundusium,  1  wrote  to  you 
that  my  reasons  for  not  going  to  Epirus  were, 
that  it  lay  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Achaia,  that 
it  abounded  with  my  most  inveterate  enemies, 
and  that  the  roads,  which  lead  from  that  country, 
are  very  tedious^     Add  to  this,  when  I  w  as  at 

Durazzo,. 

^  These  were  a  chain  of  mottntains,  reaching  from  Illyria  to 
the  gulph  of  Thessalonica. 

*  Orig,  Misarrimam  mearum  omnium  miseriarum. 


m\ 


Durazzo,  I  received  two  accounts,  o»e  that  my 
brother  was  coming  from  Ephesus  to  Athens  by 
^a ;  the  other  that  be  was  travelling  by  laii(4 
through  Macedonia.  I  therefore  sent  him  a 
message  to  Athens,  desiring  him  to  meet  me  at 
Thessalonica,  where  I  arrived  on  the  23d  of  May, 
and  all  I  can  hear  for  certain  concerning  his  rout 
is,  that  he  had  for  some  days  left  Ephesus. 

I  own  that  I  am  excessively  alarmed  at  the 
measure  meditated  against  him  at  Rome\  Your 
letter  of  the  £3d  of  May  says,  that  he  will  be 
impeached  with  severity ;  but  in  another  letter 
you  give  me  to  hope  that  milder  measures  will 
be  adopted.  But  the  date  of  the  latter  is  prior 
to  that  of  the  former  letter.  Thns  harassed  and 
consumed  with  unnecessary  anxieties,  I  feel  this 
additional  vexation  with  unsupportable  anguish. 
The  weather  has  been  for  some  time  very  tem- 
pestuous, and  my  brother  not  knowing  for  cer- 
tain where  to  find  me,  has,  perhaps,  pursued  ano- 
ther course.  His  Freedman  Phaeto,  who  after 
being  forced  from  him  by  a  storm  into  Macedo- 
nia,   joined  me    at  Pella,    had  not  seen  him. 

I  perceive 

>  Cicero's  brother  Quintus  was  one  of  those  characters  that 
act  better  in  a  subordinate,  than  in  a  first  sphere  of  life.  For 
though  he  afterwards  behaved  extrejjiely  well  as  Caesar's  lieu- 
tenant, yet  he  acted  in  so  arbitrary  and  insolent  a  manner  io 
his  government,  that  he  was  at  this  time  threatened  w^ith  &£b 
impeachment  at  Rome. 

N2 


180 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


I  perceive  I  am  not  to  hope  for  any  alleviation  of 
my  distresses  ;  I  have  nothing  to  write ;  I  am 
afraid  of  every  thing :  nor  is  there  any  mis- 
fortune, which  may  not  be  expected  to  befal  me, 
and  thus  to  complete  my  calamities.  My  exces- 
sive grief  and  troubles  are  aggravated  by  my  de- 
lay at  Thessalonica,  where  I  am  tormented  with 
doubt  and  fear  without  spirit  to  support  me. 

I  have  not  seen  Trypho  Caecilius.  From  what 
you  have  written  to  me  I  learn  the  nature  of  your 
conversation  with  Pompey.  But  I  am  unable  to 
conceive  that  such  a  revolution  in  the  govern- 
ment, as  you  either  foresee,  or  pretend  to  foresee, 
can  take  place  in  my  favour.  As  Pompey  has 
connived  at  the  injustice  done  to  Tigranes^  all 
hopes  are  lost.  I  will,  as  you  desire  me,  return 
thanks  to  Varro  and  Hypsaeus.  I  intend  com- 
plying with  your  advice,  in  not  removing  far  from 
this  place,  till  I  learn  all  that  shall  happen  in 

the 


*  Pompey  had  brought  one  of  the  sons  of  Tigranes,  king  of 
Annenia,  to  Rome,  and  committed  him  to  the  custody  of  the 
praetor  Flavius,  from  whom  Clod  ins,  being  bribed  to  it  with 
great  sums,  saved  him,  and  privately  put  him  on  board  a 
ship  for  his  own  country.  The  young  prince,  however,  being 
forced  ashore,  Flavius  went  with  a  strong  body  of  men  to  retake 
him  J  but  he  was  encountered  on  tlie  road  by  Clodius  and  his 
friends,  who  defeated  Flavius,  and  cut  his  party  in  pieces. 
Though  the  great  interest  of  Clodius  obliged  Pompey  to  put  up 
with  this  affront  yet  it  was  one  of  the  chief,  though  secret, 
motives  that  determined  him  to  recall  Cicero. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


iSl 


the  month  of  May ;  but  where  to  reside  till  then^ 
I  am  not  yet  determined.  The  truth  is,  from  my 
excessive  anxieties  about  my  brother  Quintus,  I 
am  not  capable  of  forming  any  determination. 
I  will,  however,  send  you  every  necessary  infor- 
mation. 

I  am  inclined  to  think  that  you  see  the 
agitation  of  my  mind  in  the  mode  of  my 
writing  to  you ;  but  distressed  as  I  am  with  in- 
conceivable, unexampled  afflictions,  my  sorrow 
does  not  proceed  so  much  from  what  I  suffer,  as 
from  reflections  upon  my  own  misconduct  You 
are  at  length  become  sensible  of  the  villany  of 
that  man  who  encouraged  and  betrayed  me.  I 
wish  we  had  perceived  it  before  this  affair  is  be- 
come thus  irretrievable ;  and  had  not  abandoned 
ourselves  to  passive,  unresisting  despondency. 
If  therefore  you  hear  that  I  am  overwhelmed, 
tHat  I  3(^1  consumed  in  misery,  you  are  to  con- 
clude, that  I  feel  more  from  my  own  impru- 
dence, than  for  my  condition,  because  I  con- 
fided in  a  man,  who,  without  appearing  so  to 
me,  is  the  most  unprincipled  of  mankind.  I 
am  unable  to  proceed  from  reflections  on  my 
own  sufferings,  and  fear  concerning  my  brother. 
I  beg  you  will  examine  and  manage  all  my  con- 
cerns. My  wife  remembers  you  with  the  deep- 
est gi'atitude ;  I  have  sent  you  a  copy  of  the 
letter,  which  I  sent  to  Pompey.  Dated  from 
Thessalonica  the  29th  of  May. 

EPISTLE 


182 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  IX. 

O^  the  >st  of  April  my  brother  Quintus  left 
Asia,  and  on  the  15th  of  May  he   arrived   at 
Athens.     He  was  obliged  to  repair  with  great 
haste  to  Rome,  for  fear  of  being  injured  in  his 
absence,  by  those  who  may  not  think  that  I  am 
yet  sufficiently  miserable.     I  rather  chose  that  he 
should  make   all   the   haste   possible  to  Rome, 
than  come  to  me ;  and  at  the  same  time,  (for  I 
will  acknowledge  the  truth,   and  you  may  hence 
infer  the  extent  of  my  sufferings)  I  could  not 
bring  myself  to  face  the  man  who  i^  so  dear  to  my 
heart,  and  see  him  weep  with  compassion  over 
my  affiictions ;  nor  could  I  suffer  him  to  become 
the  spectator  of  my  misfortunes,  and  thus,  by  his 
generous  sympathy,  to  share  in  them.     I  was  even 
afraid  of  what  must  have  happened,  I  mean,  that 
he  could  not  have  left  me ;   I  formed  him  to  my 
imagination,  either  resigning  the  badges  of  his 
authority,  or  suffering  himself  to  be  torn  by  force 
from  my  embraces.     I  shunned  this  bitter  afflic- 
tion by  that  of  not  seeing  my  brother.     Such  are 
the  miseries  I  endure  in  consequence  of  your 
advice  not  to  put  an  end  to  my  life     It  is  by  fol- 
lowing this  counsel  that  I  am  now  punished. 

After  all,  your  letters  by  which  I  perceive  how 
'•wguine  your  hopes  are,  give  me  some  comfort ; 

at 


TO  ATTICUS. 


Its 


at  least,  I  found  in  them  some  consolation  till  you 
came  to  that  passage,  "  After  you  have  gained 
Pompey,  apply  to  Hortensius',  and^the  rest  of  his 
party."*  What,  my  dearest  Pomponius,  are  you  still 
ignorant  that  these  are  the  men  by  whose  practi- 
ces, by  whose  intrigues,  by  whose  perfidy^  I  am 
ruined  !  But  I  will  talk  this  over  with  yourself, 
only  I  cannot  help  repeating  what  I  believe,  you 
know,  that  I  was  not  ruined  by  those  who  hated, 
but  by  those  who  envied  me.     After  all,  if  things 

are 


1  Our  author  is  most  unreasonably  peevish  with  this  great 
man,  and  with  the  true  spirit  of  jealousy  gives  us  a  great  many 
hints,,  as  if  Hortensius  had  helped  to  ruin  him,  that  he  might 
engross  to  himself  the  whole  gtory  of  the  bar.    There  is  some* 
what  extremely  silly  in  all  this,  and  nothing  but  Cicero's  iop 
tolerable  vanity  x^ould  have  prevented  him  from  seeing  it.     Fca: 
when  things  were  brought  to  a  desperate  pass,  and  when  all 
the  attempts  of  Hortensius,  and  our  author^s  other  friends,  could 
not  save  him,  what  did  Hortensius  do  ?     ''  You  have  (w©  may 
suppose  him  to  have  said)  done  all  that  a  good  patriot  ought  to 
do,  to  save  yourself.     But  act  not  now  like  a  profligate  citizea, 
•by  taking  up  arms,  by  lighting  up  a  civil  war  in  your  country, 
and  anticipating  her   miseries.    You  are  not  fit  for  being  a 
leader  in   so  desperate  an  enterprize.     Give  way,  therefore, 
like  a  good  patriot  to  the  storm  5  when  it  is  blown  over,  we 
will  omit  no  opportimity  to  serve  you  by  constitutional  mea- 
sures."    This  speech,  from  Cicero's  own  statement,  conUins 
the  sum  of  all  the  treachery  of  Hortensius  towards  him.    Hor- 
tensius was  as  good  as  his  word.     For  we  find,  from  Cicero 
himself,  that  he  was  amongst  the  first  to  forward  all  the  mea- 
sures for  his  being  recalled,  and  eveaa  exposed  ^siife  to  the 
fiiry  of  Clodius  upon  that  account. 


\ 


184 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


as  you  hope,  I  will  support  myself,  and  enjoy  the 
comforts  which  you  present  But  if  tliey  are, 
as  I  apprehend  tliem  to  be,  I  am  determined  that 
the  action,  which  I  was  not  at  liberty  to  perform, 
when  I  might  have  done  it  with  glory,  shall  be 
executed,  though  with  less  advantage  to  my 
character.. 

My  Wife  often  remembers  you  with  thanks. 
The  affair  of  my  unhappy  brother  is  one  of  the 
misfortunes  that  give  me  concern.  When  I 
kpow  the  issue  with  regard  to  him,  I  shall  be 
prepared  to  determine  what  course  to  take. 
According  to  your  advice  I  remain  at  Thes- 
galonica,  waiting  for  letters,  and  the  effects 
pf  those  good  offices  you  mention.  As  soon 
as  I  have  fresh  information,  I  shall  speedily 
come  to  a  resolution.  I  may  every  day  expect 
to  see  you,  if,  as  you  write  me,  you  left  Rome  on 
the  1st  of  June.  I  have  sent  vou  the  letter  I 
wrote  to  Pompey.  Dated  from  Thessalonica, 
June  the  13th. 


EPISTLE  X. 

A  HAVE  learnt  from  your  letters  all  that  passed 
till  the  25th  of  May.  I  waited  for  accounts  of 
what  has  happened  since  that  time,  by  your  ad- 
vice, at  Thessalonica.  When  I  have  received 
them,   I  shall  the  more  easily  determine  where  I 

am 


TO  ATTICUS. 


185 


I 


am  tQ  reside.     For  if  there  is  occasion,  if  any 
thing  is  in  hand,  if  I  have  any  encouragement,  I 
either  will  remain  here,    or  I  will  repair  to  you, 
But  if,  as  you  inform  me,  there  are  but  small 
hopes  of  such  incidents,  then  must  I  determine 
on  some  other  course.     Hitherto,  you  have  hin- 
ted nothing  to  me  but  the  divisions  that  prevail 
among  my  enemies ;  but  those  divisions  spring 
from  other  matters  than  my  concerns,  I  cannot 
therefor^  see  how  they  can  be  of  advantage  to  me. 
I  will,  however,  humour  you  as  to  every  circum- 
stance, from  which  you  desire  me  to  hope  for  the 

best.  ' 

As  to  the  frequent  and  severe  reproofs  you 
throw  out  against  my  want  of  fortitude,   let  me 
ask  you  whether  there  is  an  evil  which  is  not  in- 
cluded in  my  misfortunes  ?     Did  ever  man  fall 
from  so  elevated  a  station,  in  so  good  a  cause, 
with  such  advantages  of  genius,  experience,  and 
popularity,  or  so  guarded  by  the  interest  of  every 
worthy  patriot  ?  Is  it  possible  I  should  forget  who 
I  have  been ;  that  I  should  not  feel  who  I  am ; 
what  glory,  what  honour,  what  children,   what 
fortunes,  and  what  a  brother  I  have  lost  ?   A  bro- 
ther, that  you  may  know  my  calamities  to  be  un- 
exampled, whom  I  loved,  whom  I  have  ever  loved 
more  than  myself;   yet  have  I  been  forced  to 
avoid  the  sight  of  this  very  brother,  lest  I  should 
either  behold  his  sorrow  and  dejection,   or  pre- 
sent myself  a  wretch  undone  and  lost,  to  him 
■  who 


X, 


tu 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


who  had  left  me  in  high  and  flourishing  circum- 
fltances.  I  omit  my  other  intolerable  reflections 
thai  still  remain  ;  for  I  am  stopped  by  my  tears. 
Tell  me  am  I  most  to  blame,  for  giving  vent  to 
such  sorrows,  or  for  surviving  my  happy  state,  or 
for  not  still  possessing  it,  which  I  easily  might 
have  done,  had  not  the  plan  of  my  destruction 
been  laid  within  my  own  walls.  I  write  this 
that  you  may  rather  administer  your  wonted 
condolence  than  expose  me  as  deserving  of  cen- 
sure and  correction.  I  write  but  a  short  letter 
to  you  because  I  am  prevented  by  my  tears ; 
and  the  news  I  expect  from  Rome  is  of  more 
importance  to  me  than  any  thing  I  can  write  of 
myself.  Whenever  any  thing  comes  to  my 
knowledge  I  will  inform  you  exactly  of  my  re- 
solution. I  beg  you  will  continue  to  inform 
me  so  particularly  of  every  thing,  that  I  may  be 
ignorant  of  nothing  that  passes.  Dated  from 
Thessalonica  the  18th  of  June. 


TO    ATTICUS. 


187 


EPISTLE    XL 

OoME  good  news,  though  not  of  an  unquestion- 
able  authority,  the  receipt  of  some  of  your  let- 
ters, the  expectation  of  more,  and  your  com- 
mands, detained  me  at  Thessalonica.  When  I 
shall   have  received  the   letters   I   expect,  and 

shall 


shall  fiad  any  ground  for  hope  in  the  report* 
that  are  now  circulated  I  will  repair  to  you ;  if 
not,  I  will  inform  you  of  my  proceeding.     Con- 
tinue to  assist  me  with  your  cares,  your  coun- 
sels, and  your   interest     Leave  off  comfortiog 
me,'  but  do  not  reprove  me ;  when  you  do  this, 
I  greatly  feel  the  want  of  your  love,  and  condo- 
lence ;  though  I  figure  you  in  my  mind,   so  af- 
fected  by  my  troubles,  that  you  are  inconsolable 
yourself.     Support  my  best  beloved,  my  tender- 
est  brother  Quintus.      I  beg    you  will  let  me 

know  all  you  can  learn  for  certain.     Dated  thn 

28th  of  June. 


EPISTLE  XIL 

You   take  indeed  great  pains  to  convince  me 
that  I  have  reason  to  hope,  especially  from  the 
senate ;  and   you  tell  me  that  a  motion  would 
have  been  made  concerning  me   in  that  house, 
but  that  none  has  been  made,  because   of  the 
clause  in  my  Act  of  Banishment  against  any  such 
motion.     Here   you  upbraid   me   for  indulging 
my  sorrows,  while  you  are  conscious  to  yourself 
that  no  man  had  ever  greater  cause  to  lament. 
You  suggest  that  a  favourable  change  will  take 
place  in  the  popular  assemblies,  but  what  ex- 
pectation 


188 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


pectation  can  I  entertain,   while  the  acting  tri- 
bune, and  the  consul  elect'  are  my  enemies. 

You  also  censure  me  in  respect  to  the  speech 
which  has  been  lately  published^,  I  beg  that  you 
will,  if  possible,  repair  the  evil  which  its  publi- 
cation has  occasioned ;  I  own  that  I  wrote  it  a 
great  while  ago,  and  under  the  influence  of  pas- 
sion ;  but  he  gave  the  first  provocation ;  yet  I 
took  such  care  to  suppress  it,  that  I  never  ima- 
gined it  could  have  appeared  before  the  public. 
By  what  means  it  has  been  published  I  aiti  igno- 
rant But  as  I  never  happened  to  have  the  least 
difference  with  him,  and  as  it  is  less  correctly 
composed  than  my  other  orations,  I  think  it  may 
be  insisted,  that  it  is  not  my  composition.  If 
you  believe  the  woimd  which  this  has  occasioned 
me  to  be  curable,  I  beg  you  to  bestow  upon  it 
proper  attention  ;  but  if  I  am  ruined,  I  am  the 
more  indifferent.  Here  I  lie,  still  on  the  same 
spot,  without  the  exercise  either  of  my  tongue  or 
my  thoughts.     Though,   as  you   mention,  I  de- 

sired 

^  We  learn  from  Appian,  that  it  was  enacted  at  Rome  that 
when  a  tribune  of  the  people  could  not  immediately,  upon  his 
going  out  of  that  office,  stand  for  another  public  office,  he  was 
to  have  the  preference  at  the  next  tribunitial  election.  Clodius 
found  the  tribuneship  too  serviceable  for  him  to  quit  it  for  one 
year  5  and  the  consul  here  mentioned  was  Metellus  his  ctiusin- 
german,  and  a  determined  enemy  to  Cicero. 

«  This  oration  has  not  come  to  our  hands,  and  it  probahlv 
was  written  against  Curio. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


189 


wed  you  would  come  to  me  at  Dodona,  yet  I 
understand  you  may  be  of  real  service  to  me  in 
this  affair,  where  you  are,  and  that,  if  with  me, 
you  could  give  but  little  comfort  even  by  your 
conversation.  I  can  write  no  more,  nor  have  I 
more  subjects  to  write  upon,  I  therefore  the 
more  earnestly  wait  for  yours.  Dated  at  Thes- 
salonica,  the  17th  of  July. 


EPISTLE  XIII. 

Y  OUR  letters  lead  me  to  entertain  sanguine  ex- 
pect^tions  respecting  what  Pompey  may  do,  or 
pretends  to  do,  in  my  favour.  I  suppose  by 
this  time,  the  popular  assemblies  have  been  held. 
In  these,  you  write  me,  he  intended  to  introduce 
a  motion  for  my  restoration.  If  you  think  my 
hopes  illgrounded,  you  are  to  reflect,  that  thej 
spring  from  the  encouragement  you  gave  me ;  ait 
the  same  time,  I  am  sensible  that  those  letters 
used  rather  to  check,  than  to  encourage,  mj 
fond  wishes.  At  present  I  beg  that  you  will  re- 
present things  to  me  as  you  really  see  them.  I 
know  that  my  repeated  misconduct  has  brought 
me  into  all  these  troubles ;  but  should  any  fa- 
vourable occurrence  in  any  degree  rectify  the 
consequences  of  them,  I  shall  the  less  regret  that 
I  have  lived,  and  still  continue  to  live. 

I  have 


190 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


I»l 


I  have  not  yet  removed  from  Thessalonica, 
because  the  road  I  must  pass  is  so  public,  and 
because  I  am  in  daily  expectation  of  some  happy 
change^;  but  I  am  now  compelled  to  leave  it, 
not  by  Plancius^  for  he  does  all  he  can  to  re- 
tain me,  but  by  the  place  itself,  which  offers  no 
means  to  amuse  me  or  to  alleviate  the  weight  of 
my  sorrows.  I  did  not,  as  I  signified  to  you,  go 
to  Epirus,  as  I  have  been  unexpectedly  supplied 
with  every  necessary  information,  so  that  there 
is  no  necessity  for   my   being  nearer  to  Italy. 

If  I  receive  any  favourable  news  of  the  as- 
semblies, I  will  go  hence  to  Asia,  but  to  what 
particular  place  I  am  not  yet  determined.  Where 
I  am  you  shall  know.  Dated  from  Thessalonica 
the  21st  of  July. 


FPISTLE   XIV. 

xxs  to  what  I  wrote  to  you  concerning  my  in- 
tention of  removing  to  Epirus,  after  I  saw  my 
hopes  diminish  and  at  last  vanish,  I  altered  my 

purpose  ; 

*  Orig.  EgOy  propter  vUt  celehritatem ,  et  quotidianam 
expectationem  rerum  novarum,  nan  commovi  me  adhuc  Thes-* 
salomca.  This  passage  may  be  likewise  translated,  that  Cicero 
remained  at  Thessalonica,  because  he  had  there  the  convenience 
of  the  great  road  for  his  intelligence,  but  my  translation,  I 
think,  suits  better  with  other  passages  of  his  Epistles. 

'  Ht  was  then  quaestor  of  Macedonia. 


purpose  ;  nor  did  I  leave  Thessalonica,  where 
indeed  I  intend  to  remain  till  I  receive  farther 
particulars  respecting  the  motion  which,  as  you 
hinted  to  me,  Pompey  intended  to  propose  ia 
the  popular  assemblies.  Since,  therefore,  that 
time  is  past,  and  since  you  wTite  me  nothing 
about  it,  I  presume  that  you  had  nothing  to 
write  ;  and  I  shall  the  less  regret  my  disappoint- 
ment, as  the  period,  in  which  1  indulged  my  vain 
hopes,  was  of  a  short  continuance  ^ 

As  to  the  advantageous  turn,  which,  accord- 
ing to  you,  affairs  are  likely  to  take  in  my  fa-, 
vour,  they  who  come  from  Rome  hither  tell  me 
it  is  all  a  delusion.  My  hope  rests  now  upon 
the  future  tribunes  of  the  commons,  and  if  I 
live  till  they  enter  upon  their  charge,  you  cannot 
surely  reproach  me  for  having  been  wanting  to 
my  own  interest,  and  to  the  zeal  of  my  friends. 
You  often  accuse  me  with  being  too  much  de- 
jected under  my  misfortunes,  but  you  ought  to 

forgive 


*  Monsieur  Mongault  justly  observes,  that  all  the  commen- 
tators have  been  mistaken  in  this  passage ;  but  I  do  not  think, 
that  he  himself  has  been  entirely  happy  in  rectifying  them. 
The  original  is,  Neque  temporis  non  longinqua  spe  ductum  esse 
molesle  feram.  He  translates  it,  II  faudra  me  consoler  de 
Ttietre  lusquici  laisse  repaitre  se  vainemeui  d'idee  d'un  retour 
prochain.  But  I  think  it  is  much  more  natural  to  understand 
the  short  period  here  mentioned  to  be  meant  of  Pompey's  mo- 
tion in  the  senate,  which  Cicero  flattered  himself  would  be 
soon  made. 


192 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


forgive  me  this  weakness  ;  for  you  never  saw^ 
you  never  heard  of  any  one  so  distressed  as  I 
am.  You  tell  me,  that  my  sufferings  have  affect- 
ed my  understanding.  This  is  not  true ;  and  I 
wish  my  judgment  had  been  equally  sound  and 
clear  at  the  time  I  united  with  those  hostile  and 
cruel  traitors,  whom  I  imagined  to  be  the  best 
friends  to  my  interest  and  welfare;  those  who, 
when  they  saw  me  somewhat  indisposed  from 
apprehension,  had  recourse  to  all  the  arts  of  per- 
fidy and  cruelty,  as  means  to  effect  my  ruin. 
Now  as  I  am  to  remove  to  Cyzicum,  where 
our  opportunities  of  correspondence  will  be  less 
frequent,  I  beg  that  you  will  be.  the  more  careful 
to  inform  me  of  all  you  think  I  ought  to  know. 
I  recommend  to  you  my  brother  Quintus  should 
I,  in  my  misery,  leave  him  in  safety,  I  shall  not 
think  that  the  whole  of  myself  is  perished. 
Dated  the  5th  of  August. 


EPISTLE    XV. 


X  RECEIVED,  on  the  13th  of  August,  four  of 
your  letters.  In  the  first,  you  reprove  me  for 
my  unmanly  spirit ;  in  the  second,  you  inform 
me  of  what  you  learned  from  the  freedman  of 
Crassus,   concerning  my  emaciated,  desponding 

condition ; 


TO  ATTICliS. 


193 


tonditioii ;  in  the  third,  you  inform  me  of  the 
proceedings  in  the  Senate-house  ;  in  the  fourth, 
you  tell  me  that  Varro  gives  you  fresh  assuran- 
ces of  Pompey's  inclination  to  serve  me. 

In  answer  to  the  first,  I  assure  you,  so 
far  am  I  from  being  deranged,  and  consumed, 
by  my  misfortunes,  I  am  doomed  to  regret  that 
I  have  neither  a  place,  nor  persons,  fit  for  em- 
ploying the  stock  of  sense  and  spirit  of  which  I 
am  still  possessed.  For  if  it  gives  you  pain  to 
be  without  me,  who  am  but  one  friend,  what, 
think  you,  must  I  feel,  who  am  cut  off  from  you, 
and  all  the  enjoyments  I  had  upon  earth?  If 
you,  in  the  flow  of  happiness,  bewail  my  ab- 
sence, how  must  I  mourn  for  the  loss  of  happi- 
ness itelf  ?  I  will  not  enumerate  the  blessings  of 
which  I  am  robbed,  not  only  because  you  know 
them,  but  because  I  am  unwilling  to  open  the 
wounds  of  my  affliction.  I  repeat  it ;  never  di'd 
man  fall,  from  a  happiness  so  conspicuous  and 
elevated,  into  such  a  depth  of  misery.  As  to 
time,  so  far  from  abating,  it  serves  only  to  in- 
crease my  sorrows.  Other  pains  are  alleviated, 
as  they  grow  familiar  to  us ;  but  it  is  impossible 
that  those  I  feel  should  not  be  daily  increased 
by  the  sense  of  my  present  misery,  and  the  re- 
membrance of  my  departed  glory.  I  am  depri- 
ved not  only  of  my  fortune  and  of  my  friends, 
but  of  myself.  For  what  am  I  now  ?— But  I 
forbear  to  distress  you  by  my  complaints,  or  to 

Vol.  I.  O  aggravate 


17 


194 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


aggravate  my  own  wounds  by  opening  them  too 

often. 

You  apologize  for  those,  who,   according  to 
what  I  wrote  you,  envied  me,  and  you  put  Cato 
in  that  number.     So  far  am  I  from  thinking  him 
accessary  to  their  treachery,    that  it  gives  me 
the  most  sensible  concern  to  reflect,  that  their 
hypocrisy  had   more   credit  with  me  than    hi^ 
sincerity.     As  to  the  rest,  whom  you  endeavour 
to  clear,  they  ought  to  stand  acquitted  by  me  if 
they  are  so  with  you.     But  these  reflections  are 
now  too  late  ;  the  freedman  of  Crassus  *  appears 
not  to  have  given  a  true  and  candid  account  of 
me.     You  tell  me  that  my  case  was  well  con- 
ducted in  the  senate.     But  what  shall  I  say  of 
Curio  ?     Has  he  not  read  that  oration,  which  in 
a  way   unknown  to  me  has  been  made  public. 
The  letters    however,    which   I    received  from 
Axius,  concerning  the  proceedings  of  tlie  same 
day,  are  not  so  lavish  in  Curio's  praises.     But 
he  might  perhaps  omit  somewhat;  I  rely  that 
you  have  written  to  me  nothing  but  what  has 
^actually  happened.     The  account  which  Varro 
has   given,  leads  me  to  entertain  some  hopes  of 
Caesar ;    and  I  trust  that  Varro  himself  w  ould 
exert  his  influence  in  my  favour ;  and  this  surely 

he 

I  This  person  has  represented  Cicero  in  a  dreadful  condi- 
tion, which  Cicero,  a  little  inconsistently  with  himself,  en- 
deavours to  contradict. 


]4 


1 


TO  ATTICUS. 


195 


he  will  do,  when  his  own  inclinations  are  promp- 
ted by  your  solicitations. 

Should  ever  fortune  restore  me  to  you  and 
my  country,  you,  of  all  my  friends,  should  hav^ 
the  best  reason  to  rejoice ;  and  I  should  evince 
my  obligations  and  affection  towards  you,  which 
I  acknowledge  have  hitherto  but  faintly  appeared, 
with  a  zeal  and  diligence   that  shall  give   you 
equal  cause  with  my   brother  and  children  to 
triumph  in  my  restoration.     If  I  have  been  de- 
ficient in  my  attention  to  your  services,  my  friend, 
you  will  the  more  readily  forgive  me,  as  that  in- 
attention has  proved  the  cause  of  the  greatest 
grievance  to  myself.      I  say  this  not   from  any 
apprehension  that  you  are  insensible  to  my  afflic- 
tions.     But  to    be   plain  with  you,    had  your 
past  and  present  affection  for  me  been  founded 
upon  past  and  present  gratitude,  as  well  as  in- 
clination, never  could  you  have  suffered  me  to 
have  stood  in  need  of  that  counsel  with  which 
you   could  have  abundantly    supplied  me ;  nor 
would  you  have  suffered  me  to  believe  it  would 
be  to  my  advantage,  that  the  law,   concerning 
the  companies  of  tradesmen,  should  pass  ^     But 

you 

*  This  was  a  specious  law  which  erected  the  craftsmen  of 
Rome  into  companies,  by  which  Glodius,  and  the  tribunes, 
had  a  ready  way  of  assembling  their  party.  Cicero  had  fore- 
seen the  inconvenience  of  this  law,  and  was  to  have  opposed  it 

with 

02 


196 


/ 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


197 


you  have  given  my  sorrows  that  share  of  sympa- 
thy which  one  owed  to  another  or  even  to  liim- 
self.     If  there  has  been  any  omission,  it  is  to  be 
imputed  not  to  your,    but  to  my,   demerits ;  as 
my  services  to  you  ought  to  have  been  such,   as 
to  claim  all  your  days  and  night3,  in  order  to  ef- 
fect my  welfare.     Had  you, '  or  had  any  of  my 
fi'iends  (though  you  could  have  done  it  most  ef- 
fectuallv)  dissuaded  me  from  that  dishonourable 
stej)  which  I  adopted,   when  alarmed  by  the  un- 
generous reply  of  Pompey,  I  might  have  cither 
fallen  with  glory,  or  I  might  this  day,  have  lived 
in  triumph.     Here  you  will  pardon  me,  for  1  ac- 
cuse myself  in  the  first  place,  and  you  in  the  next, 
as  being  my  other  self;  and,    at  the  same  time, 
I  am  fond  of  excusing  my  misconduct,  by  laying 
part  of  the  blame  upon  another.     If  I  am  resto- 
red from  banishment,   my  miscarriages  will  not 
appear  so  heavy,   at  least,  not  in  your  eyes,  be- 
cause your  affection  for  me  is  the  result  of  your 
inclinations,  and  not  of  my  merit 

As  to  what  you  write  of  your  conversation 
with  Culeo,  concerning  the  personality  of  the  bill, 
and  its  being  therefore  invalid  of  itself,  it  has  its 
weight,  but  still  it  would  be  better  were  it  for- 
mally repealed.  If  no  one  opposes  the  repeal, 
what  can  be  more  valid  ?  But  if  it  receives  a  ne- 
gative, 

with  all  his  might,  by  means  of  the  tribune  Nennius,  one  of  his 
friends,  but  he  was  dissuaded  from  his  opposition,  not  perhaps 
without  good  reason^  by  his  other  friends. 


«     * 


sative,  the  decree  of  the  Senate  can  still  inter- 
pose,  and  then  there  would  be  nothing  to  do  but 
to  repeal  it  singly.  As  to  the  former  law,  it  did 
not  in  the  least  affect  me,  it  never  could  have 
prejudiced  me  in  any  shape,  whether  I  had 
praised  it,  as  it  is  already  passed,  or  neglected 
it  as  it  deserves \     Here  my  foresight  not  only 

abandoned, 

^  In  order  to  the  reader's  understanding  the  whole  of  this- 
passage,  it  is  necessary  he  should  be  acquainted  with  the  fol- 
lowing particulars.     We  have  already  seen,  in  the  course  of 
these  letters,  how  useful  the  friendship  of  our  author  had  been 
to  Pompey,  who  repaid  him  with  a  profusion  of  fine  speeches; 
extolling  his  conduct,  his  genius,  his  learning,  and  in  short, 
touching  upon  every  thing  that  could  flatter  his  vanity,  whicH 
was  his  foible.     At  the  same  time  he  gave  him  the  strongest 
assurances,  that  Clodius  neither  could  nor  would  pursue  his  re- 
sentment against  him  to  extremities.     But,  even  by  Cicero'a 
own  accounts,  I  do  not  find  that  Pompey's  promises  went  so 
far  as  that  he  would  take  up  arms  in  our  author's  defence,  if 
matters  were  brought  to  an  extremity.     Clodius,  who  seems 
to  have  had  great  genius,  and  to  have  been,  next  to  Caesar,  one 
of  the  most  understanding  men  in  Rome,  knew  very  well  that 
Pompey  durst  not  break  with  him  as  long  as  he  stood  well  with 
Caesar.     He  treated,  however,  Cicero  in  all  discourses  to  Pom- 
pey, with  a  sneering  kind  of  civility,    and  which  Pompey, 
though  he  understood  his  meaning  well  enough,  repeated,  to 
our  author,  as  current  professions.     Atticus  apj>ears  to  hav6 
had  but  a  very  slender  opinion  of  Pompey's  sincerity,  which 
is  the  reason  why  our  author,  in  all  his  letters  to  Atticus,  pre- 
tends to  distrust  it,  but,  in  reality,  he  was  betrayed  by  his  owii 
vanity,  and  he  had  a  greater  reliance  upon  Pompey,  than  he 
was  willing  to  own.     This  appears  from  Cicero's  conduct.    For 
I  do  not  find,  notwithstanding  all  he  says,  that  he  took  anj 

precautious 


198 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


199 


abandoned,  but  ruined  me\     We  were  blind,  I 
repeat  it,  we  were  blind  in  changing  our  garment* 

and 

precautions  for  breaking  the  force  of  Clodius's  faction.     His 
excessive  vanity  was  indeed  flattered,  and  nobody  behaved  to 
him  like  a  gentleman,  excepting  Caesar,  whose  abiUties  were 
too  great  to  put  him,  as  was  the  case  of  Pompey,  upon  the 
necessity  of  serving  his  interest  at  the  expence  of  his  honour. 
he  certainly  had  a  great  contempt  for  Cicero  as  a  politician,  or 
a  man  of  resolution,  but  he  was  too  goodnatured  not  to  pardon 
his  foibles,  and  too  great  not  to  admire  his  abilities,  as  a  speaker 
and  a  scholar.     He  would  willingly  have  saved  him,  as  appears 
from  many  passages  of  our  author's  letters,  but  finding  he 
could  not,  he  took  care  to  be  as  general  towards  him  as  possi* 
We,  that  he  might  set  him  softly  down.     And  indeed  I  do  not 
find,  that  Cicero  in  fact,  had  reason  to  complain  either  of  in- 
gratitude or  want  of  honour  in  Caesar.     But  this  was  far  from 
being  his  case  with  regard  to  Pompey.     For,  perceiving  that 
he  could  not  hold  out  without  the  assistance  of  Caesar  and 
Pompey,  and  having  given  the  former  great  cause  of  disgust, 
he  applied  the  more  assiduously  to  Pompey  for  his  friendship. 
But  Pompey  pretending  to  be  afraid  of  his  own  person,  retired 
to  his  country-house,  to  avoid  the  importunity  of  Cicero,  and 
bis  friends,  who  consisted  of  all  the  men  of  quality,  and  for- 
tune in  Rome.     These  followed   Pompey  to  his  retirement. 
But  after  many  shifts  and  evasions,  Pompey  refused  to  concern 
himself  for  Cicero,  as  a  private  man  in  opposition  to  the  senti- 
ments of  the  consuls,  and  the  conduct  of  the  tribunes.     This 
was  a  fair,  though  a  flat,  and  I  think  a  constitutional,  refusal. 
But  it  did  not  cure  our  orator  of  the  vanity  of  believing,  that 
Pompey  was  still  his  friend  in  his  heart.     He  therefore  endea- 
voured to  apply  to  him  in  person,  but  Pompey,  to  avoid  an  in- 
terview with  him,  which  must  be  disagreeable  to  both,  slipt 
out  at  one  door  of  his  house,  as  Cicero  was  entering  at  the 

other. 

In 


i 


^ 


and  supplicating  the  people,   it  was  a  fatal  step, 
unless  they  had  first  pointed  at  me  by  name. 

But 

In  the  meanwhile,  Clodius  having  entered  upon  his  tribune- 
ship  on  the  lOth  of  December,  in  the  year  of  Rome  694,  pro- 
ceeded with  infinite  address  to  the  ruin  of  Cicero,    To  ingra- 
tiate himself  with  Caesar,  he  affronted  Bibulus.    To  please 
the  people  he  procured  a  free  distribution  of  corn  in  the  time 
of  scarcity,  and  a  re-establishment  of  the  trading  companies  or 
communities  taken  notice  of  in^tliis  epistle,  with  an  erection 
of  new  ones,  by  which  he  could  at  a  breath  raise  all  the  popu- 
lace.    Pretending  that  the  censorial  authority  (which  was  in- 
deed pretty  arbitrary)  had  been  abused,  he  proposed  that  the 
censors  should  have  no  power  of  stigmatizing  any  senators, 
who  were  not  previously  impeached,  and  condemned  by  their 
own  body.     Hrnext  carried  through  a  law  which  abolished  the 
^lian  and  Fusian  laws,  by  taking  from  the  augurs,  who  were 
generally  on  the  side  of  the  senate,  the  liberty  of  putting  a  stop 
to  all  business  before    the  people,  under  pretence   of   their 
making  observations  on  the  heavens. 

I  shall  not  enter  here    upon  any    controversy,   whether 
the  government  of  Rome,  which  Cicero  so  warmly  supported, 
was  at  this  time,  any  better  than  a  faction  against  the  people, 
whether  this  does  not,  from  the  confession  of  Cicero  and  other 
authors  who  were  friends  to  that  government,  appear  plainly 
to  have  been  the  case,  and  whether  the  measures,  proposed  by 
Clodius,  were  not,  in  themselves  (for  I  speak  not  either  of 
their  motives  or  consequences)  both  just  and  constitutional. 
Be  this  as  it  will,  Cicero  either  could  not,  or  would  not,  make 
any  effectual  opposition  to  those  measures,  which  rendered 
Clodius  excessively  popular  with  the  commons.      Even  the 
wisest  of  the  senatorial  party  thought,  that  the  laws  of  Oodius 
spoke  so  strongly  for  themselves,  that  they  were  iiot  to  be 
opposed,  and  of  this  number  was  Atticus,  Hortensius,    and 
even  Cato.    But  our  author,  who  at  this  time,  when  he  speaks 

of 


/' 


90» 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


201 


But  I  omit  what  is  past,  for  this  reason,    that  if 
any  measure  be  agitated  you  may  not  be  preju- 
diced 

of  the  constitution^  the  laws  and  liberties  of  his  country,  has 
no  other  meaning,  but  his  own  person,  was  conscious,  tliat  tiie 
popularity  of  Clodius,  pointed  at  his  destruction,  though  he 
was  forced  to  acquiesce.  The  next  measure  of  Clodius  was  to 
bring  in  a  bill  against  all  persons^  *'  who  should  cause  a  Roman 
citizen  to  be  put  to  death,  without  his  being  previously  con- 
demned by  the  people."  There  was  a  strong  current  of  law 
and  practice  in  the  Roman  constitution  to  support  this  bill,  and 
indeed  I  think  the  necessity  of  the  juncture  is  the  best  defence 
that  can  be  made  for  Cicero,  for  putting  the  conspirators  of 
Catiline  to  death  in  the  manner  he  did.  . 

This  biU  of  Clodius,  however,  alarmed  the  senate,  because 
Cicero  had  acted  by  their  decree,  and  in  terms  of  the  Julian 
law,  which  subjects  traitors  to  death.  Even  Caesar  was  against 
any  particular  application  of  this  law  to  himself,  before  Clodius 
did  it  -y  for  he  and  his  friends  put  on  mourning  as  if  he  had 
been  already  formally  impeached,  and  went  about  abjectly  so- 
liciting the  citizens  for  their  interest.  This  imprudence  put 
it  out  of  Caesar's  and  Pompey's  power  either  to  save  or  to  serve 
Cicero  ;  and  as  neither  of  the  consuls,  Gabinius  and  Piso,  were 
his  friends,  he  could  find  no  branch  of  the  executive  power  of 
government  that  would  interpose  in  his  behalf.  I  shall  not 
take  up  the  reader's  time  with  what  followed,  previous  to  the 
banishment  of  Cicero,  who  now  lost  all  spirit.  Clodius  pro- 
ceeded against  him  in  the  most  furious  manner.  Pompey, 
Caesar,  and  Crassus  were  at  best  cold  and  indiiFerent,  and  were 
only  afraid  lest  Clodius  should  push  his  popular  excesses  far- 
ther than  was  consistent  with  the  views  tliey  had  prescribed  to 
themselves.  The  friend^  of  Cicero  were  divided,  and  there 
was  now  no  medium  between  Cicero  standing  his  ground,  and 
thereby  liazardinga  cruel  civil  war,  with  a  general  massacre  of 
|he  senate,  and  his  retiring  from  the  storm.     He  wisely,  I 

think. 


j> 


* 


A  . 


<( 


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(< 


tc 


ec 


t( 


diced  against  a  law,  which  in  many  respects  is 
conducive   to  the  public  interests. 

It 

think,  followed  the  latter  course,  and  Clodius  then  brought  lip 
a  bill,  against  him,  to  the  people,  in  the  following  words. 
*'  Forasmuch  as  Cicero  did  cause  several  Roman  citizens  to 
be  put  to  death  without  an  ordinance  of  the  people,  and 
without  any  form  of  justice,  and  did,  for  that  end,  produce 
false  and  spurious  Senatus  Consulta,  or  Orders  of  the  Senate, 
may  it  please  you  to  ordain,  and  be  it  ordained  accordingly, 
that  he   be    forbidden    the    use   of  fire  and   water ;    that 
it    may    not    be    lawful,    for    any    person  whatever,    to 
'<  give  him  harbour  or  shelter ;  that  if  any  body  presumes  so  to 
"  do,  it  may  be  lawful  to  kill  both  Cicero,  and  the  person 
*^  with  whom  he  shall  be  found  ;  that  no  body  shall  have  liber- 
"  ty  to  propose,  to  the  senate,  to  have  him  recalled  ;   that 
*'  if  any  body  shall  act  contrary  to  this  prohibition,  no  member 
<^  of  that  house  may  give  his  opinion  by  word  of  mouth  or 
«  otherwise,  upon  the  proposition   that  shall  be   made,  nor 
'^  subscribe  to  any  thing  that  may  be  resolved  upon  in  his 
"  favour,   till  those  persons,  that  he   put  to  death,   are  re- 
"  turned  from  the  other  world.*' 

This  brings  me  to  consider  the  sense  of  the  original  in  this  - 
passage,  which  is,  I  think,  as  important  and  as  perplexed  as 
..any  thing  in  our  author's  works.  Orig.  Quod  te  cum  Culeone 
scrihis  de  privilegio  locutum,  est  aliquid ;  sed  multo  est  melius 
alrogari.  Si  enim  nemo  impediet,  quid  est  Jirmius  ?  Sin 
erit,  quiferri  non  sin  at ;  idem  Senatus  consulto  intercedat. 
Nee  quicquam  aliud  opus  est,  quam  alrogari.  Nam  prior 
Lex  nos  nihil  laedelat.  Quam  si,  ut  est  promulgata,  laudare 
voluissemus,  aut,  ut  erat  negligenda,  negligere ;  nocere  omnino 

nobis  non  potuisset. 

Monsieur  Mongault  is  of  opinion,  that  the  Privikgium  here 
spoken  of  is  to  be  applied  to  the  law  of  Clodius,  which  Culeo, 
and  Cicero's  other  friends,  thought  invalid,  because,  says  he, 

all 


I 


( 


20£ 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


203 


It  is,  however,  foolish  in  me,  to  give  you  di- 
lections  as  to  what  you  are  to  do,  or  in  what 
manner  you  are  to  act,  I  only  wish  somewhat 
were  done;  in  this  respect,  your  letters  conceal 
a  great  deal  from  me,  fearing,  I  suppose,  that  I 
may  be  driven  to  some  more  violent  despair. 
For  what  do  you  expect  to  be  done  ?  In  what 
manner?  And  can  any  thing  be  expected  of  the 
senate  ?  Remember  that  you  yourself  wrote  me 
word,  that  Clodius  had  fixed  up,  in  the  portico  of 
the  senate-house,  that  article  of  the  Clodian  law, 
that  no  motion  should  be  made  for  my  return,  nor 

should 


aB  pTWilegia,  or  laws  pointing  to  private  persons,  are  forbidden 
by  the  twelve  tables  i  and  the  law,  which  we  have  recited,  was 
no  other  than  a  pnvilegntm.  Monsieur  Morabin,  the  excellent 
author  of  the  History  of  Cicero*s  Banishment,  has  not  explain- 
ed himself  upon  this  head,  though  he  seems  to  lean  towards  the 
sense  of  Mongault.  But  neither  of  them  have  taken  notice  of 
the  commentary  of  the  learned  Manutius,  who  supposes,  that 
a  privilegium,  in  favour  of  Cicero,  might  have  been  brought 
before  the  people  by  way  of  bill,  provided  it  took  its  rise  from 
m  resolution  of  the  senate.  He,  therefore,  supposes  Culeo  to 
have  proposed  to  Atticus  the  bringing  in  such  a  bill.  I  have 
translated  the  whole  passage,  in  the  manner  I  thought  most 
agreeable  to  Cicero's  meaning,  and  the  practice  of  antiquity ; 
and,  indeed,  Cicero  seems  to  have  judged  right,  in  wishing  to 
bave  the  partiAilar  law,  pointing  at  him,  repealed  j  and  to  make 
a  compliment  to  C«sar,  and  the  enemies  of  the  senate,  in  suf- 
fering the  former  general  law  to  stand. 

'  There  is  a  great  peculiarity  in  the  original  here,  which  I 
have  copied  in  the  translation.  Orig.  Hie  mikiprimum  meum 
muilium  defuit,  sed  etiam  ohfuit. 


\ 


should  it  be  mentioned.     In  what  manner,  tliere- 
fore,  did  Domitius  propose  to  make  the  motion? 
What  a  sullen  silence  did  Clodius  preserve  to 
those  persons,  who,  as  you  mention,  both  spoke 
of  my  recall,   and   demanded  that  the   motion 
should  be  made  concerning  it?     Is  this  measure 
to  be  carried  through  by  the  commons  ?     How 
can  that  be,  unless  all  the  tribunes  are  unani- 
mous for  it  ?     Can  I  be  restored  to  my  estate  ? 
Can  I  return  to  my  house  ?     If  I  cannot,  how 
can  I  be  said  to  return  to  Rome  ?     Unless  you 
take  care  that  those  difficulties  are  removed,  what 
are  the  hopes  to  which  you  invite  me  ?     If  hope 
is  gone,  what  life  remains  for  me  ?     I,  therefore, 
wait  at  Thessalonica  for   the  proceedings  of  the 
1st  of  August,    which  will  determine  me  either 
to  go  to  Cyzicum,  or  to  fly  towards  your  estate, 
where  I  can  avoid  the  sight  of  those  I  hate,  and 
where,   as  you  write  me  word,  I  shall  see  you, 
and  be  nearer  at  hand,  should  any  measures  be 
taken.     At  the  same  time,   I  understand,  that 
both  you,  and  my  brother,  are  pleased  with  this 

proposal. 

Now,  my  friend,  as  you  did  not,  for  my  safe- 
ty, exert  your  wisdom,  either  because  you  had 
too  good  an  opinion  of  mine,  or  because  you 
thought  you  acquitted  yourself  of  all  you  owe  to 
me,  by  giving  me  your  attendance ;  since,  after 
being  betrayed,  persuaded,  and  deluded,  I  have 
neglected  all  the  means  of  my  safety ;  since  I 

have 


204 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


have  abandoned  and  forsaken  all  the  people  of 
Italy,  who  rose  for  my  sake,  and  to  defend  me ; 
since  I  have  delivered  up  myself  to  my  enemies, 
while  you  stood  by  a  silent  spectator,  under  fewer 
apprehensions,  if  not  possessed  of  more  wisdom, 
than  I ;  as  this  is  my  most  melancholy  situation, 
do  what  you  can  to  raise  the  prostrate,  and  in 
so  doing,  you  assist  me.  But  if  all  the  avenues 
of  safety  are  shut  up,  do  me  the  favour  to  let 
me  know  the  truth;  and  cease,  at  last,  to  load 
me  with  your  reproaches,  or  to  sooth  me  with 
comfort.  Never  would  I  have  trusted  myself  un- 
der your  roof,  as  my  chief  refuge,  had  I  a  doubt 
of  your  honour;  I  have  only  but  my  own  mad- 
ness to  accuse  in  thinking  you  loved  me,  as  well 
as  I  was  fond  to  believe  you  did.  Had  that  been 
the  case,  your  friendship  would  have  been  the 
same,  but  your  application  greater.  You,  doubt- 
less, would  have  stopt  me  when  rushing  to  ruin, 
and  spared  yourself  the  toils  you  now  undergo, 
in  this  shipwreck  of  my  fortune.  Send  me, 
therefore,  a  clear  and  circumstantial  account  of 
the  matter.  .  Continue  to  permit  me  to  be  of 
some  consequence,  though  I  cannot  be  of  that 
importance  I  lost,  while  I  might  have  improved 
it;  and  look  upon  this  letter  to  come  from  me, 
not  as  accusing  you,  but  myself.  If  you  think  it 
proper  to  write  to  any  persons  in  my  name,  I  beg 
that  you  would  do  it;  and  take  care  that  the  let- 
ters be  delivered.     Dated  the  19th  of  August 

j_.  EPISTLE 


TO  ATTICUS. 


205 


EPISTLE  XVL 

Nothing  but  waiting  for  your  letters,  concern- 
ing what  passed  on  the  1st  of  August,  keeps  me 
undetermined  as  to  the  whole  of  my  journey.     If 
they  give  me  auy  encouragement,  I  will  set  out 
forEpirus;  if  not,  for  Cyzicum,  or  follow  some 
other  course.     But  the  oftener  I  peruse  your  let- 
ters, my  hopes  become  the  fainter;  because,  upon 
considering  them,  they  weaken  all  the  encourage- 
ment they  suggest;  and,  it  is  easy  to  perceive, 
that  you  want  to  sooth,  without  deceiving,   me. 
I,  therefore,  entreat  you  to  represent  matters  to 
me  as  they  actually  are;  and  your  own  sentiments, 
as  they  really  occur  to  yourself.     Dated  the  21st 
of  August. 


EPISTLE  XVIL 

I  HAVE  received  several  melancholy,  but  con- 
curring accounts,  concerning  my  brother  Quin- 
tus,  from  the  5th  of  June  to  the  last  of  August; 
when  LivineiusS  thefreedman  of  Marcus  Regu- 
lar 


^    1  His  name  was  Lucius  Livineius  Trypho,  and  he  did  our 
author  particular  services  during  his  exile. 


£06 


CICERO'S   EPISTLES 


lus\  came  to  me  from  his  patron.  He  told  me 
there  was  no  mention  of  any  thing ;  but  that  some 
reports  were  circulated,  concerning  the  son  of 
Caius  Clodius*;  and,  at  the  same  time,  he  brought 
me  letters  from  my  brother.  But,  next  day,  the 
slaves  of  Sestius^  came  with  letters  from  you; 
which  were  not  in  that  confident  strain  in  which 
livineius  talked.  I  feel  indeed  distracted,  under 
my  inexpressible  anguish;  and  I  am  the  more 
anxious,  as  the  trial  comes  within  the  depart- 
ment of  Appius. 

You  write  me,  by  the  same  conveyance,  an 
account  of  what  I  am  to  hope  for;  but  that,  I 
perceive,  is  less  flattering  than  what  is  transmit- 
ted to  me  by  others.  For  my  own  part,  as  the 
time  for  deciding  the  matter  cannot  be  far  off,  I 
will  either  repair  to  you,  or  I  will,  as  I  now  do, 
hover  about  these  places.  My  brother  w  rites  me 
word,  that  you  are  the  only  support  of  his  inte- 
rest.    Need  I  to  encourage  you  to  continue  your 

friend- 


*  Marcus  Livineias  Regulus  was  qaaestor  next  year,  and  tri- 
buoe  in  the  year  of  Rome  701 .  He  afterwards  served  in  the 
civil  war  under  Caesar,  as  proquaestor. 

•  Tkis  young  gentleman  was  nephew  to  Publius  Clodius.  He 
afterwards  impeached  Milo  for  his  uncle's  murder;  and  it  was 
thought  that,  at  this  time,  he  would  have  preferred  an  im- 
|icachment  against  Quintus,  our  author's  brother,  in  which 
Appius,  the  brother  of  Clodius,  was  to  be  the  judge. 

^  H«  was  designed  tribune^  and  Cicero  afterwards  prouounced 
an  oration  in  his  defence. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


207 


friendship,  or  shall  I  return  you  the  thanks  which 
you  do  not  claim  ?  All  I  wish  is,  that  fortune 
may  put  us  in  the  way  to  be  safe  and  happy,  in 
the  enjoyment  of  our  mutual  love  and  friend- 
ship. I  am  always  excessively  impatient  for  let- 
ters from  you ;  nor  need  you  fear  that  your  ^jr;. 
feiduousness  in  writing  will  give  me  trouble,  W. 
your  sincerity  pain.    Dated  the  4th  of  September. "-' 


EPISTLE  XVIII. 

\  ov  raised  my  expectation  very  high,  when  you 
wrote  me  word,  that  our  friend  Varro  had  given 
you  fresh  and  well-grounded  assurances,  that 
Pompey  would  interest  himself  in  my  favour; 
and  that  he  would  even  move  for  my  restoration 
in  the  senate,  as  soon  as  he  shall  receive  tiie  let- 
ters he  expected  from  Caesar.  Is  this  a  fact;  or 
are  Caesar's  letters  unfavourable  to  me?  Have 
I  still  any  hopes  left?  For  you  wrote  me,  tliat 
he  gave  you  the  same  assurance,  after  the  elec- 
tion was  over.  By  all  the  woes  1  suffer,  and  by 
your  own  feeling  heart,  I  conjure  you,  make  me 
certain  as  to  the  true  and  Avhole  state  qf  my 
case.  That  excellent  man,  that  dearest  J&iend, 
my  brother  Quintus,  fills  all  his  letters  with 
mighty  hopes,  fearing,  I  suppose,  that  I  may  be 
too  much  dejected.     As  to  your  letters,  they  are 

of 


J 


208 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


of  a  different  strain.  They  are  against  my  en- 
tirely desponding,  or  my  rashly  hoping.  I  beg 
that  you  will  acquaint  me  with  every  thing  that 
comes  to  your  knowledge. 


EPISTLE  XIX. 

As  long  as  your  letters  afforded  me  some  ground 
of  encouragement,  I  was  detained  at  Thessalo- 
nica  by  hope  and  desire.  But,  after  I  could  no 
longer  expect  that  any  thing  should  be  done  this 
year^  I  declined  going  into  Asia ;  both  because 
1  hate  a  crowd,  and  because  I  was  unwilling  to 
be  at  a  distance,  if  any  measure  should  be  at- 
tempted by  our  new  magistrates.  I  have,  there- 
fore, determined  to  come  to  your  house  in  Epi- 
rus ;  not  that  I  am  invited  by  the  beauty  of  your 
seat,  for  I  no  longer  seek  the  light;  but  I  would 
most  gladly  return  from  you,  as  from  a  harbour, 
to  security  and  honour ;  and  if  the  port  to  which 
I  would  direct  my  course,  be  not  again  open  to 
receive  me,  I  can,  no  where  else  with  more  com- 
fort, either  endure,  or  (which  is  much  more  eli- 
gible,) fling  from  me  this  detested  load  of  life. 
I  will  dismiss  my  train,  and  come  with  but  a  few 

domestics. 

My  other  correspondents  have  always  flattered 
me  more  than  you  have;  yet  your  encouragement 
has  never  been  near  so  faint  as  my  own  hopes. 

But 


I 


TO  ATTICUS. 


209  . 


But  let  things  take  their  course;  let  them  pro- 
cede,  bad  as  they  have  commenced.     I  will  sus- 
tain the  consequences.     I  will  not  disregard  the 
entreaties  of  my  w^eeping,    distressed  and  only 
brother ;  the  assumnces  of  Sestius,  and  my  other 
friends;  the  hopes  of  my  wife,  the  most  dejected  ^ 
of  womankind;    the  cries  of  my  daughter,  the* 
most  wretched  of  her  sex,   or  your  letters,  that 
are  so  full  of   friendship'.     Epirus  will  either 
open  a  path  to  my  happiness,  or— I  need  not 
repeat  it'.     My  friend,  as  you  see  me,  by  the 
treachery  of  mankind,  stripped  of  all   that  is 
great,  of  all  that  is  dear,  of  all  that  is  desirable 
in  life ;  as  you  are  sensible  that  I  have  been  be- 
trayed, and  am  become  an  outcast  through  those 
who  advised  me;  and  that  I  have  been  pushed  on 
to  the  ruin  of  myself  and  family,  I  beg  and  con- 
jure you  to  assist  me  by  your  pity;  to^ure  to 
my  brother,  the  means  of  safety  that  are  yet  left 
him,  and  to  protect  my  wife  and  children.     You 
need  not  doubt  of  my  repairing  to  Rome,  if' you 

have 


1  The  menaces  of  Cicero  to  put  an  end  to  his  life,  alarmed 
his  family  and  friends ;  and  they  appeared  to  have  written  to  him 
in  tlie  most  persuasive  and  affecting  manner,  not  to  offer  him- 
self any  violence.  To  their  etitreaties,  in  this  respect,  he  here 
alludes  5  and  he  assures  his  friend,  that  he  will  bear  under  the 
evils  which  awaited  him,  however  oppressive  they  might  prove. 
— E. 


*  Orig,  Aut  quod  scrtpsi  supra. 

Vol.  I.  P 


% 


210 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUa 


£11 


have  any  hopes  of  my  return;  if  not,  come,  if 
you  can,  to  see  me  in  Epirus,  and  allot  me  so 
much  of  your  ground,  as  may  serve  for  my  grave. 
In  the  meanwhile,  let  me  hear,  by  your  slaves,  as 
often  and  as  early  as  you  can.  Dated  the  l6th 
of  September. 


EPISTLE  XX. 

X  WISH  you  joy  of  your  new^  designation  ,  and 
I  most  sincerely  compliment  you  upon  the  ha- 
nourable  part  which  your  uncle  acted  towards 
you;  were  it  proper  for  a  man,  wretched  like 
me,  to  use  the  word,  I  would  say,  that  I  re- 
joice at  it  Unhappy  man !  yet  how  desirable 
might  my  life  have  been,  liad  I  not  been  aban- 
doned by  my  own  courage,  my  own  resolution, 
and  the  friendship  of  the  men  I  trusted.  Recol- 
lection is  painful;  it  adds  to  my  dejection.  But 
you,  my  friend,  1  know,  will  recollect  what  a  life 
mine  was;  how  dignified,  how  delightful.  I  con- 
jure you,  by  your  own  fortune,  to  apply  your- 
self, that  I  may  recover  mine;  and  that  I  may 
celebrate  the  anniversary  of  my  return  at  your 

charm- 


*  Atticus  had  been  lately  adopted  by  his  uncle,  Quintus  Gae- 
cilius,  and  thus  he  assumed  the  name  of  Caecilius  Pomponianus; 
which  was  as  much  as  to  say,  Caecilius  of  the  family  of  tlie 
Pomponii. 


; 


/ 


I 


« 


'if 


r'> 


I 


charming  palace,  in  yonr  company  and  that  of 
my  friends.  For  this  event,  which  I  fondly  wish, 
and  of  which  am  led  to  entertain  a  distant  hopef, 
I  am  yet  desirous  to  wait  at  your  house  in  Epirus; 
though  I  conclude,  from  the  letters  sent  me, 
that  I  am  more  conveniently  situated  where  I 
am\ 

You  are  rightly  informed^  as  to  my  house  and 
the  speech  of  Curio.  If  I  am  restored,  I  shall 
be  restored,  in  general,  to  all  my  possessions ; 
and  of  those  I  prefer  none  to  my  house.  But  I 
recommend  nothing  to  you  particularly ;  I  en- 
tirely rely  upon  your  affection  and  friendship.  I 
am  extremely  pleased  to  hear  that  so  great  a  for- 
tune, as  is  fallen  to  you,  has  rid  you-  of  al^  M^ 
cumbrances.  I  readily  perceive  of  what  advan- 
tage it  is  to  my  affairs,  when  you  offer  me  your 

purse 

• 

1  Tlie  translation,  as  it  stood  in  the  former  edition,  is  with- 
out any  meaning;  and,  indeed,  the  commentators  appear  to 
have  understood  the  passage  as  little  as  our  tVatistator.  Tfie 
original  is — Ego  huic  spei  ct  expectntioni,  quce  nolis  proponiiur 
maxime  tamen  volui  prcestolari  apud  te  in  Epiro:  sed  ita  ad  vie 
scril'itur,  tit  putem  esse  commodius  nos  iisdem  in  locis  esse.-^ 
Cicero  fondly -wished  for  his  return.  Of  this  but  a  distant  pros- 
pect was  held  up  to  hi?  views  by  his  friends :  yet,  however  dis- 
tant it  was,  he  preferred  going  to  Epirus,  and  there  continue'in 
waiting  for  it :  for  prcestolari  signifies  to  wait  in  expectatiottl 
and,  in  strict  propriety,  is  applied  to  a  person,  who  w<ait5  for 
admissioa  before  a  porch  or  door ;  ilie  word  being  taken  froitl 
fvhQs  or  rv<Xof,  a  column  or  statue.- — E. 

P2 


igwWjiPpyg'-'-tMW'iWiiiiiu  i-^-apwir 


MMMM 


212 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


I 


TO  ATTICUS. 


213 


purse  to  be  at  my  service;  and  desire  that,  in  all 
cases,  I  will  distinguish  you  as  my  friend,  by 
calling  upon  you  for  assistance.  I  well  know  how 
great  a  share  you  have  taken  in  the  measures  to 
restore  me ;  and  how  very  capable  you  are  to 
execute  them  with  ability,  and  without  being  so- 
licited for  that  purpose.  I  will  obey  you,  and 
acquit  you  of  the  suspicion  you  hint  at;  when 
you  forbid  me  to  imagine  that  you  ever  intended 
any  measure,  or  omitted  any  office,  in  any  re- 
spect, inconsistent  with  the  sincerest  friendship. 
My  obligation  in  this,  however,  to  you  is  the 
greater;  as  your  affection  for  me  seems  to  have 
been  more  generous  and  exalted,  than  mine  to- 
wards you. 

I  beg  you  will  write  all  you  see,  all  you  know, 
and  all  that  is  passing;  and  inspire  all  your 
friends  with  additional  zeal  in  my  service.  The 
bill  of  Sestius'  is  too  disgraceful  and  dangerous, 
for  it  ought  to  name  me  personally;  and  the 
mention  of  my  efiects  ought  to  be  more  particu- 
lar. I  beg  you  would  take  notice  of  that  Da- 
ted at  Thessalonica,  the  4th  of  October. 

EPISTLE 

* 

1  He  had  been  trusted  by  Caesar  with  a  draught  of  the  bill, 
which  he  was  to  present  in  his  tribuneship,  for  Cicero's  restora- 
tion ;  but  it  W8S  9o  crowded  with  restrictions  and  limitations,  that 
Cicero,  who  received  a  copy  of  it  from  Atticus,  disapproved  of 
it}  and  would,  it  seems,  rather  have  ventured  being  brought 
in  upon  the  footing  of  a  privilegium,  than  that  he  should  bo 
restored  in  such  loose  general  terms. 


r>^ 


/ 


EPISTLE  XXI. 

J.  HE  day  on  w^hich  I  write  this  letter  is  the  30th, 
since  I  had  one  from  you.  As  to  myself,  I  had 
resumed  the  resolution^  of  which  I  before  ac- 
quainted you,  to  go  to  Epirus;  and  to  make  that 
my  chief  residence  till  I  should  know  my  fate.  I 
beg  that  you  will  write  me,  in  the  fullest  man- 
ner, all  that  'you  can  learn,  of  whatever  nature 
it  may  be ;  and  that  you  will,  in  my  name,  as 
you  mention,  send  letters  to  all  whom  you  think 
proper  to  apply  to.  Dated  the  28th  of  Oc- 
tober. 

EPISTLE  XXII. 

X  HOUGH  my  brother  Quintus  and  Piso  have 
been  very  particular  in  their  accounts  of  all  that 
has  passed,  yet  I  could  have  wished  that  your 
business  had  not  prevented  yon  from  sending  me 
information,  as  usual,  of  all  that  is  passing,  and 
your  own  sentiments  upon  it.  The  civil  beha- 
viour of  Plancius  still  detains  me  here,  though 
I  have  made  repeated  attempts  to  set  out  for 
Epirus.  That  gentleman  has  a  hope,  which  is 
very  distant  from  my  thoughts,  that  we  may  set 
out  together;  a  circumstance  which  he  imagines 
would  do  him  a  great  deal  of  honour.     But  now 

that 


au 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


215 


that  I  hear  soldiers  are  marching  this  way,  I 
think  it  is  high  time  to  leave  him.  As  soon  as 
I  take  my  leave,  I  will  instantly  acquaint  you 

where  I  am. 

I  am  somewhat  encouraged  to  hope  for  the 
good  offices  of  Pompey,  frem  the  services  which 
Lentulus  has  done  me,  and  whicli  he  has  signi- 
fied both  in  facts,  promises,  and  writing;    for 
you  have  often  informed  me,  that  Pompey  was 
wholly  under  the   direction  of  Lentulus.     My 
brother  informs  me,  that  all  hopes  of  gaining 
Metellus  must  be  by  your  means.  Use,  my  dear- 
est friend,  your  utmost  endeavours,  that  I  may 
be  once  more  at  liberty  to  live  with  you  and  my 
friends;   and  write  me  all   that  passes.     I  am 
weighed  down  with  grief,  by  the  loss  of  all  that 
I  ever  held  dear ;  farewel. 

If  I  had  gone  to  £pirus,  through  Thessaly,  I 
must  have  been  a  long  time  without  receiving 
any  intelligence.     I,  therefore,  went  by  the  way 
of  Durazzo,  because  the  people  of  that  place 
sincerely  are  my  friends ;  and  I  there  finish  this 
letter,  which  I  had  begun  at  Thessalonica.     I 
«ill  inform  you  when  I  set  out  from  hence  for 
your  house.     I  beg  you  to  write  me  most  parti- 
cularly of  every  thing  that  occurs,  be  what  it 
will.     Now  is  the  time  that  must  crown  my  suc- 
cess, or  must  finish  my  hopes.     Dated  from  Du- 
razzo, 26th  of  November. 

EPISTLE 


S^ 


EPISTLE  XXIIL 

Three  of  your  letters  came  to  my  hands  on 
the  27th  of  November.     In  one  of  them,  dated 
the  25th  of  October,  you  encourage  me  to  be  in 
good  spirits  till  the  month  of  January;  and  this 
encouragement  is  founded  upon  the  zeal  of  Len- 
tulus, the  affection  of  Metellus,  and  the  general 
plan  of  Pompey.     Your  next  letter  I  read  was 
(a  thing  not  usual  with  you,)   without  a  date; 
but,  ind'eed,  it  sufficiently  intimates  its  own  date. 
For  after  the  promulgation^  of  the  law,  by  the 
eight  tribunes  of  the  commons,  you  write,  that 
you  had  sent  off  the  letter  that  very  day,  mean- 
ing the  29th  of  October;  and  you  inform  me  of 
all  the  services,    which  you  imagine  that  pro- 
mulgation has  done  to  my  interest.     But  if,  even 
with  the  advantage  of  this  promulgation,    my 
cause  should  be  desperate,  1  beg,  by  all  your 
affection  to  me,  that  you  regard  my  solicitude  to 
be  the  effect  of  wretchedness,  rather  than  of 
impertinence.      However,   if  there  is  still  any 

spark 


1  Ninnius,  the  tribune,  and  his  seven  colleagues,  of  their 
own  accord,  when  it  was  not  expected  from  Aem,  presented 
anodier  bill  to  the  senate  for  the  recalling  of  our  orator,  and 
the  restoring  him  to  all  his  honours;  but  there  was  no  provision 
made  in  this  for  the  reparation  of  his  fortune. 


/ 


216 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


217 


spark  of  hope,  I  beg  you  will  use  your  influence 
with  the  new  magistrates,  to  espouse  my  cause. 

For  that  bill  of  the  former  tribunes  contained 
three  articles ;  the  first,  which  was  not  sufiiciently 
definite,  respected  my  restoration.  Agreeably 
to  this  article,  I  am  to  be  restored  only  to  my 
former  rank  and  dignity;  a  happiness,  I  must 
confess,  to  one  in  my  situation.  But  you  are  no 
stranger  to  the  othet*  provisions  that  ought  to 
have  been  made,  and  in  what  terms  they  should 
have  been  conceived.  The  otlier  article  was  a 
matter  of  form,  I  mean  a  clause  of  impunity, 
for  those  who  should,  by  the  enaction  of  this, 
infringe  other  laws.  As  to  the  third  article,  I 
beg,  my  dearest  friend,  that  you  will  inform 
yourself  with  what  view,  and  by  what  person,  it 
was  inserted.  You  know  that  Clodius*  procured 
an  act,  which  rendered  it  next  to  impossible,  if 
not  w^holly  so,  either  for  the  senate  or  the  peo- 
ple to  repeal  his  law.  You  will,  however,  ob- 
serve that  such  acts,  for  perpetuating  the  validity 
of  laws,  are  not  always  themselves  deemed  va- 
lid ;  for,  indeed,  if  they  were,  it  would  become 
almost  impracticable  to  repeal  any  law ;  for  we 
can  imagine  no  law  will  omit  fortifying  itself 
against  a  repeal.  But  the  auxiliary  act  is,  in 
fact,  repealed  along  with  the  law  to  which  it  is 
attached.  As  this  is  a  matter  of  tact,  so  the 
practice  of  it  has  been  constant  and  unvariable ; 
and  our  eight  tribunes  of  the  commons  brought 


>" 


m 


N 


(( 


<( 


<C 


ii 


<c 


<c 


in  this  article.  ''  If  there  is  any  thing  in  this 
bill,  that  by  the  laws  or  the  decrees  of  the 
commons  (that  is,  by  the  Clodian  law,)  is  not 
permitted  to  be  promulgated,  repealed,  or 
disregarded,  either  in  whole  or  in  part,  with- 
out punishment  to  the  person  who  shall  make 
such  attempts,  this  law  has  respect  to  nothing 

"  of  that  kind'." 

Now  the  penalty  here  taken  notice  of,  does 
not  affect  those  tribunes  of  the  commons;  for 
they  were  not  bound  by  their  own  unanimous 
consent  There  is,  therefore,  greater  grounds  to 
suspect  them  of  some  malicious  intention,  when 

they 

1  Ong,  Si  quid  in  hoc  rogatlone  scriptum  est,  quod  per 
leges,  plehisve  scita.  Hoc  est,  quod  per  legem  Clodiam  pro- 
rnulgare,  ahrogare,  derogate,  ohrogare  S.F.  sua  non  liceat,  non 
licuerit;  quodve  ei  qui  promalgavit,  alrogavit,  derogavit,  ob- 
rogavit,  oh  earn  rem  poencp,  multcB  ve  sit  E. H.L.N. R. 

The  reader  is  here  to  observe  a  difference  between  the  leges, 
or  the  laws,  and  the  plehisscita,  lor  the  decrees  of  tlie  com- 
mons.   The  forme;:  were  proposed  by  a  praetor,  a  consul,  or 
a  dictator,  to  the  two  orders  of  patricians  and  plebeians.     But 
it  was  sufficient  for  a  plehisscitum  (which  in  time  came  to  be 
equally  binding  with  a  law  upon  the  patricians,  and  both  of 
them  were  called  rogationes  (to  be  proposed  to  the  commons 
alone,  by  a  tribune.     The  alrogatio  was  the  repeal  of  tlie  law, 
the  derogatio  was  the  repeal  or  alteration  of  it  in  part,  the  ol- 
rogatio  was  the  reversing  it,  by  making  a  law  in  direct  contra- 
diction to  it.  The  initial  letters  S.F.  are  to  be  read  SineFraude, 
witliout  punishment;  for  that  was  the  sense  of  the  old  Roman 
word  Fraus.    Tlie  initials  E.H.L.N.R.  are  to  be  read  Ejus 
Hoc  Lege  Nihilum  Rogatur. 


218 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


they  passed  that  which  could  with  no  propriety 
lerve  them,  and  was  injurious  to  me  ;  so  that  the 
new  tribunes  of  the  commons,  if  they  were  to 
be  intimidated,  should  think  themselves  the  mor© 
obliged  to  insert  in  their  bills  clauses  of  the  same 
nature.     Clodius  has  taken  care  to  avail  himself 
f>f  this;  for  in  an  assembly  of  the  people,  on  the 
3d  of  November,  he  said,    "  That  this  clause 
"  ought  to  serve  as  a  rule  to  the  conduct  of  the 
"  succeeding  tribunes  of  the  people;"  and  yet 
you  are  sensible  there  is  no  clause  of  this  kind 
in  any  other  law;  whereas,  were  it  necessary,  it 
would  be  inserted  in  all  acts  of  repeal.     I  beg 
you  will  inform  yourself  how  this  came  to  escape 
Ninnius,  and  the  other  persons,  who  introduced 
it;  and  why  the  eight  tribunes  of  the  commons 
did  not  hesitate  to  propose  a  motion,  in  my  be- 
half, in  the  senate-house.     Whether  they  were  of 
opinion  that  no  regard  was  to  be  paid  to  that  ar- 
ticle: if  so,  why  were  they  so  cautious  in  repeal- 
ing it,  as  to  be  afraid  of  it,   when  actually  they 
"had  broken  through  a  precaution  that  may  be 
neglected,  even  by  those  who  are  bound  by  that 

law. 

I  am  absolutely  unwilling  that  the  new  tri- 
bunes of  the  people  should  propose  such  a 
clause;  but  in  whatever  shape  they  introduce 
their  bill,  provided  it  is  effectual,  I  shall  be  sa- 
tisfied with  that  clause  which  restores  me  to  my 
country.     I  have  already  thought  this  letter  too 

long- 


TO  ATTICUS. 


219 


long;  I  am  even  afraid  that,  before  it  comes  to 
your  hand,  my  condition  will  be  desperate ;  and 
thus  the  pains  I  have  taken  will  only  serve  to  in- 
crease the  anguish  of  my  friends,  and  the  satis- 
faction of  my  enemies.  But  if  you  still  have 
any  hopes,  consult  the  law  which  Visellius^ 
framed  for  Titus  Fadius,  for  I  think  it  a  good 
model  I  cannot  say  the  same  of  that  drawn  up 
by  our  friend  Sextius,  though  you  seem  to  ap- 
prove of  it. 

Your  third  letter  is  dated  the  12  th  of  Novem- 
ber ;  there  you  lay  before  me,  with  great  abili- 
ties and  accuracy,  all  the  circumstances  respect- 
ing Crassus,  Pompey,  and.  others,  that  are  likely 
to  retard  my  return.  I  therefore  entreat  you, 
that,  if  you  have  any  hope  of  success  from  the 
zeal  and  authority  of  patriots,  or  even  from  the 
concourse  of  the  populace  ^  endeavour,  by  a 

stre- 


*  He  was  the  same  with  Culeo  we  mentioned  before. 

*  The  former  translation  represents  Cicero  as  advising  his 
friends  to  have  recourse  to  arms,  if  likely  to  be  successful,  to 
effect  the  decree  of  his  restoration.     This  is  doing  him  great  in- 
justice, and  is  very  wide  of  his  meaning.     There  were  leading 
men  among  the  populace  of  Rome,  who  were  sometimes  hired 
by  the  magistrates  to  second  their  measures,  and  to  give  coun* 
tenance  to  their  motions.     These,  with  their  numerous  depend- 
ents, attended  in  the  forvim  and  in  the  assemblies  ^  ai>d  they  are 
those  whom  Livy  calls  turlaforensis,  and  Cicero  condones  con^ 
ductcB;  and  to* the  same  venal  crowd  he  alludes,  by  the  clause 
comparata  multitudine.    See  Adam's  Antiq.  p.  17. — ^E. 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 

strenuous  effort,  to  crush  opposition  \  Follow 
this  measure  with  spirit,  and  arouse  the  rest  of 
my  friends  to  join  you.  But  if  (as  I  see  you 
hint,  and  I  have  always  feared, )  my  hopes  are  at 
an  end,  I  solemnly  request  you  to  love  my  brother 
Quintus,  of  whose  miseries  mine  have  been  the 
cause.  Suffer  him  not  to  sink  into  greater  des- 
pondency, than  is  inconsistent  with  the  interests 
of  your  sister's  son.  Protect,  ats  far  as  you  are 
able,  my  Cicero,  my  unhappy  babe,  to  whom  I 
can  bequeath  no  other  legacy,  than  the  destruc- 
tion and  ignominy  of  his  father's  name.  Sus- 
tain, by  your  obliging  offices,  my  wife  Terentia, 
the  most  distressed  o.f  women.  As  soon  as  I 
know  the  transactions  of  the  first  days  of  the 
election  of  the  tribunes,  I  will  set  out  for  Epi- 
rus.  I  beg  you  will  notice,  in  your  next  letters, 
what  passes  after  their  entrance  upon  their  of- 
fice.    Dated  the  last  of  November. 

EPISTLE 


^  Desoperamut  uno  impeiu  perfringaiur — endeavour  that  ai 
one  effort  the  opposition  may  be  broken.  The  nominative  case  to 
perfringatur  is  understood  to  be  C/oc?ii/5,  the  enemy  of  Cicero  j 
or  if,  with  Manutius,  we  read  perfringantur,  Clodius  and  his 
followers  must  be  meant.  Nothing  is  more  common  in  all  au- 
thors, than  to  omit  a  noun,  when  from  the  context,  or  the  pre- 
dominant train  of  the  writer's  ideas,  it  is  obvious  what  noun  is 
intended.  There  is,  therefore,  no  necessity  to  substitute,  with 
GroEvius,  the  verb  perjungamur-,  which,  indeed,  would  con- 
Tcj  a  different  meaning  from  that  of  our  author.— E. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


521 


EPISTLE  XXIV. 

When,  in  a  former  letter,  you  wrote  me  that 
the  appointments  for  the  consular  provinces  had 
been  made  with  your  approbation,  though  I  was 
afraid  of  bad  consequences  from  those  appoint- 
ments, yet  still  I  was  in  hopes  that  you  had  rea- 
sons sufficiently  weighty  for  your  consent.  But 
when  I  afterwards  understood,  both  from  what 
was  told,  and  what  was  written  to  me,  that  you 
was  highly  blamed,  I  felt  great  uneasiness';  be- 
cause it  seemed  to  extinguish  the  faint  glimmer- 
ing of  hope  that  was  still  left  us.     For  if  the 

tri- 


1  There  seems  to  have  been  a  piece  of  secret  management  in 
this  part  of  our  author's  history,  which  \ye  are  at  a  loss,  at  this 
day,  to  clear  up  5  for  Atticus  thought  it  so  improper  to  commit 
it  to  writing,  that  he  took  a  journey  to  Cicero  in  person,  to  give 
him  an  account  of  his  conduct  on  this  occasion.  The  measure, 
however,  that  Cicero  blames  here  is,  at  first  sight,  very  un- 
accountable. Cicero's  great  dependance  now  was  upon  the 
conduct  of  the  new  tribunes  of  the  people,  eight  of  whom 
were  heartily  in  his  interests;  and  it  was  a  great  point  for  him 
that  they  should  have  it  in  their  power  to  make  terms  with  the 
cbnsuls  elect,  upon  the  allotment  of  their  provinces,  which  was 
entirely  at  the  option  of  the  tribunes.  But  the  latter  were  de- 
prived of  an  opportunity  of  making  such  terms  by  the  forward- 
ness of  the  senators,  who  to  oblige  Lentulus  and  Metellus  Ne- 
pQS,  the  consuls  elect,  had,  contrary  to  all  precedents,  given 
them  their  choice  of  their  appointments  and  provinces,  before 
they  entered  upon  the  actual  exercise  of  their  functions,  by 
which,  at  first  sight,  Cicero  seemed  to  lose  a  capital  advantage. 


2£2 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


tribunes  of  the  commons  are  made  our  enemies, 
what  can  we  farther  hope  for  ?  They  surely  can- 
not be  expected  to  be  my  friends;  those  who 
have  espoused  my  cause,  act  without  discretion; 
and  as,  by  my  concession,  they  have  lost  all  the 
weight  which  they  might  otherwise  have  had  in 
this  affair;  especially,  as  they  say,  that  it  was 
my  interest  alone  that  made  them  wish  for  an  in- 
fluence in  the  consular  appointments;  not  that 
they  wanted  to  retard  them,  but  that  they  might 
have  made  the  consuls  my  friends;  whereas,  if 
the  consuls  should  now  oppose  me^  they  can  do 
it  with  a  better  check  upon  their  conduct ;  but 
that  they  cannot  befriend  me,  without  the  con- 
currence of  the  tribunes.  You  write  me  that, 
supposing  I  had  refused  my  consent,  the  consuls 
would  have  gained  their  point  with  the  people. 
But  let  me  ask  you,  could  they  have  prevailed 
with  the  people  against  the  interposition  of  the 
tribunes?  Upon  the  whole,  I  am  afraid  that  we 
have  forfeited  the  friendship  of  the  tribunes;  or 
if  we  have  still  their  friendship,  that  the  connec- 
tion, between  them  and  the  consuls,  so  necessary 
for  our  interest,  is  broken. 

I  can  see  another  great  inconveniency  in  this, 
that  we  have  forfeited,  as  I  am  very  well  in- 
formed, all  the  force  of  the  important  decree 
made  by  the  senate,  *'  that  they  would  proceed 
*'  to  no  other  business  before  tliey  had  finished 


(( 


my 


TO  ATTICUS. 


223 


"  my  affair;"  and  what  renders  this  the  worse  is 
the  circumstance,  that  the  measure  ^  was  not  only 
in  itself  unnecessary,  but  unprecedented  and  un- 
usual. Never,  I  believe,  till  now,  were  the  ap- 
pointments of  the  provinces,  of  designed  con- 
suls, regulated;  so  that,  as  they  have  receded 
from  that  resolution,  which  they  adopted  on  my 
account,  it  is  hard  to  say  what  decrees  they  may 
pass. 

I  am  at  a  loss  to  account  for  the  motives  that 
induced  my  friends  and  agents  to  be  for  this  mea- 
sure. Few  persons  can  be  disposed  openly  to 
fly  in  the  face  of  the  obvious  interests  of  two 
consuls.  It  was  a  point  of  great  difficulty  to 
stand  out  against  Lentulus,  who  was  amongst  the 
best  of  my  friends ;  or  Metellus,  who  had,  with 
great  humanity,  laid  aside  his  resentment  towards 
me.  But  I  am  very  apprehensive  that  we  cannot 
keep,  in  our  interests,  both  the  consuls  and  the 
tribunes.  Write  to  me,  as  you  have  proposed, 
upon  this  matter,  and  how  the  whole  of  it  standi; 
for  though  the  truth  may  not  be  agreeable,  yet  I 
shall  receive  it  from  you  with  kindness.  Dated 
December  the  lOtli. 


EPISTLE 


*  Of  the  consular  appointments. 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO    ATTICUS. 


225 


EPISTLE  XXV. 

After  your  departure,  I  received  your  let- 
ter from  Rome,  by  which  I  perceive  that  I  must 
linger  out  my  life  under  this  load  of  wretched- 
ness. Be  not  offended  at  what  I  say.  But  had 
there  been  the  smallest  hope  of  my  preservation, 
you  would  not,  loving  me  as  you  do,  have  left 
Rome',  at  this  juncture.  But 'lest  I  should  be 
reproached  with  ingratitude,  or  with  wishing  all 
to  be  involved  in  my  calamity,  I  will  say  no 
more.  I  beg  of  you  that  you  will  perform  your 
promise  in  seeing  me,  wherever  I  may  be,  before 
January. 


EPISTLE  XX VL 

m 

From  your  letters,  and  the  nature  of  my  situa- 
tion I  perceive  that  my  case  no  longer  admits  of 
any  hope.  I  beg  that  in  all  matters,  in  which 
my  family,  may  want  your  assistance,  you  will 
not  forsake  them  in  their  distress.  I  expect  to 
see  you  as  soon  as  you  promise. 

EPISTLE 

I  There  is  some  reason  for  beneving  from  this  passage  that 
this  letter  is  misplaced  by  Editors. 


J 


EPISTLE  XXVIL 

1  HAVE  received  letters  from  my  brother  Quin- 
tus  with  the  Senate's  decree  concerning  me  \  I 
have  some  thoughts  of  w  aiting  till  the  law  is 
passed;  but  if  it  should  be  delayed  I  will  lay 
hold  of  the  resolution  ^  of  the  Senate,  and  re- 
sign 

^  I  have,  contrary  to  all  editions  of  these  Epistles,  made  this 
the  last  letter  in  this  "book,  because  the  Senatus  consultum 
mentioned  here,  could  be  no  other  than  that  Senatus  consultum 
which  imported,  "  that  the  consuls  should  send  circular  letters 
"  throughout  all  Italy  to  invite  all  the  freemen,  that  were 
"  well  affected  to  the  commonwealth  and  desired  its  preserva- 
*'  tion,  to  repair  immediately  to  Rome."  It  is  true,  the  date 
which  is  affixed  to  this  letter,  viz.  the  24th  of  December,  does 
not  agree  with  the  day  upon  which  the  Senatus  consultum 
passed,  which  was  not  till  some  months  after.  But  then  it  is 
as  true,  that  only  one  edition  of  those  letters,  that  of  Fictori- 
dus,  gives  any  date  at  all  to  this  letter, 

2  Orig.  Utar  auctoritate  Senatus,  There  is  one  circum- 
stance which  has  been  neglected  by  most  commentators  and 
translators  and  which,  if  not  attended  to,  will  create  inexpres- 
sible difficulties  in  reading  our  author*s  works,  and  indeed 
those  of  any  other  classic.  The  distinction  I  mean  is  that  be- 
tween a  Senatus  consultum,  and  the  Auctoritas  Senatus.  The 
Senatus  consultum  was  no  other  than  a  resolution  agreed  to  by 
the  house,  without  receiving  any  negative  tliat  could  defeat  its 
purpose.  But  in  the  senatorial  language,  Auctoritas  was  a  very 
different  thing  from  what  we  call  authority  in  English,  For  it 
was  a  Senatus  consultum  rendered  abortive  and  ineffectual,  by 

the 

Vol.  L  Q 


226 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


sign  my  life  rather  than  my  country.  I  beg 
you  will  make  haste  to  join  me.     Farewel. 

the  interposing  negative  of  one  or  more  tribunes.  However, 
notwithstanding  such  a  negative,  tlie  motion,  or  rather  resolu- 
tion, was  regularly  entered  upon  the  registers  or  journals  of  the 
house,  and  thereupon  was  called  the  Auctoritas  Senatus,  or  the 
registered  sense  of  the  senate.  Now  the  Auctoratas  mentioned 
here  by  our  author,  was  that  which  was  registered  upon  the 
Ist  of  January  for  his  return. 


CICEROS 


"  '  "    '  ^ ' 


ss 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO 


ATTICUS. 


BOOK  IV. 


EPISTLE  I. 

zxs  soon  as  I  came  to  Rome,  and  found  out 
a  person  by  whom  I  could  directly  forward  a 
letter  to  you,  I  thought  it  my  first  duty,  as  you 
were  not  in  the  city,  to  felicitate  you  on  my  re- 
turn. For,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  knew  by  ex- 
perience that  in  giving  me  advice,  you  were 
neither  more  firm  nor  wiser  than  myself;  and 
considering  my  past  attachment  to  you,  not  over 
anxious  about  my  welfare  and  preservation.  But 
I  knew  at  the  same  time  that  you,  who,  in  the 
beginning  of  my  misconduct,  or  rather  phrenzy, 
were  my  partner  and  companion  in  it,  and  in  all 
my  imaginary  fears  felt,  with  bitter  regret,   my 

Q  2  separation, 


228 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


separation,  and  exerted  all  your  endeavours, 
your  zeal,  your  application  and  labour,  to  ac- 
company my  return  to  you.  You  will  there- 
fore easily  believe  me,  when  I  tell  you,  that  your 
presence,  your  smiles,  your  congratulation  were 
the  only  blessings  wanted  to  complete  my  joy 
and  crown  my  triumph.  Never,  if  once  united 
to  you,  will  I  suffer  you  to  leave  me,  and  I  shall 
think  fortune,  by  restoring  me,  has  been  more 
kind  than  I  deserve,  unless  I  make  myself 
amends  for  all  the  past  loss  I  have  suffered  of 
your  most  agreeable  company. 

With  regard  to  my  situation,  at  present,  I 
have  regained  my  figure  at  the  bar,  my  dignity 
in  the  Senate-house,  and  that  friendship  of  the 
worthy,  which  always  has  been  my  ambition,  and 
all  in  a  greater  degree'  than  I  possessed  before 
my  banishment,  and  with  less  difficulty  than  I 
imagined.  As  to  my  private  affairs,  I  meet  with 
inexpressible  opposition,  and  you  know  how 
they  have  been  ruined,  squandered,  and  plunder- 
ed.    I  stand  not  so  much  in  need  of  your  purse, 

which 

1  It  is  no  unusual  thing  in  life,  especially  public  life,  for 
those  who  opposed  a  measure  when  the  success  of  it  was  doubt- 
ful, to  push  it  on  extravagantly,  when  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  it  will  be  carried.  Charles  II.  upon  his  return  to  England, 
could  not  imagine  where  the  people  were,  who  had  kept  him 
out  so  long.  This  was  a  very  natural  sentiment,  and  agreeable 
to  what  is  several  times  expressed  by  our  author  upon  the  like 
occasion. 


,i 


TO  ATTICUS. 


229 


vhich  I  look  Upon  to  be  the  same  as  my  o\vn,  as 
your  counsels,  in  order  to  repair  and  settle  the 
wrecks  of  my  fortune*  At  present,  though  I 
suppose  you  have  been  informed  of  all,  either 
by  letters  from  your  friends,  or  by  common  re- 
ports and  messengers,  yet  I  will  give  you  a  short 
account  of  what  I  imagine  you  are  most  desirous 
to  know,   under  my  own  hand* 

I  left  Durazzo  on  the  4th  of  August,  being 
the  day  on  which  the  decree  for  my  return  was 
published.  On  the  5th  I  came  to  Brundusium, 
where  I  met  my  Tulliola,  who  kept  her  birth-day 
with  me,  it  being  the  same  with  the  anniversary 
of  the  Brundusian  Colony,  and  of  the  dedication 
of  the  temple  of  public  welfare^  The  people 
had  no  sooner  learnt  this  circumstance,  than  all 
Brundusium  rang  with  shouts  and  congratulati- 
ons. While  I  was  at  Brundusium,  on  the  8th 
of  the  same  month,  I  understood,  by  letters  from 
my  brother  Quintus,  that  the  decree  for  repeal- 
ing my  banishment,  had  passed  the  Assembly  of 
the  Centuries,  to  the  inexpressible  satisfaction  6f 
all  ranks  and  ages,  and  with  an  unexampled 
concourse  from  all  Italy.  Having  received  the 
highest  civilities  from  all  men  of  distinction  at 
Brundusium,  I  set  out  from  thence,  and  received, 
in  my  journey,  the  compliments  of  the  deputies, 
who  flocked  from  all  quarters.  When  I  drew 
near  to   Rome,  there  was  not  a  person  in  that 

city, 


rc^- 


228 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


separation,  and  exerted  all  your  endeavours, 
your  zeal,  your  application  and  labour,  to  ac- 
company my  return  to  you.  You  will  there- 
fore easily  believe  me,  when  I  tell  you,  that  your 
presence,  your  smiles,  your  congratulation  were 
the  only  blessings  wanted  to  complete  my  joy 
and  crown  my  triumph.  Never,  if  once  united 
to  you,  will  I  sufter  you  to  leave  me,  and  I  shall 
think  fortune,  by  restoring  me,  has  been  more 
kind  than  I  deserve,  unless  I  make  myself 
amends  for  all  the  past  loss  I  have  sufl'ered  of 
your  most  agreeable  company. 

With  regard  to  my  situation,  at  present,  I 
have  regained  my  figure  at  the  bar,  my  dignity 
in  tlie  Senate-house,  and  that  friendship  of  the 
worthy,  which  always  has  been  my  ambition,  and 
all  in  a  greater  degree*  than  I  possessed  before 
my  banishment,  and  with  less  difficulty  than  I 
imagined.  As  to  my  private  affairs,  I  meet  with 
inexpressible  opposition,  and  you  know  how 
they  have  been  ruined,  squandered,  and  plunder- 
ed.    I  stand  not  so  much  in  need  of  your  purse, 

which 


1  It  is  no  unusual  thing  in  life,  especially  public  life,  for 
those  who  opposed  a  measure  when  the  success  of  it  was  doubt- 
ful, to  push  it  on  extravagantly,  when  it  is  more  than  probable 
that  it  will  be  carried.  Charles  II.  upon  his  return  to  England, 
could  not  imagine  where  the  people  were,  who  had  kept  him 
out  so  long.  This  was  a  very  natural  sentiment,  and  agreeable 
to  what  is  several  times  expressed  by  our  author  upon  the  like 
occasion. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


229 


Which  1  look  upon  to  be  the  same  as  my  own,  as 
your  counsels,  in  order  to  repair  and  settle  the 
wrecks  of  my  fortune.  At  present,  though  I 
suppose  you  have  been  informed  of  all,  either 
by  letters  from  your  friends,  or  by  common  re- 
ports and  messengers,  yet  I  will  give  you  a  short 
account  of  what  I  imagine  you  are  most  desirous 
to  know,   under  my  ow^n  hand. 

I  left  Durazzo   on  the  4th  of  August,   being 
the  day  on  which  the  decree  for  my  return  was 
published.     On  the  5th  I  came  to  Brundusium, 
where  I  met  my  TuUiola,  who  kept  her  birth-day 
with  me,  it  being  the  same  w  ith  the  anniversary 
of  the  Brundusian  Colony,  and  of  the  dedication 
of  the  temple  of  public  welfare.     The  people 
had  no  sooner  learnt  this  circumstance,   than  all 
Brundusium  rang  with  shouts  and  congratulati- 
ons.    While  I  was  at  Brundusium,  on  the  8th 
of  the  same  month,  I  understood,  by  letters  from 
my  brother  Quintus,   that  the  decree  for  repeal- 
ing my  banishment,  had  passed  the  Assembly  of 
the  Centuries,  to  the  inexpressible  satisfaction  of 
all  ranks   and  ages,  and  with  an    unexampled 
concourse  from  all  Italy.     Having  received  the 
highest  civilities  from  all  men  of  distinction  at 
Brundusium,  I  set  out  from  thence,  and  received, 
in  my  journey,  the  compliments  of  the  deputies, 
who  flocked   from  all   quarters.     When  I  drew 
near  to   Rome,  there  w^as  not  a  person  in  that 

city, 


230 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


city,  of  whatever  rank  or  of  any  notoriety  \   who 
did  not  come  out  to  meet  me,  excepting  those 
enemies  who  had  gone  so  far  to  ruin  me,  tliat 
they  were  unable  cither  to  dissemble,  or  to  deny, 
their  rancour.     W  hen    I  came  to  the  Capcnian 
gate,  the  stairs  of  the  temples  were  crowded  w  ith 
the  lower  ranks  of  people,    who  indicated   their 
joy  for  my  return  by  peals  of  applause ;  nor  did 
they  leave  off  following  me  with  acclamations,  till 
I  reached  the  capitol,    and   wonderful  it  was,  to 
behold  the  crowds  which  filled   the  forum,    and 
the  capitol  itself.     Next  day,  which  was  the  5th 
of  September,   I  delivered  my  oration   of  thanks 
to  the  senate  in  the  house.     For  two  days  there 
had  been  a  great  scarcity  of  provisions  at  Rome, 
and  the  mob,  by  the  instigation  of  Clodius,  had 
run  first  to  the  theatre,  and  then  to  the  senate- 
house,    crying  out  that  it  was  through  me   the 
scarcity    had    happened".      The  senators   were 

then 


*  The  original  is,  Ut  nemo  ullius  ordinis  homo  nomenclatori 
notus  fuerit.  The  nomenclator  was  a  very  useful  officer  in 
Home.  His  usefulness  consisted  in  his  knowing  by  sight,  and 
being  able  to  name,  all  the  principal  men  of  the  state,  and  for 
this  purpose  he  attended  the  candidates  for  public  offices.  See 
Adams's  Antiq.  p.  85. 

-  There  is  soraethinfij  very  unaccountable  in  all  the  relations 
we  have  of  Clodius  and  our  author.  If  we  are  to  believe  the 
latter,  there  never  was  a  measure  so  completely  to  the  satisfac- 
tion of  all  ranks  of  mankind,  as  his  return  to  Rome  was,  and 

yet 


TO  ATTICUS. 


231 


then  deliberating  upon  this  affair,  and  Pompey 
was  called  upon  to  teke  the  care  of  it  by  the 
voice,  not  only  of  the  commons,  but  of  the  men 
of  property.     This  was  what  he  himself  wanted, 
and  the  mob  called  out  upon  me,  by  name,  to 
make  the  motion.     I  made  it,  and  laid  down  my 
opinion  with  great  clearness,  while  all  the  other 
consulars,  excepting  Messala  and  Afranius,  were 
absent,  upon  pretence  that  they  could  not  deli- 
ver their  opinion  at  once  with  safety  and  with 
freedom.     The  senate,   upon  my  motion,  came 
to  a  resolution,  that  Pompey  should  be  solicited 
to  take  that  commission  upon  himself,  and  that 
a  bill  should  be   brought  in  for  that  purpose. 
While  this  resolution  was  reading,  at  every  men- 
tion of  my  name,  there  was  a  shout  of  that  insi- 
pid, fantastic,  applause,  which  is  now  in  vogue ; 
I  then  delivered  a  speech  to  the  people,  with 
the  leave  of  all  the  magistrates,   excepting  one 
praitor  and  two  tribunes  of  the  commons.     Next 
day  there  was  a  full  senate,  and  all  the  consu- 
lars refused  to  Pompey  nothing  that  he  asked 
for.     When  he  had  obtained  the  fifteen  deputies 
he  demanded,  he  named  me  the  first,  and  he  de- 
clared,  that  in  all  his  proceedings  I  should  be 

his  other  self. 

The 


yet  in  less  than  thirty-six  hours  we  find  his  capital  enemy  at  the 
head  of  a  party,  which,  without  any  visible,  or  at  least  reason- 
able  provocation,  puts  him  in  danger  of  his  life. 


23ii 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


The  consuls  passed  an  act,  wliich  furnisheel 
Pompey  for  five  years  with  complete  authority 
respecting  the  supply  of  provisions  all  over  the 
empire.  jMcssius  enacted  another  bill,  which 
appointed  him  paymaster  general  of  the  fleet  and 
army,  and  which  gave  him  a  greater  command 
over  the  provinces  than  the  governors  have,  to 
whom  they  are  allotted.  Our  consular  law  ap- 
pears to  be  moderate,  when  compared  to  this  in- 
tolerable one  of  Messius.  Pompey  says  that  the 
first  was  obtained  by  his  own  desire,  but  the  lat- 
ter by  the  interposition  of  his  friends.  Tiiose  of 
the  consular  order,  and  especially  Favonius,  are 
enraged.  For  my  part,  I  am  silent,  and  the  ra- 
ther, because  the  pontiffs  have  not  as  yet  given 
in  their  answer  concerning  my  house.  Should 
they  be  of  opinion,  that  the  consecration  of  it  is 
not  valid,  I  shall  have  a  noble  spot.  The  consuls, 
according  to  the  resolution  of  the  senate,  will  ei- 
ther  make  an  estimate  of  the  building  that  has 
been  tlirown  down,  or  they  will  demolish  what  is 
raised,  build  a  new  one  at  their  own  expence, 
and  make  an  estimate  of  all  my  other  effects^ 

Such 

J  Cicero  gives  us  no  very  advantageous  idea  of  his  firmness 
upon  this  occasion.  It  is  extremely  plain  that  he  was  so  mucli 
disgusted  with  the  conduct  of  the  Roman  patriots  at  this  time, 
that,  contrary  to  his  private  sentiments,  he  had  left  their  party, 
and  it  was  owing  only  to  Pompey's  moderation,  that  the  power 
which  Cicero  had  been  so  instrumental  in  giving  him,  was  no* 
fetal  to  his  country.  It  is  certain  that  all  the  men  of  conse- 
quence 


TO  ATTICUS. 


233 


Such  is  the  state  of  my  private  aflairs,  which, 
compared  with  my  prosperity,  is  but  indifferent; 
if  with  my  adversity,  happy.     You  know  that  I 


am 


quence  or  virtue  thought  it  might  prove  so,  and  Cicero  was  of 
the  same  opinion  himself.  But  our  autlior's  experience  had 
taught  him  other  things,  than  to  rely  any  longer  upon  the  me- 
rit of  a  showy  conduct.  He  now  attached  himself  to  power  j 
but,  indeed,  he  had  a  great  deal  at  stake,  being  no  better  thaa 
an  illustrious  beggar;  and  he  was  not  sure  whether  he  could  b« 
restored  to  his  possessions  or  not.  Clodius,  to  bar  him  from 
ever  recovering  his  house  in  town,  had  not  only  demolished  it, 
but  had  procured  the  ground  on  which  it  stood  to  be  conse- 
crated, by  which  it  became  sacrilege  to  make  it  revert  to  a  pri- 
vate  proprietor.  But  as  some  doubts  arose  concerning  the  va- 
lidity of  this  consecration,  the  cast*  was  referred  to  the  pon- 
tiffs. 

The  college  of  pontiffs  in  Rome,  at  this  time,  consisted  of 
fifteen;  and  the  exercise  of  their  judgment  in  religious  things 
was  so  extensive,  that  they  entered  upon  many  civil  causes. 
They  even  had  a  coercive  power  of  judgment,  and  could  im- 
pose fines  and  punishments.  But  the  reader  is  not  to  imagine, 
that  this  pontifical  college,  as  to  its  institution,  had  any  thing 
in  common  with  the  modern  religious  policy  that  prevails  in 
Italy,  and  in  Roman  Catholic  countries.  It  is  true,  the  juris- 
diction of  civil  and  religious  matters  was  separate,-  but  the  per- 
sons who  exercised  those  jurisdictions  were  the  same 5  and  the 
Romans  had  no  notion  that  there  was  any  peculiarity  of  charac- 
ter required  to  constitute  a  pontiff.  They  thought  that  a  person 
who  filled  the  civil  oflaces  of  his  country  with  the  greatest  abi- 
lities, was  the  best  fitted  to  discharge  the  religious  ones.  This 
maxim  is  the  very  reverse  of  the  policy  that  has  been  since  prac- 
tised (and  in  no  country  more  than  England,)  where  the  quali- 
fications of  a  priest  have  often  been  his  passport  to  the  highest 
dignities  in  the  state. 


234. 


CICERO'S   EPISTLES 


am  extremely  uneasy  respecting  some  domestic 
concerns;  and  I  have  some  family  vexations, 
which  I  cannot  trust  to  writing.  I  have  a  due 
regard  and  love  for  my  brother  Quintus,  as  being 
a  most  worthy,  virtuous,  and  honest  man.  I  ex- 
pect and  entreat  that  you  will  hasten  to  this  place, 
in  order  that  you  may  furnish  me  with  your  ad- 
vice. I  am  now  laying  down  a  new  plan  of  life; 
some  persons  ^  who  befriended  me  in  my  exile, 
now  that  I  am  returned,  begin  secretly  to  hate, 
and  openly  to  envy,  me.  1  am  extremely  desi- 
rous to  see  you. 


EPISTLE  11. 

JLf  1  write  to  you  more  seldom  than  your  other 
correspondents  do,  I  beg  that  you  will  not  attri- 
bute it  to  my  remissness,  or  even  to  my  hurry  of 
business,  which,  though  great,  shall  never  inter- 
rupt the  course  of  our  affection  and  my  duty. 
For  now  that  I  am  come  to  Rome,  I  am  more 
certain  of  a  safe  conveyance  of  my  letters  to 

you 


^  The  truth  is,  it  was  not  so  much  from  personal  regard  that 
the  wisest  men  of  Rome  befriended  Cicero,  as  from  a  convic- 
tion that  it  was  necessary  to  make  his  return  a  kind  of  a  trial  of 
strength,  between  the  faction  of  Clodius  and  that  of  the  se- 
nate} for  both  of  them  were  equally  factious  at  tliis  tim« 
against  the  constitution  of  Rome. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


235 


you.    This,  therefore,  is  my  second  letter  from 

this   place. 

In  my  former,  I  have  acquainted  you  with  the 
manner  of  my  return,  with  my  situation,  and 
with  all  things  as  they  stood ;  which,  as  I  told 
you,  "  if  compared  with  my  prosperity,  are  but 
"  indifferent;    if  with   my   adversity,    happy." 
After  that  letter  was  dispatched,  a  terrible  dis- 
pute ensued  concerning  my  house.     I  spoke  be- 
fore the  pontiffs  on  the  last  of  September.     My 
pleading  was  a  high-finished  piece.     For  if  ever 
I  distinguished   myself  in   speaking,  if  ever   I 
made  a  figure  on  other  occasions,  give  me  leave 
to  say,  that  my  grief,  and  the  interest  I  had  at 
stake,  gave  my  words,  at  that  time,  a  peculiar 
ener<yy.     Our  young  men,  therefore,  ought  not 
to  be  without  this  speech ;  I  will  send  it  to  you 
soon,  though  you  may  not  desire  it. 

When  the  pontiffs  had  decreed,  that  if  the 
person,  who  said  he  had  consecrated  my  house, 
did  it  neither  by  the  command  of  the  people,  nor 
by  a  decree  of  the  commons,  nor  was  nominated 
to  that  commission  by  the  command  of  the  peo- 
ple ^  nor  by  a  decree  of  the  commons,  their  opi- 
nion was,   "  that  that  part  of  the  ground  might 

"  be 


1  As  the  verdict  of  the  pontifTs  appears  plainly  to  have  been 
special,  where  was  the  absurdity  of  Clodius  in  laying  hold  of 
that  speciality,  and  maintaining  that  the  consecrator  was  pro- 
perly authorised  by  the  commons  ? 


236 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


"  be  restored  to  me  without  sacrilege."    I  im^ 
mediately  received   complimentary   congratula- 
tions; for  no  one  doubted  but  this  decision  put 
me  again  in  possession  of  my  house.     Clodius 
then,  having  leave  from  his  brother  Appius,  in- 
stantly mounted  the  tribunal,  and  spoke  to  the 
people.     He  told  them,  that  the  opinion  of  the 
pontiffs  was  in  his  favour,  and  that  I  was  endea- 
vouring   to    obtain   possession  by   force.      He 
exhorted   them    to  follow  him  and   his   brother 
Appius,    to    defend   their   own   liberty.      Here, 
when  even  the  lowest  amongst  the  people  were 
either  confounded  or  diverted  with  the  impu- 
dence of  the  fellow,  I  resolved  not  to  approach 
the  place,  until  the  consuls,  according  to  the  re- 
solution of  the  senate,  had  contracted  with  ar- 
chitects to  rebuild  the  portico  of  Catulus. 

On  the  1st  of  October  the  senate  was  very 
full,  all  the  pontifls,  who  were  senators,  being 
summoned.  JNIarcellinus,  who  is  very  much  my 
friend,  and  whose  opinion  was  first  asked,  de- 
manded of  them  what  was  the  result  of  their  re- 
port.  Tlien  Marcus  Lucullus,  speaking  the  opi- 
nion of  all  his  colleagues,  said,  **  that  the  pon- 
"  tiffs  were  the  judges  of  religious,  but  the  se- 
'*  nate  of  civil,  affairs;  that  he,  and  his  col- 
"  leagues,  had  already  come  to  a  determination 
"  with  regard  to  religion,  and  that  the  senate 
"  must  do  the  same  with  regard  to  law."  Every 
one  of  the  other  members,  whose  opinion  was 

asked 


TO  ATTICUS. 


237 


asked  in  their  several  turns,  spoke  greatly  in  my 
favour.  When  it  came  to  the  turn  of  Clodius, 
he  endeavoured  to  take  up  the  whole  remainder 
of  their  time ;  nor,  indeed,  would  he  ever  have 
come  to  an  end,  had  not  the  indignation,  and 
the  noise  of  the  house,  forced  him  at  last  to 
finish,  after  speaking  almost  three  hours. 

When  the  senate  was  come  to  a  resolution,  ac- 
cording to  the  sense  of  Marcellinus,  with  but  one 
negative  voice  in  the  whole  house,  Serranus  in- 
terposed.    The  two  consuls  immediately  began 
to  concert  measures  to  remove  this  interposition; 
and  when  the  men  of  greatest  weight  gave  it  as 
their  opinion,  that  the  resolution  of  the  senate 
was  to  restore  to  me  my  house,  to  contract  for 
rebuilding  the  portico  of  Catulus ;  to  require  all 
the  magistrates  to  maintain  what  had  been  the 
opinion  of  the  senate;  and  that,   if  the  peace 
were  broken,  the  Senate,  would  lay  it  at  the  door 
of  the  person,  who  had  interposed,  Serranus  was 
alarmed,   aud  Cornicinus  had  recourse   to  the 
farce  which  he  had  before  practised,  of  throwing 
off  his  robe,  and  then  casting  himself  at  the  feet 
of  his  son-in-law,    who  demanded  that  night  to 
deliberate,  but  it  was   not  granted  him ;  for  the 
house  well  remembered,  what  had  happened  on 
the    1st  of  January;  at   last,   however,  when  I 
consented  to  this  request,    it  was  granted   him 
with  difficulty. 

Next  day  the   senate  passed  the  resolution, 

which 


M 


238 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


23Q 


which  I  send  to  you.     The  consuls  then  treated 
about  restoring  the  portico  of  Catulus,  and  un- 
dertakers were  immediately  found,   who,   to  the 
great  satisfaction  of  all  the  people,   demolished 
that  of  Clodius.     The  consuls,  after   proper  de- 
liberation,  estimated   my  house   at  two  million 
serteces  \     But  they  undervalued  all  the  rest  of 
my  estate ;  they  allowed  me  only   five  hundred 
thousand  serteces'  for  my  house  at  Tusculum, 
and  no  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand serteces   for  that  of  Formiae,   and  not  only 
men    of   quality,    but    even    the   people,   find 
great  fault  with  these  estimates.     You  will  ask 
me   from  what  cause  all  this  proceeded.     Why 
really  some  people  impute  it  to  my  moderation, 
for  I  neither  refused  to  accept  what  was  offered, 
nor  did   I  make  a  strenuous    effort   to   obtain 
more.     But  this  was   not  the  case,  for   modera- 
tion would  rather  have   done   me   service  than 
otherwise.     But,    my  dearest  friend,  those  per- 
sons to  whom  you  are  no  stranger,   those  very 
persons,  I  say,  who  clipped  my  wings,  are  unwil- 
ling that  they  should  grow  again.     Yet  I  am  in 
hopes,  that  they  are  growing  every  day.     I  beg 
once  more  that  you  will  immediately  come  to 
me.     Your  arrival,  I  am  afraid,  if  you  meet  our 
friend  Varro,  will  not  be  so  soon  as  I  could  wish. 

Having 

»  About  16501.  of  our  money. 
241601. 

3  20801. 


i 


\ 


Having  thus  laid  before  you  a  statement  of 
facts  as  they  passed,  I  am  now  to  acquamt  you 
with  the  rest  of  my  plan.     I  have  accepted  of 
Pompeys  deputation,   but  upon  such  terms  as 
that  I  may  be  at  liberty  to  stand  for  the  office  of 
censor,  if  the  ensuing  consuls  should  proceed  to 
an  election  of  censors,  or  to  execute  a  votive  le- 
jration  through  almost  all  the  temples,  and  con- 
secrated groves  in  Italy.     I  have  my  own  rea- 
sons for  this.     My  main  view  is,  that  it  shall  be 
in  my  power,  either  to   stand  for  the  censorship 
or  to  leave  Rome  the  beginning  of  the  summer. 
In  the   meanwhile,    I  think  it  not  amiss,  if  I 
give  my  company  to  such  of  my  countrymen  as 
have  laid  me  under  the  greatest  obligations. 

You  have  now  before  you  the  plan  of  my  pub- 
lic conduct.     As  to  my  private  concerns,  they 
are  extremely  embarrassed.     You  know  how  ex- 
pensive the  rebuilding  of  my  house  at  Rome  is, 
an  dwhat  difficulties  I  encounter  in  repairing  my 
house   at   FormijE.     Those,   in    short,    are  two 
works,  which  I  can  neither  abandon  nor  accom- 
plish.    As  to  my  house  at  Tusculum,  I  have  ad- 
vertised it  for  sale',  but  I  cannot  conveniently 
be  without  a  seat  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Rome. 
The  event  from  which  I  gained  nothing  but  dis- 
grace, has  quite  exhausted  the  generosity  of  my 

friends. 

1  OH".  Proscripsi.  This  sort  of  proscriptions  differed  very 
little  from  our  advertisements,  especially  those  which  are  posted 
in  the  most  public  parU  of  the  city. 


I 


H 


240 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


\ 


friends.  They  express  the  same  kindness  for 
me,  now  that  1  am  present,  as  you  did  when  I 
was  absent ;  and  were  their  zeal  and  interest  se- 
conded by  those  who  contributed  most  to  my  re- 
turn, 1  might  easily  succeed  in  every  thing; 
whereas  now  I  am  put  to  excessive  embarras- 
ment  I  have  other  troubles,  which  I  struggle 
with,  and  of  a  more  delicate  and  private  nature'; 
but  I  still  enjoy  the  affections  of  my  brother  and 
daughter.  I  am  extremely  impatient  for  your 
company. 

EPISTLE  III. 

I  AM  quite  sure  that  you  long  to  know  what  is 
doing  here,  but  more  particularly  to  receive 
some  account ;  not  that  what  I  write  or  tell  you, 
can  give  you  any  more  certain  information  as  to 
facts  that  are  publicly  transacted  ;  but  my  letters 

will 

^  As  Cicero  tells  his  friend,  that  he  still  enjoyed  the  affec- 
lions  of  his  brother  and  daughter,  we  may  infer  that  he  no 
longer  enjoyed  that  of  his  uife.  And  the  alienation  of  her 
affection  formed  those  other  mystic  troubles,  {ccBtera  fxvT^KUTt^ai) 
to  which  he  alludes.  This,  however,  if  we  may  judge  from 
circumstances,  was  an  event,  which  gave  him  no  great  pain. 
While  he  was  in  exile,  he  doubtless  felt  real  sorrow,  and  the 
letters,  which  he  addressed  to  his  friend,  bespeak  his  unfeigned 
distress.  There  is,  therefore,  in  them  no  unseasonable  ele- 
gance, no  ostentatiou  spedantry,  not  a  tt'ord  of  Greek  quota-- 
iions^o  boasted  display  of  his  superior  eloquence.  But  that 
season  is  at  length  happily  at  an  end  ;  and  he  is  at  leisure  and 
tranquil  enough  to  cite  Greek  even  when  he  speaks  of  the  m^ 
fidelity  of  his  wife. — E. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


241 


\'J 


I 


Will  give  you  a  clearer  idea  in  what  matiner  I  re- 
gard those  events,  and  what  is  the  present  state 
of  my  feelings,  and  my  external  situation. 

On  the  3rd  of  November,  the  workmen  were 
driven  from  my  building  by  armed  men,  and  the 
portico  of  Catulus,  which,  according  to  the  re- 
solution of  the  senate,  was  repairing  by  the  ap- 
pointment of  the  consuls,  and  wanted  little  more 
than  to  be  roofed,  was  demolished.  The  house 
of  my  brother  Quintus,  at  first,  was  battered 
with  stones  flung  from  my  building,  and  then 
fired  with  flaming  brands,  thrown  in  the  pre- 
sence of  the  people  by  the  order  of  Clodius,  to 
the  great  annoyance  and  grief,  I  will  not  say 
of  our  patriots,  for  I  know  of  no  patriots  we 
have,  but  of  all  the  inhabitants  in  general.  As  to 
Clodius  himself,  he  bore  down  all  before  him,  and 
after  he  had  given  vent  to  his  fury,  he  breathed 
nothing  but  blood  and  vengeance  against 
his  enemies.  He  then  went  from  street  to  street, 
openly  encouraging  slaves  to  hope  for  liberty. 

Before  this  time,  when  he  declined  his  trial, 
his  cause  was  indeed  evidently  desperate ;  but  he 
still  pretended  to  have  some  plea  in  his  favour. 
He  could  deny  some  charges ;  he  could  evade 
others ;  and  the  rest  he  might  attempt  to  defend 
in  point  of  law.  But  after  his  demolishing,  burn- 
ing, and  plundering  in  this  manner,  he  is  aban- 
doned by  his  followers  ;   and  it  is  with  difliculty 

Vol.  I.  R  that 


i 


S4f 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


fire,  and  my  personal  danger,  and  that  it  should 
that  he  still  keeps  in  his  interest  the  undertakers ' 
Decimus,  and  Gellius.  He  has  now  no  counsel- 
lors but  slaves,  and  he  is  sensible  that  his  cause, 
should  he  ever  come  to  a  trial,  would  hardly  be 
more  desperate  than  it  is  at  present,  were  h« 
openly  to  massacre  all  those  whom  he  hates. 

It  was  from  this  conviction  that  he  followed 
me  with  his  ruffians  on  the  11th  of  November, 
and,  as  I  was  coming  down  the  lioly  street,  I  wa8 
suddenly  and  unexpectedly  beset  with  shouts, 
stones,  bludgeons,  and  swords.  To  save  myself, 
I  retired  to  the  court-yard  of  Tertius  Damio, 
while  my  retinue  easily  prevented  him  from  as- 
sailing me,  and  they  could  have  killed  Clodius 
himself  But  I  am  tired  of  violent,  and  would 
be  glad  to  try  persuasive,  means^  When  Clo- 
dius heard  the  people  unanimously  demanding 
not  to  bring  him  to  a  trial,  but  to  drag  him  to 
execution,  he  renewed  the  horrid  scenes  of  Cati- 
line and  Acidinus.  For  on  the  12th  of  Novem- 
ber he  made  so  determined  an  attack  to  storm 
and  burn  down  Milo's  house   upon   mount  Ger- 

malus 


*  The  officer  called  designator,  was  a  funeral  undertaker, 
dominis  funeris.  His  office  was  to  determine  tlie  order  of  the 
general  procession,  and  to  assign  to  each  person  his  place.  Set 
Adams's  Antiq.  p.  476. — E. 

*  Orig,    Sid  ego  dust  a  curari  incipioy    chirurgia    tcfdet. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


243 


malus,  that  he  openly  headed  a  body  of  men, 
completely  armed,  w^th  bucklers  and  naked 
swords,  who  continued  the  attack  till  night, 
while  others  endeavoured  to  burn  it  down  with 
flaming  brands.  All  this  while,  Clodius  took 
post  at  the  house  of  Publius  Sylla,  as  the  most 
convenient  spot  for  carrying  on  the  storm. 
Sometime  after  Quintus  Flaccus  sallied  out  from 
IMilo's  Annian  house  with  a  resolute  body  of 
men,  and  put  to  the  sword  the  most  distinguish- 
ed of  the  Clodian  faction.  He  aimed  at  Clodius 
himself,  but  he  kept  w  ithin  doors. 

November  the  14th  Sylla  appeared  in  the  se- 
nate ;  Clodius  kept  at  home.  Marcellinus  dis- 
tinguished himself  in  the  general  and  keen  re- 
sentment of  the  house.  Metellus  wasted  the 
day  in  making  speeches.  In  this  he  was  assis- 
ted by  Appius,  and  was  indeed  seconded  by  that 
very  friend  ^  whom  you  have,  with  so  much 
truth,  recommended  in  your  letters  for  his  firm- 
ness and  virtue.  Sestius  spoke  with  passion; 
Clodius  continued  his  threatenings  against  the 
city,  if  the  assembly  w  as  not  held  for  the  electi- 
on of  his  ediles.  At  last,  Marcellinus  presented 
a  rosolution  in  writing  for  making  but  one  ques- 
tion of  all  my  case ;  that  it  should  comprehend 
whatever  related  to  my  house,  to  my  losses  by 

fii'e, 


Probably  Hortensiug. 


R  2 


tu 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


be  determined  before  the  assembly  was  held  for 
the  election ;  and  Milo  gave  public  notice  that 
he  would  observe  the  heavens  every  day  ap- 
pointed for  the  election. 

The  harangues  of  Metellus  were  tumultuous, 
those  of  Appius  were  presumptuous,  those  of 
Clodius  were  furious,  to  the  last  degree.  The 
result,  however,  of  all,  was  a  resolution  to  hold 
the  assembly  for  the  election  on  the  20th  of  No- 
vember, and  it  would  have  been  held,  had  not 
Milo  made  his  declaration  as  to  the  auspices. 
In  the  middle  of  the  night,  Milo  repaired  to  the 
place  of  election  with  a  strong  body  of  men  ;  nor 
durst  Clodius  appear  there,  though  he  was  at 
the  head  of  a  chosen  troop  of  fugitive  slaves. 
Milo  remained  on  the  field  till  noon,  which 
gave  infinite  satisfaction  to  the  public,  and  great 
glory  to  himself.  In  short,  the  opposition,  made 
by  these  three  confederate  brothers  *  was  despe- 
rate, but  their  strength  was  broken,  and  their  fury 
treated  with  contempt  Metellus,  however,  de- 
manded that  the  declaration  should  be  made  to 
him  next  day  in  the  forum ;  that  there  was  no 
necessity  of  coming  in  the  night-time  to  the  field 
of  election,  and  that  he  himself  would,  by  six 
in  the  morning,  be  present  in  the  place  of  as- 
sembling. On  the  21st  of  November  Milo  came 
before  it  was  light  to  the  spot  where  the  assem- 
bly 

*  Viz.  Piiblius  Clodius  and  Appius  Clodius,  and  Metellus 
Nepos,  who  was  married  to  their  sister. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


245 


bly  was  held.  About  day-break,  Metellus  was 
seen  to  run,  like  a  thief,  along  by-roads,  towards 
the  field  of  election,  but  Milo  pursued  him,  and 
overtook  him  between  the  groves,  and  there  de^ 
clared,  that  the  auspices  were  exceptionable'. 
Metellus  was  then  obliged  to  leave  the  place, 
loaded   by   Quintus   Flaccus,    with   bitter    I'e- 

proaches. 

On  the  22nd   of  the  same  month  a  fair  was 
held,  nor  were  the  people  harangued  for  two 
days.     This  day  being  the  24th,    Milo  was  in 
possession  of  the  field  of  election  by  three  in  the 
morning,    when  I    wrote   this.     Our  candidate 
and  neighbour  Marcellus  snores  so  loud,  that  I 
hear  him  from  the  next  house.     I  am  told  that 
the  court-yard  of  Clodius  is  quite  empty  of  all 
but  a  few  tattered  wretches,  who  are  provided 
with  neither  clothes  nor  light     They   complai- 
ned that  by  my  prudence  alone  Clodius  was  baff- 
led in  all  his  measures,  little  knowing  what  spirit 
and  what  abilities  that  hero  possesses-     His  bra- 
very surpasses  credibility ;  but  I  give  you  only 

th\^  brief  account  of  his   achievements.      It  is 

sumcient 


1  Milo  olnuntiat.  When  tlie  aug^r  declared,  tliat  the  auspi- 
ces were  unexceptionable,  oinni  v'ltio  carere,  that  is,  that  there 
was  nothing  to  hinder  the  comitia  from  being  held,  he  said  Si- 
lentium  esse  videtur  ,•  but  if  not,  he  said  alio  die,  on  whicli  ac- 
count the  comitia  could  not  be  held  that  day.  This  declaration 
of  the  augur  was  called  olnuntiatio.  Adams's  Rom.  Antiq.  p. 
88.— E. 


246 


CICERCKS  EPISTLES 


sufficient  to  say,  in  short,  that  I  am  of  opinion 
the  elections  will  not  be  held,  and  that  Milo 
certainly  will  impeach  Clodius,  if  he  does  not 
beforehand  kill  him,  which  I  am  convinced  he 
will  do,  if  they  should  chance  to  meet\  This  I 
know  to  be  his  determined,  his  fixed,  resolution, 
without  being  in  the  least  discouraged  by  my 
fate.  No,  Milo  has  no  envious,  treacherous, 
companion  for  his  counsellor ;  he  puts  no  trust  in 
a  spiritless  great  man. 

As  to  my  own  part,  I  have  rather  more  spirits, 
than  when  I  was  at  the  height  of  my  fortune. 
My  private  circumstances  are  indeed  reduced ; 
yet  I  have  been  obliged  to  the  assistance  of  my 
friends  for  repaying  to  my  brother  Quintus  the 
sums  he  lent  me.  I  did  this  against  his  will, 
but  I  was  afraid  lest  he  should  be  utterly  re- 
duced. I  know  not,  in  your  absence,  how  to 
adjust  my  plan  of  conduct,  I  therefore  require 
your  speedy  presence. 


EPISTLE  IV. 

X  HAD  a  very  agreeable  visit  from  Cincius*  on 
the  30th  of  January  before  day- break,  for  he 
acquainted  me   with  your  being  in   Italy,  and 

that 

^  Cicero  here  guesses  pretty  exactly  at  what  afterwards  hap- 
pened, for  Clodius  was  actually  killed  by  Milo  in  this  manner. 
-  He  was  one  of  the  agents  of  Atticus, 


TO  ATTICUS. 


«47 


that  he  was  sending  off  some  slaves  to  meet 
you,  and  I  was  unwilling  they  should  go  with- 
out a  letter  from  me.     Not   that    I  had  afty 
thing  to  write  of  importance,  especially  as  you 
are  so  near  at  hand ;  but  I  was  willing  to  inti- 
mate to  you    how  extremely  dear  and  desira- 
ble your  arrival  is  to  me.  .  Fly  therefore  to  me 
upon  the  wings  of  affection ;  that  you  may  ac- 
cept a  proof  of  my  reciprocal  esteem.     I  can 
say  no  more  till  I  meet  you ;  I  am  hurried  while 
I  write ;  I  expect  that  my  house  will  be  the 
first  place  at  which  you  and  your  retinue  wUl 

stop  in  Rome. 

You  will,  when  paying  me  the  first  visit,  be 
entertained  with  the  fine  arrangement  of  my  li- 
brary by  Tyrannic'.  The  fragments,  which  I 
h^ve  collected,  are  more  valuable  than  I  imagi- 
ned. I  likewise  beg  in  the  meantime  two 
workmen  from  your  library,  whom  Tyrannic 
may  employ  as  pasters,  and  in  other  capacities, 
and  order  them  to  bring  along  with  them  some 
fine  vellum  for  labels,  which  you  Greeks,  I  think 
call  oi^Ax^ovi " ;  but  this  is  just  as  you  find  it  con- 
venient. 


I  This  gentleman  was  a  Greek,  and  an  excellent  grammarian 
He  had  been  taken  by  LucuUus  at  the  siege  of  Amisus,  and  had 
been  tutor  to  the  son  of  Quintus  Cicero. 

s  Ori"  Etiam  vellem  mihi  mittas  de  tuis  hbranolis  duos  ah- 
cms,  quxlus  Tyrannio  utatur  glutinaJorilus,  ad  ccelera  admvi- 

istris :  usque  imperts,  ut  sumant  membranulam,  ex  qua  indices 

fiant. 


248 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


venient  I  wish  you  could  so  order  matters, 
that  when  you  come,  you  may  make  some  stay  in 
this  place,  and  bring  Pilia  ^  along  with  you.  This 
is  but  reasonable,  and  my  daughter  likewise 
wants  to  see  her.  Now  I  think  of  it,  what  a 
charming  place  you  have  purchased  for  your 
gladiators,  who  I  hear  are  very  expert  in  their 
exercises.  If  you  had  a  mind  to  let  them  out, 
you  might  have  made  one  half  upon  the  other 
of  what  they  cost  you.  But  we  shall  talk  of 
this  afterwards.  Make  haste  to  come  to  me, 
and,  as  you  love  me,  do  not  forget  the  pasters. 


EPISTLE  V. 

Uo  you  really  say  so  ? — Can  you  imagine  there 
is  a  man  in  the  world,  whom  I  can  wish,  prefe- 
rably to  you,  to  read  and  approve  of  my  writ- 
ings ? 

fiant,  guos  vos  Gnsci,  ut^opinor,  avXXx^ss  (indices)  appellaiis. 
Commentators  have  differed  greatly  both  in  the  reading  and  the 
meaning  of  this  passage.  It  is  sufficient  for  me  to  observe, 
that  the  volu?nina,  or  volumes  of  the  Romans  were  large  rolls 
of  parchment  glewed  to  one  anotlier.  Salmasius  is  of  opinion, 
that  the  codices  were  pretty  much  of  the  same  form  with  our 
books.  Be  this  as  it  will,  it  is  certain,  that  the  workmen 
spoken  of  here,  were  employed  in  glewing  together  the  sheets 
of  parchment  or  vellum,  and  in  making  labels  with  proper 
ornaments  and  paintings,  which  were  to  be  affixed  to  every 
volume,  so  that  each  book  may  be  found  as  readily  as  we  find 
jhcm  by  titles  on  the  back. 
^  Thi3  was  the  wife  of  Atticus, 


TO  ATTICUS. 


^49 


ings  ?    Then  why,   say  you,  did  another  see  this 
composition  first.     The  truth  is,  I  was  teased  by 
the  person  to  whom  I  sent  it,  and  I  had  no  du- 
plicate.    Well,   would  you  know  more,   (for  I 
have  been  long  mincing  what  I  must  swallow)  I 
own  that  I  thought  a  recantation  was  mean  and 
scandalous  ;  but  I  must  abandon  the  dictates  of 
integrity,  truth,  and  honour.     Inconceivable  is 
the  sacrifice,   which  those  men '   wish   to  make 
of  their   faith,     and  which  they  would    really 
make,  if  indeed  they  had  any  faith  to  sacrifice. 
I  had  felt,  I  had   experienced,  this,  when  they 
led  me  on,  when  they  left  me,   and  when  they 
spurned  me  away;  yet  still  I  was  determined 
to  go  along  with  them  in  public  matters,  while 
their  conduct  continued  the  same  as  before,  and 

it 


1  The  men  here  alluded  to  were  Bibulus,  Cato,  and  other  pa- 
triots, who  opposed  the  usurpation  of  Caesar,  and  Pompey. 
Cicero,  from  motives  of  interest,  left  the  popular  party,  and 
the  cause  of  freedom,  and  sided  with  those  who  sought  to  en- 
slave  their  country.     By  this  step  Cicero  forfeited  for  ever  his 
character,  as  a  man  of  principle  and  honour  j  and  his  former 
friends,  in  the  number  of  whom  was  Cato,  appear  from  his 
own  language  in  this  place,  to  have  treated  him  with  the  ut- 
most  indignation  and  contempt.     In  a  long  epistle,  which  he 
wrote  to  Lentulus,  he  endeavours  to  palliate,  if  not  to  excul-. 
pate  his  conduct ;  but  the  principles,  as  it  has  been  justly  ob- 
served,  by  which  he  attempts  to  justify  himself,  are  such  as 
will  equally  defend  tlie  most  abandoned  prostitution  and  deser- 
tion in  political  conduct.      See  Melmoth's  Tran.  vol.  i.  p- 

197'—^' 


250 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTiCUS. 


251 


it  was  witli  difficulty  your  adnionitioiis  restored 
me  to  uiy  senses. 

You  will  tell  me,  that  you  pointed  out  the 
path  I  was  to  pursue,  that  you  conducted  me  to 
it,  but  never  advised  me  to  write  in  behalf  of  the 
usurpers.  I  speak  it  sincerely,  my  friend,  when 
I  tell  you  that  my  design  in  it  was  to  rivet  the 
new  coalition,  that  1  might  by  no  means  shift 
about  to  those  who  beheld  me  with  envy,  at  a 
juncture  when  they  ought  to  behold  me  with, 
compassion.  Yet,  as  I  wrote  you  before,  I  have 
been  very  moderate  on  the  subject.  But  I  will 
improve  the  paper,  if  Caesar  is  pleased  with  the 
composition,  and  if  it  grinds  those  who  cannot 
brook  my  being  in  possession  of  the  seat  that 
belonged  to  Catulus,  witliout  considering  that  I 
bought  it  of  ^^ettius.  Those  gentlemen,  at  the 
same  time  say,  that  I  had  more  occasion  to  have 
sold  one  of  my  houses  than  to  have  built  a  new 
one.  Uut  what  do  you  think :  If  at  any  time 
I  gave  my  opinion  on  the  same  side  with  theirs 
in  the  senate,  they  were  pleased  that  I  contra- 
dicted the  sentiments  of  Pompey.  This  is  too 
mucli.  But  since  I  cannot  have  friendship  from 
those  who  can  do  nothing,  I  must  take  care  to, 
have  it  from  those  who  can.  You  tell  me  that 
it  is  a  long  time  since  you  advised  me  to  this.  I 
know  if,  and  acknowledge  my  stupidity  in  not 
followmg  your  advice.  But  it  is  now  time  for 
me    to  be   my  own  friend,   since  I  can  by  no 

means 


v\ 


ifiems  secure  the  friendship  of  my  former  coad- 
jutors. 

I  take  it  very  kind  that  you  so  often  inspect 

my  builders.  I  have  given  Crassipes  the  money 
I  had  laid  aside  for  my  travelling  chai^ges.  Do 
you  meet  me  in  the  gardens  as  soon  as  I  shall 
alisht.  This  is  most  convenient  for  you.  Next 
day  I  may  happen  to  visit  you,  but  of  this  we 
will  consider  farther.  Your  workmen  have 
greatly  embellished  my  library  by  arranging  and 
labellipg  my  books.  I  beg  you  to  thank  them 
in  my  name. 


EPISTLE  VI. 

Believe  me,  I  have  a  due  sense  of  the  death 
of  Lentulus.  In  him  we  have  lost  an  excellent 
patriot  and  a  great  man,  a  man,  whose  magna- 
nimity was  tempered  by  politeness.  There  i&, 
however,  one  comfort  left  us,  though  a  melan- 
choly one,  which  should  alleviate  our  grief  at 
his  death.  I  do  not  mention  this  in  the  sense 
that  Saufeius  and  you,  Epicureans,  understand  it; 
but  I  think  that  some  favourable  providence  of 
the  Gods  rescued  a  patriot,  like  him,  from  the 
conflagration  of  his  country.  Let  me  ask  you, 
can  we  (I  speak  of  myself  in  particular)  breathe 
upon  viler  terms  than  we  do?  As  for  you, 
tliough  you  are  by  nature  adapted  for  public  af- 
fairs, 


252 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


fairs,  yet  you  have  no  particular  connections 
with  any  party,  and  you  take  your  chance  with 
your  neighbours.  But  for  me,  who,  if  I  speak 
upon  pubHc  affairs  as  I  ought,  am  deemed 
a  madman ;  if,  as  I  must,  a  slave,  and  if  I  am 
silent,  a  wretch  and  a  coward,  how  ought  I  to 
grieve  ?  And  even  that  grief  becomes  more 
stinging  in  that  I  cannot  express  it  without  incur- 
ring the  charge  of  ingratitude. 

Suppose  then  I  should  at  once  suspend  my 
political  career,  and  take  shelter  in  the  har- 
bour of  retirement  But  I  cannot  adopt  this 
resolution  ;  for  my  element  is  political  warfare. 
Shall  I  then  be  a  follower,  who  refused  to  be  a 
leader.  Well,  be  it  so,  since  that  course  seems 
to  be  most  agreeable  to  your  sentiments.  Would 
to  heaven  I  had  always  paid  the  same  deference 
to  them.  I  am  to  persevere  in  that  course 
which  I  have  adopted  ^  That  indeed,  is  what  I 
am  unable  to  do,  and  I  cannot  but  commend 
Philoxenus,  who  preferred  to  go  to  prison  than 
to  dissemble  his  sentiments.  While  I  am  here, 
I  do  all  I  can  to  bring  myself  to  another  way 
of  thinking,  by  condemning  those  maxims,  and 
in  this  you  will  be  of  great  use  to  me  when 
we  meet  together. 

I  perceive  that  you  frequently  write  to  me, 

but 


*  Orig.  Zircc^rxv  i^»x^s,  rxvrtxv  xoafin.  A  proverbial  ex- 
pression that  we  should  be  content  with  that  station  which 
is  allotted  to  us.— E. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


253 


but  to  my  inexpressible  concern,  I  received  all 
your  letters  at  one  and  the  same  time.  For  I 
happened  to  read  three  'of  them  beforehand,  in 
which  you  seemed  to  have  some  hopes  of  Len- 
tulus,  for  which  reason,  the  fourth  came  upon 
me  like  a  thunderbolt  But,  as  I  said  before, 
he  is  not  miserable,  though  we  are  enslaved. 

As  to  what  you  write  me  concerning  my  ad- 
dress to  Hortensius,  I  am  otherwise  employed  ; 
but  I  will  not  forget  what  you  recommended. 
But,  indeed  I  was  shocked  when  I  first  sat  down 
to  do  it,  lest,  as  I  had  stupidly  borne  with  the 
excesses  of  a  man  who  cannot  be  called  my  friend, 
I  should  as  stupidly  expose  his  injustice  by  my 
writing,  while,  at  the  same  time,  my  real  senti- 
ments, which  were  visible  in  my  actions,  may 
become  still  more  visible  in  my  writing,  and 
thus  betraying  some  inconsistence.  But  I  will 
consider  farther  of  it. 

I  beer  you  will  let  me  hear  from  you  as  often 
as  possible.  Obtain  from  Lucceius  a  copy  of  the 
letter  I  sent,  to  beg  him  to  write  an  account  of 
my  transactions.  It  is  handsomely  penned; 
press  him  to  forward  the  work,  and  thank  him 
for  informing  me,  that  he  will  undertake  it.  Go 
as  occasion  may  require,  and  inspect  my  buil- 
ding. Do  not  forget  my  compliments,  when  you 
see  Vestorius,  for  his  conduct  towards  me  has 
been  very  generous. 

EPISTLE 


554 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


EPISl  LE  VII. 


^JoTniXG  could  coinc  more  opportunely  thart 
your  letter  did,  for  allaying  my  concern  about 
that  excellent  youth  my  nephew  Quintus.  Chae- 
rippus  had  been  with  me  two  hours  before,  with 
the  most  alarming  accounts.  As  to  what  you 
write  me  concerning  Apollonius,  may  the  Gods 
confound  that  Graecian  if  he  thinks  that  he  can 
screen  himself,  as  the  Roman  knights  do,  from 
the  pursuit  of  his  prior  creditors.  Terentius, 
has  a  right  to  do  it ;  as  to  iNIetellus,  there  has 
not  a  citizen  for  these  many  years — but  peace 
be  to  the  dead.  I  will  answer  for  the  money  he 
owed  you.  What  are  you  afraid  of,  conside- 
ring whom  he  has  made  his  heir  ?  Has  he  not 
made  Clodius,  and  thus  his  last  action  was  tlie 
only  honest  one  in  his  life.  I  doubt,  therefore, 
you  will  not  be  put  to  the  trouble  of  locking  up 
this  sum  m  your  strong  chest ;  in  time  to  come 
you  will  learn  to  be  more  cautious. 

Pray  remember  what  I  reconnnended  to  yoH 
concerning  my  house,  and  to  hire  a  guard  for 
my  workmen.  My  friends  in  Arpinum  make  a 
prodigious  noise  concerning  my  brothers  coun- 
try house.  Wlrdt  will  you  have  me  say  ?  I  own 
it  gives  me  pajn  ;  as  for  him  he  laughs  at  the  talk 

of 


TO  ATTICUS. 


255 


of  the  public.  I  have  nothing  to  say  farther 
than  to  recommend  to  your  care  and  affection 
our  young  nephew. 


EPISTLE  VIII. 

1.  AM  pleased  with  many  passages  in  your  letter, 
especially  with  your  witticisms  upon  my  frugal 
diet.  As  to  the  reduction  of  my  debts  by  my  fru- 
gality, you  are  not  to  felicitate  me,  since  you  are 
to  count  no  one  happy  before  his  deaths 

I  find  nothing  built  for  you  upon  your  grounds 
here.     There  is  something  in  the  town  that  may 

suit  you,  as  it  lies  contiguous  to  my  house ;  but 

there 


^  This  is  a  very  obscure  passage,  partly  from  its  brevity,  and 
still  more  so  from  not  knowing  what  were  the  \\«ords  of  Atticus 
to  which  Cicero  alludes.  But  the  purpose  and  spirit  of  it 
leems  to  be  this.  Cicero,  in  order  to  reduce  his  expences,  and 
pay  the  heavy  debts  in  which  his  political  misfortunes  had 
plunged  him,  lived  in  a  homely,  countrified  way,  his  entertain- 
ment being  tyrotarichus,  a  Greek  word  signifying  salted  curds, 
(rv^orx^i^os.)  His  friend,  smiling  at  this  specimen  of  his  fru- 
gality, and  knowing  his  extravagances  in  other  respects,  espe- 
cially in  his  library  and  buildings,  sarcastically  observes  that 
his  favourite  coarse  dish  would  no  doubt  reduce  his  debts  into 
very  moderate  demands  {raudusculum ,  the  diminutive  of  ran- 
do,  which  among  the  old  Romans  signified  money),  and  he 
would  be  a  happy  exception  to  the  maxim  of  Solon,  That  no 
one  ums  to  be  pronounced  happy  before  his  death,  ^ytvuy  /xsya» 
jiTrrjf,  iT^tv  rt7.iva-a,yr  /W,  This  verse  is  preserved  only  by 
Stobaeus,  and  ascribed  by  him  to  Sophocles. — E, 


256 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


there  is  some  doubt  whether  it  is  to  be  solA 
You  are  to  know  that  Antium,  with  regard  to 
Rome,  is  as  your  Buthrotum  is  to  Corcyra.  No- 
thins  can  be  more  retired,  nothing  more  serene, 
nothing  more  pleasurable.  Even  our  best  be- 
loved place  of  birth  loses  its  charms,  when  com- 
pared with  Antium.  But  my  seat  here,  charm- 
in<^  as  it  is,  received  new  life  from  the  arrange- 
ment  of  my  books  by  Tyrannio,  who  had  much  ^ 
assistance  in  his  work  from  your  servants,  Diony- 
sius  and  Menophilus.  Nothing  could  make  a 
handsomer  appearance  than  your  shelves  did, 
after  they  had  labelled  all  my  books.  It  is 
prodigious.  Write  me  concerning  the  gladia- 
tors, I  mean,  if  they  have  behaved  well  ;  if  other- 
wise, say  nothing  about  them. 

Apenas  had  but  just  left  me,  when  I  received 
vour  letter.  But  what  do  you  say  that  that  law 
will  not  be  moved  for  ?  I  beg  you  will  speak 
out,  for  I  can  scarcely  hear  your  voice;  let  me 
know  the  truth,  as  soon  as  you  can  with  conve- 
niency  to  yourself.  It  happens  conveniently  for 
me,  that  the  public  diversions  are  continued  a 
day  longer,  for  I  shall  pass  here  another  joyful 
day  with  Dionysius.  I  entirely  agree  with  your 
sentiments  concerning  Trebonius. 

As  to  Domitius,  one  egg  is  not  indeed  more 
like  another ',  than  his  case  is  to  mine  in  all  its 

circum- 

*  Orig.  IvxM  (JLX  TDK  Ar/w,*jT^»  <ryxoi»  a  5e  \v  Ovtu  of^otov  ytyouv, 
A  proverb,  literally,  onefg  is  not  It/  Ceres  more  like  another fg. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


257 


circumstances."  Both  of  us  have  been  betray- 
ed by  the  same  men ;  neither  of  us  expected  it, 
and  neither  of  us  found  in  them  one  grain  of 
honour.  In  one  respect  we  differ,  that  he  de- 
serves what  he  has  met  with.  As  for  his  fate,  I 
know  not  if  it  is  better  than  mine.  For  what 
can  be  more  mortifying  than  that  the  man  who 
seemed,  from  the  moment  he  was  born,  to  be 
destined  for  the  consulship,  pever  should  enter 
upon  that  office,  especially  as  he  is  the  only 
candidate,  or  at  least  has  no  more  than  one 
competitor.  But  if  it  be  true,  as  I  know  not 
whether  it  is  or  not,  that  in  the  consular  calen- 
dar he  stands  as  far  from  that  office  as  ever, 
what  can  be  more  wretched  than  his  situation, 
what,  I  say,  can  be  more  desperate,  excepting 
the  state  of  the  public  itself,  which  is  now  irre- 
coverable \ 

You  gave  me  the  first  accounts  I  received 
concerning  Natta;  I  always  hated  that  fellow. 
What  do  you  mean  by  inquiring  after  my  poem  ? 

Suppose 


I  The  original  of  this  paragraph,  which  the  reader  may  con- 
sult, is  inexpressibly  intricate.  I  have  translated  it  from  the 
best  readings,  as  I  think  Cicero  meant  it.  It  is,  however,  pro- 
per for  the  reader  to  know  that  this  Domitius  iEnobarbus  stood 
for  the  consulship,  and  would  infallibly  have  carried  it,  had 
not  Pompey  and  Crassus  prevailed  with  Cato  to  have  the  elec- 
tion postponed,  and  by  that  means  qualified  themgelves  to  be 
candidates,   ajid  were  chosen. 

Vol.  I.  S 


258 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


259 


Suppose  it  were  to  be  published — Tell  me — 
Would  you  suffer  it  ?  But  to  proceed  in  an- 
swer to  your  letter.  I  received  many  civili- 
ties from  Fabius  Luscus  ;  nor  did  I  ever  hold  him 
in  disrespect,  for  l>g  had  a  good  share  of  quick- 
ness, modesty,  and  decency.  I  thought  he  had 
been  gone  from  Rome,  because  I  had  not  seen  him 
for  a  long  time  ;  but  I  understood  from  Gavius 
of  f  irmum,  that  the  city  was  his  constant  resi- 
dence. Why,  you  will  tell  me,  should  you  be 
startled  with  so  trifling  an  incident  ?  The  truth 
is,  he  brought  me  a  great  deal  of  confidential 
intelligence  concerning  the  Firmian  Brothers. 
I  know  not  what  cause  has  alienated  him,  if  in- 
deed any  such  cause  exisits. 

I  will,  as  you  advise  me,  conduct  myself  in 
public  matters,  with  a  proper  circumspection, 
and  steer  the  middle  course.  But  this  requires 
more  abilities  than  I  possess.  I  must,  as  usual, 
be  assisted  by  you.  I  wish  you  would  sound 
Fabius,  if  you  have  any  access  to  him,  and  sift 
that  messmate  of  yours,  and  send  me  daily  intel- 
ligence of  that  and  all  other  matters.  Write  to 
me,  though  all  you  have  to  say  is,  that  you  have 
nothing  to  write.     I  wish  you  well. 


EPISTLE 


EPISTLE   IX. 

A  REPORT  prevails  atPuzzoli,  that  Ptolemy^ 
has  regained  his  throne.  Inform  me,  if  you  have 
any  certainty  of  this.  I  am  here  feasted ;  you 
think,  I  suppose,  upon  the  delicacies  of  Puzzoli^ 
and  the  lake  of  Lucrinus,  No  ;  upon  the  library 
of  Faustus.  I  have  even  my  sensual^  as  well  as 
intellectual,  entertainments.  But,  indeed,  books 
alone  give  me  support  and  refreshment,  so  insi- 
pid and  tastless  are  all  other  amusements  and 
pleasures  become  to  me,  through  the  wretched 
situation  of  my  country ;  and  I  had  rather  fill 
the  little  bench  in  your  library,  under  the  bust 
of  Aristotle,  than  fill  the  highest  seat  of  govern- 
ment ^ ;  nay,   I  had  rather  take  a  turn  at  your 

house, 

*  Ptolemy  ^uletes  was  the  father  of  the  famous  Cleopatra. 
His  story  is  well  known  from  our  author's  other  Epistles,  and 
that  after  being  driven  from  his  throne,  he  was  restored  by 
Gabinius,  at  the  head  of  a  Roman  army,  in  express  contradic- 
tion to  the  Sibylline  verses,  whilst  our  author,  in  vain  endea- 
voured to  procure  that  commission  for  his  friend  Lentulus. 

^  Tliis  was  a  sea-town  near  Naples  and  the  Lucrine  Lake, 
which  lay  in  its  neighbourhood,  and  is  now  a  nasty  marsh,  fa- 
mous for  shell-fish,  especially  oysters. 

^  Orig.  Sella  Curulis*  This  was  a  kind  of  elbow-chair, 
of  a  particular  form,  ornamented  with  ivory,  and  appropriated 
to  the  use  of  the  consuls,  proetors,  and  the  great  iEdiles,  wh(> 
for  that  reason  were  called  Curule  Magistrates. 

.  S2 


\ 


S260 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


£61 


house,  and  in  your  company,  than  walk  with  the 
man,  whom,  I  foresee,  I  shall  be  obliged  to  fol- 
low'. But  let  fortune,  or,  if  there  is  a  provi- 
dence, let  providence,  look  to  that  walk. 

I  beg  you  will  look  after,  as  often  as  you  can, 
the  building  of  my  gallery,  my  stove,  and  every 
thing  that  has  been  designed  by  Cyrus,  and  urge 
Philotimus  to  forward  the  workmen,  that  I  may 
not  be  quite  behind  hand  with  you  in  matters, 
that  are    to  your  own  taste.     Pompey  came  to 
his  house  at  Cuma?  yesterday,   being  the  21st  of 
April,  and  immediately  sent  one  to  present  me 
with  his  compliments.     Having  finished  my  let- 
ter this  morning,  I  am  now  setting  out  to  pay 
him  a  visit. 


EPISTLE  X. 

1  SHOULD  be  glad  to  know  if  there  is  any 
ground  for  a  report  we  have  here,  that  the  tri- 
bunes, by  pretending  to  observe  the  auspices, 
prevent  the  enrolment  of  the  people,  and  what 
the  behaviour  and  sentiments  of  the  people  are, 

with 

1  This  seems  to  be  the  sense  of  Cicero.  But  there  is,  in 
the  original  an  allusion  of  no  great  imporlance  with  regard  to  a 
visit,  wiiich  Cicero  intended  to  pay  to  Pompey  the  persoa  here 
spoken  of. 


I 


With  regard  to   the  censorship^?     I  have  been 
here   for  some   time   with  Pompey.     We  have 
conversed  much  about  public  affairs.     If  we  may 
believe  him    (for  I  cannot  speak  of  him  with- 
out this  restriction)  he  was  dissatisfied  with  him- 
self; he  looked  with  contempt  on  the  government 
of  Syria,  with  indifference  on  that  of  Spain. — If 
we  may  believe  him,  (for  still  I  think  that  is  the 
characteristic   which  we  must  affix  to  him,   as 
Phocylides  did  a  peculiar  mark  to  his  own  works) 
he  is  very  much  obliged  to  you  for  arranging  the 
statues  in    his    amphitheatre.     With  regard  to 
me,  he  seemed,  indeed,  to  pour  out  his  soul  in 
tenderness  and   confidence.     He  even  came  to 
Cumse  from  his  own  house  to  see  me.     He  ap- 
peared 

*    The  censorial  authority,   if  virtuously   exercised  in  the 
reformation  of  manners,  and  the  degradation  of  senators,  no- 
blemen, and  knights,  who  were  unworthy  of  their  stations, 
might  have  still  saved  the  constitution  of  Rome.     But  yet  I 
cannot  help  being  of  opinion  that  their  power,  which  was  dis- 
cretionary, and  could  be  circumscribed  only  by  their  own  vir- 
tue and  judgment,  was  very  liable  to  abuse  in  that  degenerated 
state  of  the  republic,  when  our  author  wrote.     It  was,  per- 
haps, not   without  very  plausible  reasons,  that  the  tribunes  of 
Cesar's  faction,  repressed  their  authority,  which   if  properly 
exercised,  might  have  been  an  unsurmountable  bar  to  his  am- 
bition.   The  enrolment  here  spoken  of  ought,  by  the  laws  of 
Rome,  to  have  been  performed  every  five  years,  and  was  a  very 
useful  piece  of  policy.     For  the  names,  ages,  number  of  chil- 
dren, and  the  value  of  the  estates  of  all  citizens  being  enrolled, 
the  government  always  had  the  means  of  making  a  pretty  exac4; 

estimate  of  the  strength  of  the  state. 


262 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


Q63 


peared  not  a  little  displeased  at  Messala's*  stan- 
ding for  the  consulship.  I  wish  you  would  in- 
form me  what  you  know  concerning  that  fact 

I  am  obliged  to  you  for  the  assurance  that 
you  will  recommend  the  embellishment  of  my 
actions  to  Lucceius,  and  that  you  frequendy 
look  after  my  builders.  My  brother  Quintus 
writes  me  word,  that  he  has  his  dear  Cicero 
along  with  him  ;  he  will  see  you  about  the  7  th  of 
May.  I  left  Cumae  yesterday,  being  the  27th  of 
April ;  I  lodged  all  night  at  Naples  with  Laetus, 
and  I  write  this  early  on  the  20th  in  the  morn- 
ing, on  my  journey  to  my  house  at  Pompeia. 


EPISTLE    XI. 

1  WAS  delighted  with  your  letters,  which  I  re- 
ceived the  last  day  of  last  month.  Pray  write 
me  the  remainder  of  that  story,  for  I  am  impati- 
ent to  know  it.  There  is  another  matter  which 
I  beg  you  to  examine ;  you  may  do  it  by  means 
of  Demetrius'.     Pompey  told  me,   that  he  had 

made 

1  Pompey  opposed  him   because    be  befriended   Scaurus, 

Pompey's  antagonist. 

2  This  was  the  famous  slave  and  freedman  of  Pompey, 
who  had  amassed  so  much  money  in  the  war  against  Mi- 
thridates,  that  after  building  one  of  the  most  magnificent  am- 
phitheatres  in  Rome,  and  laying  out  gardens  at  an  immense 
cxpence,  he  died  worth  about  500,0001.  of  our  money. 


y^ 

i 


made  an  appointment  with  Crassus,  at  his  seat 
at  Alba,   the  28th  of  this  month,  from  whence 
they  were  to  set  out  together  for  Rome  to  settle 
accounts  with  the  farmers  of  the  revenue.     I 
asked  him,  whether  they  would  engage  in  that 
business,  while  the  gladiators  were  exhibiting.  He 
replied,    that  it  would    be   finished  before  that 
exhibition  commenced.     If  you  know,  either  at 
present,  or  when  Pompey  comes  to  Rome,  what 
there  is  in  this  matter, .  I   beg  that  you  will  in- 
form me.     I  am  here  devouring  books   with  Di- 
onysius  who  sends  his  compliments  to   you  and 
all  your  friends,    and  whom  I  regard  as  a  ve- 
ry extraordinary  man.     Nothing  gives  pleasure 
equal  to  extensive  knowledge.      As,  therefore,  I 
am  a  person  who  thirsts  for  information,  write 
me  all  that  passed  upon  the  first  and  second  days 
of  the   month;  how  the  censors  behaved,  what 
is  become  of  the  solicitation  of  Appius,  of  his 
brother  Clodius,  and  of  Apuleius  the  effeminate 
idol  of  the  populace'.     In  short,  write  me  what 
you  are  yourself  employed  in.     For  to  say  the 
truth,  I  am  not  so  much  pleased  with  the  ac- 
counts of  fresh  occurrences  as  with  your  letters. 
I  have  carried    nobody  with  me  but  Dionysius, 
and  yet,  even  though  you    are  not  liere,   I  am 
not  afraid  that  I  shall  want  materials  for  con- 
versation.    I  am  entertained  with  an  agreeable 

employ- 

1  He  was  a  seditious  tribune  under  Marius. 


264 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


employment.  Pray  give  my  book  to  Luceeius. 
I  send  you  the  treatise  of  Demetrius  Magnes  \ 
that  you  may  have  an  immediate  opportunity  of 
returning  me  an  answer  by  the  bearer. 


EPISTLE  XIL 


E 


GNATius^is  at  Rome,  but  I  had  a  very  serious 


discourse  with  him  at  Antium  concerning  the  affair 
of  Halimetus.  He  gave  me  fresh  assurances  that 
he  would  act  in  good  earnest  with  Aquileius.  If 
you  please 'therefore,  you  will  give  Egnatius  a 
meeting.  I  hardly  think  that  I  can  succeed  for 
Macro ;  for  there  is  a  sale  at  Larinum,  which 
will  last  for  two  days.  I  hope  you  will  excuse 
my  failure,  though  I  perceive  you  have  a  great 
regard  for  Macro ;  but  as  you  love  me,  I  abso- 
lutely insist  that  you  and  Pilia  sup  with  me  the 
2d  of  next  month.  I  am  thinking  of  supping 
on  the  1st  in  the  gardens  of  my  son-in-law  Cras- 

sipes,  whom  I  will  visit,  though  he  lies  out  of  my 

road, 

*  The  subject  of  this  book,  was  a  treatise  concerning  una- 
nimity amongst  fellow  citizens  (tst^i  IfMOfoix^ ,)  and  some  com- 
mentators have  thought  that  it  was  written  by  the  freed  man  of 
Pompey. 

^  He  was  a  Roman  knight,  and  a  great  friend  to  our  au- 
thor. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


a65 


road,  because  I  intend  to  elude  the  resolution 
of  the  senate  ^  After  supper  I  will  go  to  my 
house  in  the  town,  that  I  may  be  early  next  morn- 
ing with  Milo ;  I  will  see  you  there,  and  re- 
mind you  of  my  invitation.  All  here  send  their 
compliments  to  you. 


EPISTLE  XIIL 

I  PERCEIVE  that  you  know  of  my  arrival  at 
Tusculanum,  the  15th  of  November,  where  Dio- 
nysius  favoured  me  with  his  company.  I  intend, 
or  rather  I  am  obliged,  to  be  at  Rome  by  the 
14th  of  next  month,  when  Milo's  nuptials  are  to 
be  celebrated';  not  to  mention  that  there  is  some 
expectation  that  the  popular  assemblies  will,  at 
that  time,  be  held  I  I  am  not  sorry  that  I  was 
absent  from  the  senate-house,  as  I  hear  the  de- 
bates 


1  Orig.  Facio  fraudem  S.  C.  If  a  Senator  was  in  Rome, 
and  did  not  attend  the  service  of  the  house  the  first  day  of  the 
month,  he  was  fined  by  a  standing  order  of  the  house  j  but 
Cicero  eluded  this  fine  by  being  in  the  neighbourhood,  though 
not  within  tlie  walls  of  Rome. 

2  He  married  the  dictator  Sylla's  daughter. 

3  Those  elections  were  generally  held  in  the  month  of 
July  J  but  the  meeting  was  adjourned  this  year  to  the  end  of 
November. 


266 


CICERO^  EPISTLES 


bates  were  violent  and  tumultuous  \*  for  I  must 
either  have  spoken  against  my  sentiments,  or 
h^ve  failed  in  my  duty.  But  I  beg  you  will  write, 
as  exactly  as  possible,  an  account  of  all  those 
matters,  and  of  the  present  state  of  the  com- 
monwealth, and  with  what  spirit  the  consuls  bear 
this  commotion.  I  feel  an  anxious  desire^  to  hear 
every  thing ;  and,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  every^ 
thing  alarms  me. 

1  understand,  that  after  our  countryman  Cras- 
sus  ^  assumed   the   imperial  robe,  he  left  Rome 

with 


*  One  of  the  most  terrible  effects  of  the  triumvirate  between 
Caesar,  Crassus,  and  Pompey,  was  the  two  latter  obtaining, 
by  their  interest,  the  prolongation  of  Caesar's  government  of 
Gaul  for  five  years  3  while  Pompey,  by  Caesar's  interest,  ob- 
tained the  government  of  Spain,  and  Crassus  that  of  Syria. 

*  Grig.  O^i'jrtivos.     I  am  keenly  thirsty  to  hear. 

5  Crassus  was  both  ambitious  and  avaricious  j  and  to  gratify 
the  latter  passion,  he  had  obtained  the  government  of  Syria, 
that  he  might  make  war  against  the  Parthians,  by  which  he  ex- 
pected immense  treasures.  As  nothing  makes  a  man  more 
odious,  as  well  as  contemptible,  tlian  avarice  does,  there  was 
I  kind  of  a  conspiracy  amongst  all  ranks  of  men  against  this 
expedition ;  and  the  auspices  which  were  taken,  according  to 
custom,  previous  to  his  departure,  being  found  unfavourable, 
the  tribune  Attius,  after  pronouncing  a  form  of  imprecation 
against  him,  if  he  departed,  which  was  thought  by  the  people 
to  carry  along  with  it  infallible  damnation,  would  even  have 
•topped  him  by  force,  had  not  Crassus  escaj^  in  the  tumult 
out  of  Rome.  We  need  not,  therefore,  have  recourse  to  any 
supernatural  interpositioUj^  that  enforced  tbis  imprecation  to 

the 


TO  ATTICUS- 


S67 


with  less  pomp  than  Lucius  Paulus,  though  his 
equal  in  age  and  dignity.  He  is,  indeed,  a  base 
man.  I  have  bestowed  great  pains  upon  my 
treatise,  concerning  an  orator,  having  often  re- 
vised and  carefully  corrected  it  You  are  at  li- 
berty to  copy  it  out.  I  again  entreat  you  to  be 
very  distinct  in  informing  me  of  the  present  state 
of  public  aifairs,  that  I  may  not  come  to  Rome 
quite  a  stranger. 


EPISTLE  XIV. 

Our  friend  Vestorius  writes  me  word  that  you 
did  not  leave  Rome  before  the  10th  of  May, 
which  was  later  than  you  intended,  on  account 
of  your  indisposition.  It  will  give  me  sincere 
pleasure  to  hear  that  you  are  recovered.  In  the 
meanwhile,  I  beg  that  you  will  send  a  written 
order  to  your  domestics,  that  I  may  have  admit- 
tance to  your  library,  in  the  same  manner,  as  if 
you  w^ere  present.  I  have  occasion  for  several 
books,  but  more  particularly  for  those  of  Var- 
ro  \     For  there  are  some  passages  in  his  books, 

which 

the  destruction  of  Crassus  and  his  army ;  because,  in  fact,  it 
carried  along  witli  it  a  real  and  a  physical  cause,  by  the  effects 
it  produced  upon  the  spirits,  both  of  his  men  and  officers. 

1  He  was  at  this  time  lieutenant  to  Caesar  in  his  govern- 
ment of  Gaul. 


/ 


26S 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


which  I  shall  make  use  of  in  the  treatises  I  am 
now  composing,  and  which  I  am  in  hopes  will 
give  you  pleasure. 

If  you  have  any  news  concerning  my  brother 
Quintus,  or  of  Caesar,  or  of  the  elections;  or  if  any 
new  changes  are  likely  to  take  place  in  the  com- 
monwealth (for  I  know  how  quick  and  sagacious 
you  are  in  tracing  these  matters  ^  pr2iy>  l^t  me 
have  them  in  writing.  Though  you  have  no- 
thing of  importance  to  write,  yet  write  me  some- 
what, for  I  never  thought  a  letter  of  yours, 
cither  unseasonable  or  uninteresting.  Above 
all  things,  I  beg  that  you  M^ill  visit  me,  the 
first  opportunity,  after  you  have  settled  agreeably 
to  your  wishes,  your  afiairs,  and  your  journey. 
Present  my  compliments  to  Dionysius.  Fare- 
wel. 


EPISTLE 


1  The  original  is,  So/py  enim  tu  hcpc  fcstine  odorari,  lite- 
rally, you  are  used  to  smell  out  these  things  with  swiftness. 
Some  commentators  propose  to  read  festive  instead  of  fes tine, 
as  more  elegant  and  appropriate.  The  proposed  emendation, 
however,  is  frigid  and  impertinent ;  and  the  propriety  of  the 
common  reading  will  appear,  when  it  is  observed  that  the  lan- 
guage is  borrowed  from  a  dog  that  is  quick  in  smelling  and 
pursuing  the  game.  The  same  sagacity  is  ascribed  by  Miner- 
va to  Ulysses  Kvyos  Aaxai»jj  Ivs  rts  tv^ivos  ^xa-iS' 


TO  ATTICUS. 


269 


X 


EPISTLE  XV. 


1  AM  glad  to  hear  of  the  good  fortune  of  Euty- 
chides,  who,  to  his  own  name,  has  that  of  Titus 
Caecilius  now  added,  in  the  same  manner  as 
Dionysius  takes  the  name  of  Marcus  from  me, 
and  that  of  Pomponius  from  you.  It  will  give 
me  sensible  pleasure,  if  Eutychides  knew  that  he 
is  obliged  for  his  liberty  to  your  kindness  for 
me,  that  I  was  no  stranger  to  the  sympathy  he 
shewed  in  my  trouble,  and  that  I  still  have  a 
proper  sense  of  it.  I  suppose  you  are  under  the 
necessity  of  going  to  Asia,  for  you  never,  with- 
out the  most  urgent  occasion,  would  so  long 
banish  yourself  from  all  that  is  dear  to  you  in 
friendship  and  in  life.  But  a  judgment  may 
be  formed  of  your  tenderness  and  affection  for 
your  friends,  by  the  quickness  of  your  return. 
Yet  I  am  apprehensive  that  the  Rhetorician 
Clodius^  may,  by  the  charms  of  his  conversati- 
on induce  you  to  stay,  together  with  Pituanius', 
who  is,  I  hear,  a  very  learned  man,  and  though 
late  in  life,  is  now  studying  the  Greek  learning. 
But  if  you  would   be    deemed  a  man    of  your 

word 


*  He  was  a  famous  professor  of  rhetoric,  a  native  of  Sicily, 
and  taught  both  in  Latin  and  Greek. 

^  He  seems  to  have  been  of  a  noble  family  in  Rome. 


270 


CICEIIOS  EPISTLES 


word,  return  to  us  at  the  time  you  have  appoint- 
ed. \\'hen  these  gentlemen  shall  meet  with  a 
safe  passage  to  Rome,  you  may  have  their  com- 
pany there. 

You  write,  that  you  long  to  have  a  letter  from 
me  ;  I  have  sent  vou  one  which  contains  a  ^reat 
number  of  particulars,  all  of  them  written  in  the 
form  of  a  journal,  but  I  conjecture  you  did  not 
stay  long  enough  in  Epirus  to  receive  it ;  for 
the  manner  in  which  I  write  my  letters,  at  least 
those  I  address  to  you,  is  generally  such,  that  I 
dare  not  trust  them  with  any  bearer,  but  one 
who  I  am  sure  a\  ill  put  them  into  your  own 
hand.  Now  as  to  the  affairs  of  Rome.  On  the 
9th  of  July,  Sufenas*  and  Cato  were  acquitted 
and  Procilius  was  condemned.  From  this  we 
may  learn,  that  our  very  upright  judges^  pay  no 
regard  to  bribery  and  violence,  nor  to  the  inter- 
val between  the  expiration  and  the  election  of 
magistrates,  and  the  treasonable  violations  of  the 
whole  system  of  government.  We  surely  ought 
not  to  sanction  the  murder  of  a  man  within  his 
own  house ;  yet  this  question  was  not  carried 

without 

*  Those  three  persons  had  been  tribunes  of  the  people  two 
years  before,  and  were  now  impeached  for  undue  practices  to 
favour  the  election  of  Pompey  and  Crassus,  two  of  them  were 
acquitted,  but  the  third,  Procilius,  having  been  guilty  of  an 
assassination  was  cast. 

-  Orig.  r^icxfitioTtxyirxsy  thrice  areopagites,  i.  e.  very  upright 
judges,  ironiadly  for  very  corrupt  judges. — E. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


271 


without  a  division;  for,  out  of  fifty  judges, 
twenty- two  were  for  acquitting  the  criminal  It 
must  be  owned,  that  Publius  Clodius,  who  ap- 
peared for  the  prosecution,  made  in  the  conclu- 
sion of  his  speech  a  strong  impression  upon  the 
minds  of  the  judges.  Hortensius  spoke  in  his 
usual  manner.  As  for  me,  I  did  not  open  my 
lips ;  for  my  little  girl,  who  is  now  unwcl,  wa» 
afraid  of  my  throwing  out  somewhat  to  exas- 
perate Clodius. 

When  these  trials  were  over,  the  inhabitants 
of  Reate  ^  carried  me  to  their  country,  which  is 
another  Tempe  for  beauty,  to  plead  their  cause 
against  those  of  Interamni^  before  a  consul  and 
ten  commissaries.  The  case  was,  that  Interamni 
tad  cut  a  passage  through  a  mountain  to  widen 
the  discharge  which  Marcus  Curius  had  given  to 
the  lake  Velinus  into  the  Nar,  by  which  the 
plain  of  Rosia^  is  drained  of  its   humidity,      I 

lived 


1  This  was  the  capital  of  the  Sabines.  It  is  at  present  called 
Rieti,  and  lies  in  the  dukedom  of  Spoleto. 

2  At  present  Terani  or  Terni,  and  was  situated  upoii  a  kind 
of  Island  at  the  conflux  of  a  cut  from  the  lake  Velinus  and  the 
Nar.  Cicero  sufficiently  explains  the  nature  of  this  cause. 
But  it  is  proper  to  observe,  that  this  cut  was  made  about  MQ 
years  before  Christ,  by  Marcus  Curius  Dentatus,  after  he  had 
conquered  the  Sabines. 

3  This  country  still  keeps  its  name  Rosia,  or  the  Dew>',  from 
the  perpetual  dews  that  fell  upon  it  from  the  exhalations  of  the 
neighbouring  lakes  and  rivers. 


£72 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


273 


lived  some  time  with  Accius^  who  conveyed  me 
from  his  own  house  to  the  Seven  Fountains".  On 
the  yth  of  June,  I  returned  to  Rome  to  attend 
the  aft'air  of  Fonteius.  I  then  went  to  the  the- 
atre, where  I  was  received  with  great  and  unin- 
terrupted applause.  But  that,  you  say,  is  matter 
of  indifference,  and  foreign  in  me  to  mention. 
I  next  saw  Antiphon'  play.  He  had  been  set  at 
liberty  before  he  came  upon  the  stage,  and  in  a 
T\ord,  he  carried  away  the  prize  of  acting,  and 
yet,  to  speak  it  among  ourselves,  he  appeared 
to  me  to  possess  neither  voice  nor  energy,  and 
is  indeed  a  sluggish  actor,  lie,  however,  excel- 
led Astyanax  in  the  Andromache,  but  in  his 
other  characters  he  is  without  his  equal.  You 
will  perhaps  ask  mc  concerning  Arhuscula*,  and 
I  answer  that  she  gave  me  great  satisfaction. 
The  diversions,  were  magnificent  and  highly  ap- 
plauded. 

'  He  was  a  Roman  «;enator. 

*  This  was  one  of  the  oldest  villages  in  all  Italy,  and  lay  in 
the  country  of  the  Reaimi  near  the  lake  Velinus. 

3  Most  of  the  Ronwn  actors  were  originally  slaves,  a  condi- 
tion which  cannot  be  said  to  be  despicable,  because  it  was 
from  them  that  Rome  learned  all  her  arts  and  politene^.  But 
when  an  actor  excelled  in  his  profession,  his  master  generally 
made  him  free,  in  compliment  to  the  people,  who  often  de- 
manded their  freedom.  After  this  all  the  profits  of  their  act- 
\n^  were  his  own  pro|>erty,  and  some  of  them  died  immensely 
rich,  after  being  treated  on  a  footing  with  the  greatest  noble- 
men of  Rome. 

'*  A  famous  comedian  and  courtezan. 


plauded.     The   hunting  is  put  off  to  another 

time. 

Suffer  me  now  to  conduct  you  to  the  field  of 
election.     This  glows  with  the  pursuits  of  am- 
bition.    Of  this  I  give  the  following  proof.     The 
interest  for  the  use  of  money  rose  on  the  15th 
of  July  from  four  to  eight  per  cent,  extraordina- 
ry ^     That  perhaps  you  are  not  sorry  to  learn, 
though,  as  a  man  and  as  a  citizen,  it  ought  to 
give  you  concern.     The  whole  interest  of  Caesar 
supports  Memmius^  and  they  have  joined  Do- 
mitius'  with  him,  in  standing  for  the  consulship ; 
but  upon  what  terms  I  dare  not  commit  to  wri- 
ting.    Pompey  roars,  complains  and  declares  for 
Scaurus*,  but  it  is  questionable,   whether  his  at- 
tachment 

1  Orig.  Fcenusex  triente  Idih.  Quint,  factum  er at  hessibis- 
It  would  require  a  whole  dissertation  to  explain  this  expression. 
It  is  sufficient  to  say,  that  the  common  interest  amongst  the 
Romans  was  12  per  cent,  in  a  year,  one  per  cent,  being  paid 
on  the  13th  or  15th  of  every  month.  This  was  called  Unci- 
arumfanus;  the  third  part  of  this  was  four,  which  was  called 
the  triens,  and  two  thirds  of  it,  which  was  eight,  was  called  the 
lesses  usurcB.  The  interest  Cicero  speaks  of  here  is  therefore 
an  additional  interest,  exclusive  of  the  12  per  cent,  which  was 
the  common  interest. 

2  He  had  been  formerly  the  enemy  of  Caesar. 

3  This  was  Domitius  Calvinus. 

4  This  Scaurus  was  the  brother  of  .Emilia,  Pompey's  second 
wife,  and  had  married  Mutia,  who  had  children  by  Pompey. 

Vol.  L  T 


274 


aCEROS  EPrSTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


275 


tachment  h  sincere  or  affected.  None  of  th^ 
candidates  is  distinguished  by  superior  excel- 
lence ;  for  money  brings  ihein  all  to  a  leveL 
Messala  droops,  not  lliat  he  is  without  either 
sjwrit  or  friends  ;  but  be  is  opposed  by  the  coa- 
lition of  th€  consuls  and  Pompey.  I  am  of  opi- 
nion that  the  election  for  tlie  consuls  will  be  ad- 
journed ^ 

The  candidates  for  the  tribunesUip  have  de- 
creed to  be  determined  by  Cato,  as  to  their  pre- 
tences,  each   of  tliem   having   deposited  in   his 
hands  five  hundred  thousand  sertcces  to  be  for- 
feited by  the  person  whom   Cato  sIkaU  find  to  be 
in  the  wrong,  and   to  be   divided  amongst  the 
other  candidates.     I  wrote  the  above  account, 
the  day  before  the  elections  were  supposed  to  be 
held ;  but  I  wrote  to  you  also   on  the    S28th  of 
July,  and  if  the  election  shall  be  held,  I  will  send 
you  a  full  detail  of  it  by  the  same  messenger,  if 
he  is  not    alrealy  set  out     If  tliey  arc  fair  and 
open,  as  it  is  thought  they  will  be,  Cato  will 
carry  with  him  more  weight  thau  all  our  courts 
of  justice. 

I  pleaded  for  INIessius  upon  his  return  from 
his  legateship,  which  Appius  had  given  him  un- 
der Caesar ;  Servilius  summoned  him  to  appear. 
He  had  in  his  favour  the  Pomptinian,    the  Veli- 

nian,  and   the   Ma^cian  tribes.     The  contest  is 

fierce- 

^  This  happened  accordingly. 


if) 


•fierce.  We  have  however,  been  as  successful  as 
might  be  expected.  I  next  undertake  the  de- 
fence of  Drusus,  and  then  of  Scaurus  \  I  shall 
have  the  honour  of  pleading  before  an  illustri- 
ous bench,  and  perhaps  before  the  consuls  elect; 
and  if  Scaur  us  is  not  one  of  them,  it  will  go  very 
hard  with  him  in  his  trial.  I  imagine,  by  letters 
from  my  brother  Quintus,  that  he  is  now  in  Bri- 
tain I  1  am  extremely  uneasy  till  I  hear  from 
him.  There  is  one  thing,  at  least,  I  have  gain- 
ed ;  from  clear  and  repeated  intimations  I  learn 
that  I  am  upon  the  most  affectionate  and  amica- 
ble terms  with  Caesar.  I  beg  that  you  will  make 
my  compliments  to  Dionysius,  and  earnestly  en- 
treat him  to  come  hither  as  soon  as  possible,  to 
instruct  my  son  Cicero,  and  even  his  father  like- 
wise. 


EPISTLE  XVI. 

A  CANNOT  send  you  a  better  proof  that  I  am 
hurried  with  business,  than  this  letter  being  writ- 
ten by  my  amanuensis.  I  do  not  accuse  you  of 
remissness  in  your  correspondence;  but  several 

letters 

*  Drusus  was  impeached  of  collusion  with  a  person  whom  he 
had  accused^  and  Scaurus  of  oppressing  the  inhabitants  of  Sar- 
dinia. 

^  He  served  under  Caesar  in  his  expeditions  to  Britain. 

T  2 


276 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


277 


letters  I  have  received  from  you,  served,  by  their 
date,  only  to  inform  me  of  the  place  of  your 
residence.  Sometimes,  indeed,  they  intimated 
that  you  was  in  health;  and  I  read  two  of  them 
on  that  subject  with  great  pleasure,  which  were 
dated  from  your  house  at  Buthrotum,  almost  at 
the  same  time.  It  gave  me  great  joy  to  under- 
stand, that  your  voyage  had  been  favourable; 
but  this  interchange  of  letters  was  more  agree- 
able from  its  quickness  than  its  information. 
That  which  I  received  from  your  host  Marcus 
Paccius,  was  indeed  weighty  and  full  of  matter; 
I,  therefore,  now  sit  down  to  answer  it.  In  the 
first  place  I  convinced  Paccius,  both  by  words 
and  deed,  of  the  efficacy  of  your  recommenda- 
tion with  me;  and,  therefore,  though  I  did  not 
know  him  before,  he  is  now  one  of  my  most  in- 
timate friends. 

But  to  prpceed,  if  I  possibly  can  do  it  in  a 
proper  place,  I  will  introduce  Varro  into  my  di- 
alogues. But  you  know  the  nature  of  them.  In 
the  oratorial  dialogues,  which  you  extol  so  high- 
ly, it  is  impossible  for  any  of  the  speakers  to 
mention  any  orator,  excepting  those  they  were 
acquainted  with,  and  had  heard.  I  was  sensible 
of  this  difficulty  in  my  dialogue  concerning  a 
commonwealth,  in  which  the  speakers  were  Afri- 
canus,  Philus,  Lselius,  and  Manilius.  To  these 
I  added  the  two  youths,  Quintus  Tubero  and 
Publius   Rutilius;    and   the  two  sons-in-law   of 

Laelius, 


\ 


Lselius,  Scaevola,  and  Fannius.  I  was,  there- 
fore, thinking  (because,  in  all  my  compositions, 
I  generally  make  use  of  a  preface  for  every  book, 
the  method  which  Aristotle  follows,  in  what  he 
calls  his  popular  works,)  to  address  Varro,  with- 
out being  guilty  of  any  impropriety.  Of  this 
method  I  understand  you  approved ;  I  only  wish 
that  I  may  finish  what  I  have  begun.  You  are 
sensible  how  great  and  how  weighty  an  under- 
taking it  is,  and  how  much  it  requires,  what  I 
can  least  spare,  I  mean  leisure. 

You  wish  that  I  had  suffered  Scaevola  to  re- 
main as  a  speaker,  in  those  dialogues  you  so 
much  commend;  but  I  did  not  exclude  him 
without  good  reason.  In  this  I  imitated  the 
conduct  of  our  divine  Plato.  When  Socrates 
had  arrived  at  Pyrseeus,  Cephalus,  a  wealthy  and 
facetious  old  man,  is  present,  and  partakes  ^of 
all  the  conversation  that  first  passes.  But  when 
he  had  spoken  a  reasonable  time,  he  tells  the 
company,  that  he  intended  to  go  to  a  sacrifice ; 
nor  does  he  again  return.  By  this,  I  suppose, 
Plato  thought  it  would  be  out  of  character,  had 
he  detained  a  man  of  his  advanced  years,  all 
the  time  that  long  conversation  lasted.  I  pre- 
sume I  had  much  greater  reason  for  using  the 
same  precaution,  with  regard  to  Scaevola;  you 
remember  how  aged  and  how  infirm  he  was,  and 
his  high  employments  in  the  state,  rendered  it 
inot  quite  so  decent  for  him  to  remain  so  many 

days 


278 


CICERO^  EPISTLES 


days  at  the  country-scat  of  Crassus.  We  are, 
likewise,  to  consider,  that  the  conversation  of 
the  first  book,  suits  very  well  with  the  studies  of 
Scaevola;  the  other  books,  you  know,  are  filled 
with  terms  of  art.  I,  therefore,  thought  that  a 
man,  so  sprightly  and  aged  as  Scaevola  was,  could 
with  no  propriety  sit  during  so  long  and  so  grave 
a  conversation. 

I  will  take  care  of  the  affair  you  mention, 
concerning  my  daughter.     For  Aurelian's  inti- 
mations, as  you  write,  leave  no  farther  room  to 
doubt  concerning  that  estate ;  and  I  shall  also, 
by  that  means,  humour  my  TuUia.     I  do  what 
services  I  can  to  Vestorius,  because  I  know  that 
they  oblige  you ;  and  I  wish  that  he  may  know 
the  same.     But  you  know  his  temper;  anxious 
as  we  are  to  please  him,  he  is  hardly  satisfied. 
As  to  what  you  mention  concerning  Cato,  you 
know  that  he  has  been  acquitted  from  the  charge 
of  breaking  the  Junian  Licinian  law;  and  1  pro- 
nounce, that  he  •will  be  the  same  with  regard  to 
the  Fusian  law;  which  will  give  no  less  satisfac- 
tion to  his  accusers,  than  to  his  defenders.     He 
is,  however,  again  come  into  favour  with  Milo 
and  myself 

Lucretius  has  accused  Drusus,  and  the  jury 
v^ere  chosen \  and  challenged  on  the  3d  of  July. 

I  can 


^  In  Rome,  the  trials  were  before  a  jury,  who  gave  their 
verdict,  but  did  not  fix  the  punishment,  which  was  left  to  the 

praetor. 


TO  ATTICUS, 


S79 


i  can  give  ymi  no  good  hopes  concerning  Proci- 
iius;  you  know  lu)W  capricious  and  uncertain  ar« 
his  judges.  Hirrus  stands  w^U  with  Do^iiUus. 
Tlie  decree  oi  qukunqu^  post  hoc,  which  was  mad^ 
by  the  consuls  concerning  the  provinces,  is  by 
no  means  to  my  liking;  because  I  understand 
that  Caesar  is  very  much  displeased  with  the  de- 
claration which  Memmius  made. 

Our  friend  Messala,  with  his  competitor  Do- 
•mitius,  has  been  so  liberal  towards  tiie  people, 
that  nothing  can  stand  fairer,  than  they  both  do, 
for  being  consuls.     But  the  senate  has  decree^ 
Xliat  a  tacit  process  '  should  be  drawn  up  against 
jthem,  before  tlie  time  of  'election.     This  conduct 
has  greatly  alarmed  tlie  candidates;  for  each  ^ 
4bem  had  a  copy  of  the  resolution.     But  some^ 
(tlie  judges,  amongst  them  Opimius  Antius,  have 
called  in  the  tribunes  of  the  commons,  to  jiro- 
test  against  tlieir  being  tried,  without  the  com- 
mand of  the  people;  and  thus  the  aneasure  is 
•dropped.     The  senate  came  to  a  resolution  for 
adjourning  the  .time  of  elections,  until  the  biU 
^  for 


prsetor  or  the  lord- chief-justice ;  and  what  is  still  more  re- 
markable  in  this  analogy,  tlie  parties  might  challenge  any  of 
the  jurors.  A  Roman  jury,  however,  was  determmed  by  the 
-majority  of  those  who  were  empaimelled. 

1  Orig.  Judicium  taciturn.  So  called  from  its  not  taking  ef- 
feet  acrainst  the  candidates  till  after  nomination)  and  if,  during 
the  time  they  stood,  they  had  been  guilty  of  any  undue  prac- 
;t>ces,  the  process  then  went  on. 


280 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


for  the  tacit  process  should  pass.  But  when  the 
day  for  bringing  in  the  bill  came,  the  tribune 
Terentius  imposed  his  negative  upon  it;  upon 
this  the  consuls,  who  were  but  lukewarm  in  the 
affair,  have  carried  the  whole  matter  before  the 
senate.  In  this  they  acted  indiscreetly  ^  and  I 
could  not  help  telling  them  so.  What,  say  you, 
will  you  never  be  quiet?  Forgive  me,  if,  on  the 
present  occasion,  I  am  unable  to  be  at  rest 
Sure  nothing  was  ever  so  ridiculous.  The  senate 
had  come  to  a  resolution,  that  the  election  should 
not  be  held  before  the  bill  passed ;  and  if  any 
negative  was  put  upon  it,  that  the  matter,  from 
the  very  beginning,  should  come  before  them 
afresh.  The  matter  was  carried  on  with  cool- 
ness ;  they  who  managed  it  had  no  objection  to 
the  negative.  The  thing  was  brought  round 
again  to  the  senate;  and  they  concluded,  that  to 
proceed  forthwith  to  the  election  of  the  consuls, 
will  facilitate  the  passing  of  the  bill. 

Scaurus,  who  some  days  ago  was  acquitted,  in 
consequence  of  a  very  eloquent  speech  which  I 
delivered  in  his  defence,  has  bestowed  favours  on 
several  tribes  of  the  people  at  his  own  house, 
upon  Scaevola  declaring  for  the  auspices,  and  ac- 
tually observing  them  every  day  to  the  last  of 
September,  when  I  had   written   thus  far.     But 

not- 

^  Hie  Aldera  dices.  The  people  of  Abdera  were  remark- 
able for  their  stupidity.  Hence  the  proverb.  To  act  like  the 
Abderitae,  means  to  act  with  extreme  folly. — E. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


i2^l 


« 

notwithstanding  his  profusion,  which  was  very 
great,  yet  his  success  fell  short  of  those  who  had 
got  the  start  of  him  in  their  applications.  1 
could  wish  to  see  your  face  while  you  are  read- 
ing this,  for  the  longer  such  doings  last,  the  bet- 
ter for  you :  but  the  senate  is  to  meet  this  first 
day  of  October  (for  the  day  begins  now  to 
break,)  and  nobody  will  there  tell  their  minds 
freely,  besides  Antius  '  and  Favonius,  for  Cato 
is  indisposed.  For  my  part,  I  will  answer  for 
myself;  but  I  promise  nothing  absolutely. 

I  suppose  you  want  to  know  more  concerning 
these  trials :  both  Drusus  and  Scaurus  are  ac- 
quitted ^  It  is  thought  that  three  candidates 
will  be  impeached;  Domitius  by  Meminius^ 
Messala  by  Quintus  Pompeius  Rufus  *,  and  Scau- 
rus by  Triarius^  or  by  Lucius  Caesar  ^  You 
ask  me  what  I  can  say  in  their  defence  ?  May  I 
die  if  I  know  ;  at  least  in  all  the  three  books  con- 
cerning eloquence,  with  which  you  are  so  much 

charmed. 


1  He  was  surnamed  Restio  j  and  being  somewhat  of  Cato*s 
severe  disposition,  he  had,  while  praetor  the  year  before,  pro- 
posed a  sumptuary  law,  which  did  not  pass. 

2  Drusus  Scaurus  nonfecisse  videntur.  Alluding  to  the  mo- 
dest manner  in  which  the  Roman  jurors  gave  their  verdict. 

3  He  was  tribune  of  the  commons,  and  afterwards  brought 
impeachments  against  Gabinius  and  Rabirius. 

*  He  was  designed  tribune. 

^  He  had  been  questor  some  years  before. 

^  His  father  had  been  consul  in  the  year  of  Rome,  69O. 


282 


CICERO'S  EPISPLES 


charmed,  I  do  not  find  one  topic  that  concerns 
them. 

In  order  to  form  a  just  opinion  of  things,  you 
must  have  a  complete  representation  of  them  ^ 
Well,  then,  you  astk  me  how  did  I  behave  ?  I 
answer,  vv^ith  firmness  and  freedom.  And  how, 
say  you,  did  our  great  man  behave  ?  He  behaved 
with  a  politeness  suited  to  my  dignity,  and  there- 
fore gave  me  satisfaction  ^  But,  say  you,  how 
came  Gabinius  then  to  be  acquitted?  By  down- 
right, barefaced,  mummery;  by  the  wonderful 
stupidity  of  the  accusers,  I  mean  Lucius  Lentu- 
lus,  the  son  of  Lucius  ^  who  was  loudly  accused 
by  the  public  of  having  betrayed  the  cause  he 
undertook,  by  the  great  struggle  made  by  Pom- 
pey,  and  by  tlie  prostitution  of  the  judges.  Ye^ 
after  all,  out  of  seventy  judges,  thirty- two  gave 
their  voices  against  him.  But  lie  is  far  frooa 
being  absolved,  for  he  is  soon  to  be  tried  upon 
other  impeachments. 

You  will  again  ask  me,  how  I  bear  all  this  ? 
Extremely  well,  indeed  ;  I  never  in  my  life  was 

so 


*  Nunc  ut  opimonem  habeas  rerum,  ferendum  est.  This  is 
certainly  corrupted.  The  critics  have  proposed  various  enaen^' 
dationsj  but  it  seems  not  very  e^y,  and  not  very  material^  to 
ascertain  the  true  reading.— -E. 

*  Cicero  had  prosecuted  Gabinius  with  great  inveteracy,  for 
the  part  he  took  in  driving  him  to  exile, 

^  He  had  an  hereditary  enmity  against  Gabinius,  who  had 
carried  the  consulship  against  his  father^  who  hated  Pompey. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


£83 


so  w^ell  pleased  with  myself.    We  have  sow  lost, 
my  friend,  not  only  the  spirit  and  vigour,  but 
even  the  complexion  and  farm  of  old  Rome. 
Our  constitution  has  no  allurements,  it  has  no 
charms  for  me.     What !  say  jon,   does  that  give 
you  pleasure?  How  can  it  do  otherwise,  when 
I  reflect  what  a  glorious  figure  this  state  made 
but  a  few  yeais  ago  under  my  government?    I 
can  feel  no  pain  when  I  think  how  ungratefully 
I  have  been  repaid.     They,  who  took  it  araisB 
that  I  had  but  some  degree  of  power,  have  now 
the  mortification  to  see  power  itsdf  monopolized 
by  one  man.     This  is  but  one  circumstance  ©f 
many,  that  gives  me  consolation. 

Yet  still  I  abandon  nat  my  post  of  honour, 
and  I  follow  the  bent  which  nature  has  given 
my  genius,  I  mean,  my  favourite  books  and  oc- 
cupations.    I  soften  the  toils  of  the  bar,  by  the 
embellishments   of   eloquence.     I  am  charmed 
with  my  house,  I  am  charmed  with  my  rural  re^- 
tirement:  I  reflect,  not  upon  the  height,  from 
which  I  am  fallen,  but  the  station  from  whence 
1  rose.     Give  me  but  the  company  of  my  bro- 
ther, and  of  you  my  friend ;  let  ambition  sink  or 
swim  for  me.     With  you  I  can  philosophize. 
There  my  soul  delighteth  to  dwell,  insensible  to 
all  the  pride  of  heart  that  it  formerly  contained. 
Yes!  my  private  and   domestic  concerns  now 
give  me  joy.     You  will  admire  my  wonderful 
tranquillity,  but  the  continuance  of  it  depends, 

indeed 


284 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


indeed  in  a  great  measure,  upon  your  return : 
for  none  alive  has  feelings,  as  you  have,  so  con- 
genial with  my  own. 

But  I  proceed  to  other  things.  The  tide  of 
government  verges  towards  an  interregnum ; 
some  people  suspect,  and  a  great  many  talk  of, 
a  dictatorship  ;  and  this  gave  no  small  assistance 
to  Gabinius  with  his  timorous  judges.  The  con- 
sular candidates  are  all  impeached  for  corrupt 
practices ;  Gabinius  is  amongst  the  number  ;  for 
though  Torquatus  opposed  him  to  no  purpose, 
Publius  Sylla  impeached  him,  not  doubting  that 
he  would  keep  out  of  the  way.  But  all  of  them 
will  be  acquitted,  and  henceforth  no  man  will 
be  condemned,  who  is  not  a  downright  mur- 
derer. Yet  it  is  said  the  public  is  too  severe  in 
this  respect,  and  this  gives  encouragement  to  in- 
formers. Marcus  Fulvius  Nobilior  is  condem- 
ned, but  many  others  of  your  fine  gentlemen  do 
not  even  make  their  appearance. 

I  have  to  notice  one  incident  more  of  a  singu- 
lar nature ;  about  an  hour  after  Gabinius  was 
acquitted,  some  other  judges  oft'ended  at  his 
acquittal,  condemned  under  the  Papian  law^ 
Antiochus  Gabinius,  a  freedqmn  and  officer  of 
Gabinius,  a  pupil  of  one  Sopolis  a  painter ;  upon 
this  the  condemned  person  immediately  cried  out, 

''1 


^  This  law  related  to  the  denisons  of  Rome,  and  regulated 
the  privileges  of  foreigners  there. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


285 


*'  I  was  indeed  well  aware,  that  Mars  is  an  asso- 
ciate of  Venus  \" 

Pontinius '  has  fixed  upon  the  2d  of  Novem- 
ber  for  celebrating  his  triumph.     He  is  opposed 
by  the    prsetors,   Cato   and    Servilius,  and  by 
Quintus  Mucins,    the    tribune  of  the  people. 
For  they  pretend  that  the  bill  for  his  triumph  is 
not  yet  passed,   and  indeed  it  must  be  allowed, 
that  it  passed  in  a  manner  very  informal.     The 
consul  Appius,   however,  will   be  on  the  side  of 
Pontinius ;  though  Cato  av^rs  that,  while  he  is 
alive  Pontinius    shall  not    obtain  his  triumph. 
But  this  threatening,    like  many  others  of  the 
same  kind  made  by  him,  1  believe,  will  not  be 
effected.     Appius  thinks  of  going  to  Cilicia  upon 
his  own  expence,  having  obtained  no  legal  ap- 
pointments as  a  governor.  ,,    . 

Having 

1  Ori^.  H  a'  Oil  "A^f^s  ocfjLx  Ux^irt.  I  know  thee  Mars,  that  thou 
art  always  with  Venus,  The  commentators  acknowledge,  that 
they  do  not  perceive  the  aptitude  of  this  quotation,  which  is 
taken  from  some  Greek  poet  now  lost.  But,  on  this  occa- 
sion, tlieir  ingenuousness  is  more  to  be  admired  than  their  in- 
genuity. The  pertinence  of  the  cited  verse  consists  in  a  pun, 
which,  it  must  be  confessed,  is  far  more  happy  than  many  found 
in  the  writings  of  Cicero.  The  officer  of  Gabinius  was  con- 
denmed  by  the  lex  papia.  To  this  law  he  wished  to  attach  the 
idea  of  cruelty  and  murder  5  and,  therefore,  cites  the  verse  ia 
question— /^woi^  Ma/ Mars,  i.e.  war,  or  slaughter,  is  con- 
nected with  Papias,  the  author  of  the  law,  though  the  poet 
meant  the  Paphian  goddess. — E. 

2  He* had  been  praetor  under  Cicero's  consulship,  and  had 

subdued  the  Allobroges.  .  • 


2S6 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


Having  thus  answered  the  letter  you  sent  me 
by  Paccius,  I  am  to  inform  you  farther,  tliat  my 
brother's  letters  give  me  high  assurances  of  Cge^ 
>sai^s  friendship,  and  his  information  is  confirm- 
ed by  very  affectionate  letters  from  Caesar  him- 
self. We  are  impatient  for  the  event  of  the  Bri- 
tannic expedition.  All  we  know  for  certain  is, 
Aat  the  island  is  fortified  with  amazing  rocks ; 
tiiat  there  is  not  a  grain  of  silver  in  tlie  whole 
island,  nor  the  least  hope  of  plunder  but  from 
the  slaves  they  may  capture ;  and  I  do  not  sup- 
pose that  you  may  expect,  from  amongst  them, 
any  who  are  proficients  in  literature  or  in  music. 

Paulus^  has  almost  finished  the  roof  of  his 
colonade  *  in  the  middle  of  the  forum ;  but  the 
pillars  are  the  same.  He  is,  however,  building 
a  new  one  most  wonderfully  magnificent.  In 
short,  nothing  can  be  more  pleasing,  nothing 
more  showy  to  the  people  than  the  monument 
is.  We  therefore  the  friends  of  Caesar,  I  mean 
(tliough  you  should  burst  with  envy)  myself  and 
Oppius,  have  expended  sixty  millions  of  ser- 
teces  upon  that  monument,  of  which  you  are  so 
very  fond,  that  we  might  widen  its  area,  and 
extend  it  as  far  as  the  portico  of  the  Temple  of 
Liberty.  We  could  not  engage  with  the  private 
proprietors  for  less.     But  we    shall    make  it  a 

most 

*  This  was  ^milius  Paulut. 

*  This  was  a  building  of  the  nature  of  our  Royal  Exchange, 
and  appropriated  to  pretty  much  the  same  uses. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


287 


1 


li- 


most  stupendous  work.  For  w^e  are  about  to 
raise  in  the  Campus  Martins  marble  colonades 
to  cover  the  tribes  when  they  assemble,  and  they 
are  to  be  enclosed  w  ithin  a  magnificent  gallery  ; 
the  contents  of  the  whole  area  will  occupy  a 
mile.  But  this  is  not  all.  For  to  this  w^ork  is 
to  be  added  a  public  hall.  What  benefit,  you 
will  sav,  can  this  edifice  confer  on  me  ?  The  state 
of  things  gives  me  none  to  hope.  I  will  add  no 
more  of  public  matters,  for  I  suppose  you  have 
no  curiosity  as  to  the  Lustrum,  or  the  trials 
which  are  carrying  on  by  the  Coctian  law\ 

Were  I  now  to  reproach  you,  it  is  no  more 
than  what  you  deserve.     For  you  wrote  in  the 
letter,  which  I  received  from  the  hands  of  Caius 
Decimus,   and  which  w^as  dated  from   Burthro- 
turn  that  you  believed  you  was  set  out  for  Asia. 
For  my  part  I  did  not  think  the  difference,  whe- 
ther you  did  your  business  by  agents  or  in  per- 
son, w^as  considerable  enough,  for  your  being  so 
often  and  so  long    absent     But  had  not  your 
design  been  fixed,  I  could  have  wished  to  have 
treated  with  yourself;  surely  1  might  have  had 
some  success.     But  now  I  will  check  the  reproa- 
ches I  intended    you.     I  wish  to   heaven  that 
this  may  hasten  your  return.     I  write  you  the 
more  seldom,  because  I  am  not  sure  where  you 
are,  or  where  you  are  to  be.     I  have  entrus- 
ted 

^  It  is  uncertain  what  this  law  was. 


283 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


£89 


ted  this  person,  whom  I  know  nothing  about, 
with  this  letter,  because  he  said  he  was  to  see 
you.  I  beg  that  you  will  specify  to  me  tlie  time 
when  you  set  out  for  Asia,  and  when  I  may 
expect  you,  and  tell  me  what  you  have  done 
concerning  Eutychides. 


EPISTLE  XVII. 

Jtxow  welcome  were  your  letters,  how  delight- 
ful your  arrival!  How  punctual  to  your  promise, 
how  blameless  in  your  friendship  !  May  success 
attend  your  pleasant  voyage  !  Greatly  indeed 
did  I  fear  its  issue,  as  well  remembering  the  hard- 
ships you  encountered  when,  leaving  us,  you  pas- 
sed into  Asia  \  But  if  I  mistake  not,  we  shall 
see  you  sooner  than  you  mention  in  your  letter. 
You  supposed,  I  believe,  that  your  ladies  were 
by  this  time  in  Apulia.  But  as  they  are  not,  you 
can  have  no  business  to  detain  you  there.  Some 
days  you  must  allow  to  our  friend  Vestorius, 
and  that  time  you  will  employ  in  recovering 
your  taste,  for,  what  I  may  call,  the  Attic  pu- 
rity 


^  Orig.  ^i^^iis,  coverings  made  of  the  skin  of  wild  beast» 
—shaggy — frightful }  here  therefore  they  mean  the  horrible  dan*' 
gers  of  the  sea.— •£. 


\i 


rity  of  Latin.  Fly  to  me,  my  friend,  come,  be- 
hold the  charms  of  my  ideal  republic,  and  com- 
pare it  with  what  now  actually  passes  in  Rome. 

If  I  mistake  not,  I  informed  you  that  money 
was  publicly  distributes,  tribe  by  tribe,  and  in 
the  same  place,  before  the  time  of  election,  by 
which  means  Gabinius  was  acquitted,  and  he  bids 
fair  to  live  yet  in  cfedit.     You  ask  me,  but  I 
know  not  what  to  write,    concerning    Messala. 
Never  did  I  see  two  candidates,  so  well  match- 
ed.    You  know  Messala's  interest,  and  Triarius 
has  impeached  Scaurus.     Let  me  tell  you,   the 
public  feel  no  great  predilection  for  him;  and 
yet  the  people  cherish   favourable  remembrance 
of  his  ^dileship  ^  and  the  country  tribes"  are  not 
a  little  swayed  by  his    father's  memory.     The 
difference  in  interest  between  the  two  other  Ple- 
beian candidates  is,  that  Domitius  will  be  strong 
in  friends,  but  will  not  be  excessively  popular  by 
his  public  exhibitions :  the  ti^oops  of  Cassar  will 
support  the  interest  of  INIemmius,  and,  through 

the 

^  He  had  spent  an  immense  estate  in  the  public  exhibitions 
during  his  iEdileship,  and  if  we  may  believe  Pliny,  the  ruins 
or  remains  of  his  shows  were  valued  at  above  500,0001. 

2  These  were  the  most  creditable  tribe  that  composed  the 
assemblies  of  the  people,  the  town  tribes  being  composed  of  a 
set  of  vermin.  The  memory  of  Marius  was  dear  to  the  coun- 
try tribes,  and  the  father  of  this  Scaurus  was  next  to  Marius 
the  greatest  general  of  that  party. 

Vol.  I.  U 


S90 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


291 


the  influence  of  Pompey,  he  will  have  the  Cisal- 
pine Gauls  \  If  all  this  influence  is  not  suffici- 
ent for  his  purpose,  it  is  thought  that  means  will 
be  found  to  put  off  the  election  till  the  nearer 
approach  of  Caesar,  especially  as  Cato  is  now 
acquitted  from  the  charge  of  having  done  the 
same  thing  before  *. 

On  the  24th  of  October,  I  received  letters 
from  my  brother,  and  from  Caesar,  dated  the 
526th  of  September,  upon  finishing  their  campaign 
in  Britain,  ^at  the  close  of  which  they  received 
hostages,  but  no  plunder,  though  a  contribution 
was  imposed^  and  when  their  letters  were  dated 
they  v/ere  re-embarking  their  troops.  Quintus 
Pilius*  was  by  that  time  set  out  for  Caesar.     If 

you 

^  Pompeius  Strabo,  the  father  of  the  great  Pompey,  who  was 
now  for  Memmius,  had  obtained  to  the  people  of  this  province 
the  privileges  of  Romans. 

•  Piz,  When  Domitius  ^nobarbus  stood,  and  lost  it  by  the 
means  ofPbmpey  and  Crassus,  who  prevailed  with  Cato  to  put 
off  the  election  of  consuls,  and  thereby  gained  time  to  qualify 
themselves  legally. 

^  Orig.  Cmfecta  Britannia,  ohsidilus  acceptis,  nulla  prceda, 
imperaia  tamen  pecunia.  Monsieur  Mongault  translates  this 
passage.  Les  Barhares  ont  eti  vainnis,  ils  out  donne  des  otages 
et  paye  les  sommes  quon  leur  a  impos^es.  I  know  not  whether 
the  reader  will  think  the  sense  in  which  I  translate  them  to 
suit  better  with  Cicero's  words,  and  Caesar's  account  of  this 
matter. 

*  He  probably  was  brother  to  Pilia,  the  wife  of  Atticus,  axui 
was  this  year  questor. 


V 


you  love  me,  my  friend,  if  you  love  your  relati- 
ons, if  you  think  that  I  am  to  be  believed,  if  you 
even  have  common  sense,  if  you  wish  for  the 
enjoyment  of  the  good  things  of  this  life,  let  me 
persuade  you  to  come  hither,  and  to  remain 
jiear  me.  I  cannot  enjoy  myself  without  you.  I 
am  uneasy,  in  the  absence  of  even  Dionysius, 
what  then  must  I  be  in  yours  ?  My  boy  joins 
with  me  in  our  most  earnest  entreaties,  that  yott 
will  return  as  soon  as  your  affairs  will  permit. 
The  last  letters  I  had  from  you  were  dated  from 
Ephesus  the  9tb  of  August 


EPISTLE  XVIII. 

You  will,  I  suppose,  infer  that  I  have  forgotten 
my  habits  and  engagement.  Being  uncertain,  in 
respect  to  the  rout  you  would  take,  and  the  pla- 
ces in  which  you  would  make  any  stay,  I  neither 
trusted  my  letters  to  Epirus,  to  Athens,  to  Asia, 
or  to  any  person,  but  to  the  messenger  who  was 
to  deliver  them  into  your  hands.  For  my  letters 
are  not  of  that  indifferent  nature,  as  not  to  oc- 
casion me  disappointment  were  they  to  fall  into 
other  hands.  They  are  written  upon  topics  so 
private  and  sacred  in  their  nature,  that  I  seldom 
or  ever  trust  them  even  to  my  secretaries. 

Our  consuls  are  branded  with  infamy,  because 
the  candidate  C.  Memmius  has  read  in  the  se- 

U  2  nate- 


^92 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


293. 


nate-house  a  written  agreement  made  by  him 
and  his  competitor  Domitius  with  the  consuls ; 
by  which  they  engaged  to  give  to  the  consuls  a 
hundred  thousand  serteces  if  they  themselves  were 
made  consuls,  unless  they  produce  three  fuigurs, 
who  shall  bear  witness  that  they  were  present, 
when  the  law  passed  through  the  wards,  which 
never  did  pass ;  and  two  consulars  who  shall  af- 
firm, that  they  were  present,  when  the  deed  for 
appointing  the  consular  provinces  was  engrossed 
in  the  senate ;  when  nothing;  is  more  certain 
than  that  no  senate  was  then  held. 

This  engagement  was  not  verbal,  but  written, 
and  supported  by  proper  securities*,   Memmius 

upon 


I  Or'ig,  Non  verlhi  sed  nominibus  et  prescriptionilus  viul- 
iorum  tahulis.  This  seems  to  have  been  an  infamous  transac- 
tion. It  was  of  great  importance  for  the  consuls,  who  were 
going  out,  that  a  law  should  pass  through  the  people,  assem- 
bled by  the  Curiae,  upon  a  bill  sent  from  the  senate,  for  adjudg- 
ing to  them  their  several  governments.  The  two  candidates, 
Memmius  and  Domitius,  undertook,  under  the  penalty  here 
expressed,  to  procure  false  evidences,  that  such  a  law  had  pas- 
sed the  Curiae;  but  at  the  same  time  the  two  acting  consuls  on 
the  other  hand,  agreed  that  this  obligation,  should  be  void,  un- 
less the  two  candidates  should  succeed  to  the  consulship  by 
their  interest.  There  is  sometliing  which  to  an  Englishman 
appears  extremely  absurd  in  this  whole  transaction,  and  it 
can  be  accounted  for  only  by  the  prodigious  degeneracy 
of  the  Roman  constitution  at  that  juncture.  Here  the  Ro- 
man people  are  to  be  persuaded  that  they  had,  in  a  body,  or 
in  a  general  wardmote  (for  that  is  the  true  sense  of  the  words 

comiiia 


'        I'l 


upon  Pompcy's  motion,   produced  these  papers. - 
Appius  acted  in  true  conformity  to  his  character, 

without 

comitiacuriata)  passed  ^  law,  which  tliey  never  did,  and  the 
senate,  that  they  had  passed  a  bill,    which  never  had  been 
moved  for,  and,  at  a  time,  when  no  senate  sat.    The  juggle  was 
to  be  performed  in  the  following  manner.     Every  one  of  the 
ancient  tribes,  which  were  three  in  all,  was  composed  of  ten 
wards,  and  had  an  augur,  who  served  as  an  interpreter  of  the. 
will  of  heaven,  and,  without  his  assistance,  tliey  could  not  pro- 
ceed.     Now,  though  the  power  of  those  augurs  was  very  great, 
yet  is  it  absurd  to  think  that  those  candidates  could  conceive  a 
hope  of  success,  by  bribing  those  three  augurs,   unless  the 
wardmotes  had  generally  been  so  irregular  and  tumultuous  and . 
so  overawed,  that  only  a  few,  and  those  of  the  most  powerful, 
party  ventured  to  assist  them.     The  testimony,  therefore  of 
the  aucnirs,  as  it  alwa>^s  was  very  sacred,  under  such  cireum- 
stances,  was  very  material.     In  modern  constitutions  the  pre- 
sumed notoriety  of  a  measure  is  often  the  best  evidence  of  its 
having  passed,  and  we  know  that  a  simple  minute  entered 
in  a  book,  even  in  the  highest  tribunals  in  Britain,  is  all  tlie 
evidence  that  remains  of  the  most  important  resolutions  havmg. 
passed  •  and,  if  I  mistake  not,  even  the  famous  pragmatic  sanc- 
tion has  no  other.     As  the  candidates  therefore  were  not  under^ 
the  necessity  of  producing  any  engrossed  records,  signed  and. 
sealed  this  imposition  seems  not  so  impracticable  as  it  appears 
to  be  a't  first  sight.    It  is  true,  that  tliere  appears  to  be  greater 
difficulty  in  the  imposition  they  intended  to  put- upon  the  sen- 
ate •  but  we  are  to  consider  that  the  same  thing  may  be  said* 
of  the  senate,  as  of  the  wardmotes.    We  liave  akeady  seen  that 
Caesar,  or  indeed  any  other  great  man,  could  intimidate  all  wW 
were  not  thoroughly  in  his  party,    from  assembling  in  the 
senate-house,  and  we  have  many  proofe  in  our,  author's  letters 
that  it  became  a  common  practice  amongst  the  leading  men  o£ 
Rome  to  publish  resolutions,  which  Uiey  had  engrossed  at  home 

a& 


iJ 


SM 


CICERCyS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


295 


vrithout  any  diminution  of  his  usual  confidence*: 
But  his  colleague  *  shrunk  and  fell  to  the  ground. 
As  to  Memmius,  having  against  the  consent  of 
Calvinus,  torn  the  deeds,  he  stood  appalled,  and 
now  seeks  with  more  earnestness  to  bring  about 
a  dictatorship,  to  promote  an  interregnum,  and 
universal  disorder. 

Behold  now,  the  calmness,  the  hilarity  of  my 
mind,  and  my  contempt  of  the  province  of  Cili- 
cia^  It  is  true,  I  have  reserved  one  flattering 
picture  from  the  wrecks  of  my  fortune  ;  I  mean 
the  happy  intimacy  I  have  formed  with  Caesar. 
Good  God!  with  what  respect,  with  what  digni- 
ty,  with  what  kindness,  does  he  treat  my  bro- 
ther, and  your  friend  Quintus !  I  could  not  do 

more 

as  the  acts  of  the  senate,  and  to  prefix  to  them  the  names  of  the 
senators  who  spoke  for  them,  and  were  supposed  to  be  present 
^  their  passing.  Cicero  tells  us  that  he  sometimes  received 
letters  of  thanks  from  the  eastern  princes  for  decrees,  which  he 
had  carried  through  in  their  favour,  though  no  such  decrees 
had  ever  passed,  and  though  he  had  never  before  heard  either 
the  names  of  the  princes  or  their  concerns. 

^  His   family  was    distinguished   by   a  peculiar  ferocity  of 

manners* 

» 

•  Lucius  Domitius,  who  was  his  colleague,  affected  great 
severity  of  manners,  and  great  friendship  for  Cato,  and  was 
tii«reforc  a  good  deal  disconcerted. 

^  Orig.  Sduciaiug  prfwincuB.  So  called,  because  Selcucui  had 
faoik  a  great  many  towns  in  it,  and  of  which  Appius  had  obtain- 
«d  the  government  ii>  prejudice  of  our  author,  upon  the  ex- 
piration of  his  consulship. 


>    J 


I 


more  for  him,  were  I  myself  commander  in  chief. 
He  writes  me  that  Osar  has  obligingly  offered 
him  his  choice  of  wintep  quarters,  for  the  legion 
he  commands.  Are  you  not  in  love  with  that 
great  man ;  can  you  find  his  equal  amongst  the 

other  parties  ? 

But  have  not  1  informed  you,  that  I  was  to  be 
legate  under  Pompey,  and  to  set  out  the  13th  of 
January?    This,  I  thought,  served  my  purpose 
for  many  respects.     Need  I  add  any  more  ?  The 
rest  I  will  impart  when  present  with  you,  that 
you  may  come  sooner  from  curiosity.     Present 
to  Dionysius  my  sincerest  wishes.   For  him  I  have 
not  ouly  kept,  but  have  built,  an  apartment     In 
short,  his  arrival  will  greatly  enhance  the  plea- 
sure I  shall  have  in  yours.     As  you  love  me,  I 
expect  that  you  and  your  retinue  will  fix  your 
quarters  at  my  bouse,  the  very  day  of  your  arri- 
vaL 


CICERO'S 


■«,' 


r 


'^'3'Im    r 


'f.yj 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO 


ATTICUS. 


BOOK  V. 


EPISTLE  I. 

W  HEN  we  last  parted  *,  well  did  I  discern  your 
feelings,  and  I  myself  can  best  testify  the  regret 

which 

^  Cicero,  from  the  date  of  the  last  letter,  which  was  the 
18th  of  September,  under  the  consulship  of  Lucius  Domitius 
-^nobarbus,  and  Appius  Clodius  Pulcher,  to  the  date  of  this 
letter,  which  seems  to  have  been  written  in  May,  under  the 
consulship  of  Marcus  Marcellus,  and  Servius  Sulpicius,  inclu- 
ding a  space  of  upwards  of  two  years  and  a  half,  appears  to  have 
had  no  correspondence,  by  writing,  with  Atticus.  It  is  pro- 
bable that  they  lived,  during  that  period,  (which  was  a  very 
busy  one,  in  the  Roman  government)  at  Rome,  till  Cicero 
being  one  of  those  consulars  who  had  been  rewarded  with  no 
government  after  going  out  of  his  office,  obtained  that  of  Cilicia 
to  which  we  are  to  understand  he  is  now  upon  his  journey. 


I 


298 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO    ATTICUS. 


C 


£99 


which  I  experience  ;  you  have  therefore  the  more 
reason  for  guarding  against  all  new  decrees  that' 
may  prolong  our  separation  beyond  one  year. 
You  have  settled  that  afifair  with  Annius  Saturni- 
nus  with  great  judgment.  As  to  bail,  I  entreat 
you  to  put  it  in,  as  you  are  now  at  Rome ;  but 
some  of  the  purchases  \  such  as  those  of  the 

Memmian 

^  Orig.  Et  sunt  aliquot  satisdationes  secundum  mancipium. 
Cujatius,  10  ohserv.  cap.  4.  says,  that  a  Satisdatio  secundum 
mancipium  was  a  Repromissio  nuda,  or  a  bare  promise,  either 
verbal,  or  in  writing,  which  passed  from  the  seller  to  the  pur^ 
chaser.  This  opinion  of  that  great  lawyer  is  strongly  confirmed 
by  a  passage  in  Varro,  Lib,  5-  de  lingua  latina,  Consuetudo 
eiiim  erat  cum  reus  parum  csset  idoneus  in  certis  rebus,  ut  pro 
se  alterum  daret,  a  quo  caveri  postea  lege  captum  est  ab  his  qui 
prcedia  vender ent,  vadesque  darent,  ab  eo  scribi  caeptum  in  lege 
mancipiorum;  vadem  ne  posceret,  nee  dabitur.  That  is,  ''it 
was  formerly  ihe  custom,  when  the  party  accused  was,  in  cer- 
tain cases,  an  insufficient  bail  of  himself,  to  bring  another  who 
was  bail  for  him.  Hence  it  w2ls,  that  the  same  precaution 
began  afterwards  to  be  taken  of  those  who  sold  estates,  and 
who  gave  sureties,  and  after  that  it  came  to  be  part  of  the  law 
of  fees,  that  a  man  should  neither  demand  nor  take  a  surety."  I 
shall  not  trouble  the  reader  with  any  more  quotations  in  favour 
of  the  sense  I  have  given  to  this  expression.  It  is  plain,  that 
in  Rome,  as  in  England,  many  things  crept  into  the  civil,  from 
the  criminal  law.  There  was  formerly,  in  both  constitutions 
so  great  a  tenderness  towards  the  personal  liberty  of  the  subject, 
on  account  of  matters  of  property,  that  many  proceedings  in 
their  courts  of  law  seem  to  be  unaccountable  to  a  person  who 
is  not  acquainted  with  the  ancient  constitutions.  The  expres- 
«ion  Satisdari  secundum  mancipium  is  a  proof  of  what  I  say- 
Yox  z  Satisdatio  \s,  in  fact,  the  giving  the  security  of  a  third 

person 


i 

n 


ij 


Memmian  and  Attilian  estates  require  only  an 
authentic  title.  You  have  managed  with  Op- 
pius^  justto  my  mind,  especially  by  your  enga- 
ging for  the  hundred  thousand  serteces.  I  am 
even  willing  to  borrow  money  at  interest  for  dis- 
charging that  debt,  rather  than  wait  to  the  last 
day  for  the  payment  of  my  own. 

I  now  proceed  to  what  you  say  in  the  cross- 
lines  of  your  letter,  I  mean  the  advice  concern- 
ing your  sister.  The  matter  stands  thus.  Up- 
on my  coming  down  to  Arpinum,  when  my  bro- 
ther had  paid  me  a  visit,  we  had,  in  the  first 
place,  a  great  deal  of  conversation  concerning 
you ;  and  then  we  came  to  talk  of  those  things 
respecting  your  sister,  which  had  passed  between 
you  and  me  at  Tusculanum.   Never  did  1  see  any 

creature 

person  between  two  parties.  This  was  no  easy  matter  to  do  in 
affairs  of  property  at  the  time  our  author  wrote,  when  we  con- 
sider the  quick  shiftings  of  property  through  the  many  prescrip- 
tions of  Sylla  and  Marius  and  other  revolutions.  It  appears 
therefore,  that  in  certain  cases  (perhaps  in  that  of  proscription, 
or  according  to  the  title  deeds)  a  simple  promise  took  place 
of  this  security,  though  the  term  Satisdatio  remained  still  the 
same.  The  estates  here  mentioned  were  sold  by  Cicero  for 
discharging  his  debts. 

^  He  was  an  agent  of  Caesar,  from  whom   Cicero  borrowed 
this  money. 

2  Orig.   QucB  quidem  ego  utique  vel  versura facta  solvi  voloj 
ne  extrema  exactio  nostroruvi  nominum  expectetur.     Or  the 
sense  of  the  passage  may  be :  I  will  borrow  the  money  for 
instantly  discharging  Caesar's  debt,  rather  than  suffer  him  to 
wait  till  it  is  due. 


1 


300 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


301 


creature  so  gentle  and  good  humoured  as  my 
brother  then  was  with  regard  to  her ;  nor  could 
I  discover  by  him,  that  he  thought  he  had  any 
just  cause  to  be  offended  at  lier  conduct.  This 
was  all  that  passed  that  day.  On  the  succeeding 
we  left  Arpinum.  My  brother  had  particular 
reasons  for  remaining  at  Arce  ^ ;  I  proceeded  to 
Aquinum,  but  we  dined  together  at  Arce,  in 
a  house  well  known  to  you.  As  soon  as  we  ar- 
rived, my  Pomponia,  says  my  brother,  with  great 
mildness,  if  you  will  invite  the  ladies,  I  will  en- 
gage the  gentlemen.  I  could  imagine  nothing 
more  tender  than  my  brother  then  appeared  in 
his  expressions,  his  manner,  and  his  look.  I 
suppose,  said  she  in  our  hearing,  I  am  only  a 
guest  here,  being  I  believe,  piqued  because  Sta- 
tins" had  gone  on  before  us  to  bespeak  dinner. 
You  see,  replied  Quintus  to  me,  what  I  suffer 
every  day. — And  of  what  consequence  you  will 
say,  is  an  affair  so  trifling  ?    I  tell  you,  it  was  of 

such 

^  This  villacre  still  remains  under  the  same  namc^  and  was  so 
called  from  its  elevated  situation  Arx  a  citidal, 

*  It  is  wonderful  to  consider  our  author's  great  sensibility  in 
every  thing  that  concerned  his  relations.  He  seems  not  to 
enjoy  himself  but  in  the  happiness  of  his  brother,  who,  accor- 
ding to  the  best  accounts,  was  not  of  a  very  amiable  character  in 
any  other  respect,  than  his  being  a  good  officer  in  the  field,  and 
having  a  reciprocal  affection  for  our  author.  This  Statins,  who 
is  here  spoken  of,  very  probably  had  all  the  insolence  of  a 
favourite  domestic,  as  he  was,  to  Quintus ;  and  perhaps  the  lady 
had  better  reason  than  our  author  knew  of  for  her  sullen  beha- 
viour. 


I 


A 


such  magnitude  as  to  shock  me  ;  so  foolish 
were  her  words  and  so  furious  her  looks.  But  I 
have  hitherto  concealed  my  uneasiness. 

All  the  company,  but  herself,  sat  down  to 
dinner ;  and  Quintus  served  her  from  the  table, 
but  she  refused  to  eat  of  what  he  sent.  In  short, 
never  did  I  see  any  thing  more  good  humoured 
than  my  brother,  or  more  provoking  than  your 
sister,  not  to  mention  a  great  many  other  inci- 
dents, which  I  assure  you,  at  that  time,  disgus- 
ted me  more  than  they  seemed  to  do  my  bro- 
ther. I  set  out  from  thence  to  Aquinum,  while 
my  brother  remained  at  Arce.  Next  morning, 
he  came  to  see  me  at  Aquinum,  and  told  me, 
that  she  refused  to  sleep  with  him  that  night, 
and  that  he  had  left  her  in  the  same  ill  humour 
I  had  seen  her  in.  I  shall  only  add,  that  in  my 
opinion  she  appeared  that  day  destitute  of 
every  amiable  disposition  \^  I  have  been  per- 
haps more  minute  than  I  needed  upon  this  sub- 
ject, to  put  you  in  mind  that  it  is  now  come  to 
your  turn  to  instruct  and  admonish". 

You 


'  Ong.  Humanitate.  Tlie  meaning  of  this  word  is  only  to 
be  determined  by  the  occasion  on  which  it  is  used.  Sometimes 
it  signifies  good-breeding  or  politeness,  sometimes  humanity, 
and  it  is  taken  in  a  variety  of  other  senses. 

2  From  this  passage  it  appears,  that  Atticus  had  been  pretty 
severe  upon  the  behaviour  of  our  author's  brother  towards  h\B 
wife. 


\^ 


302 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


You  have  now  nothing  to  do  but  to  fulfil  all  my 
commissions  before  you  come  away;  write  me 
an  account  of  every  thing ;  quicken  Pontinius\ 
and  let  me  know  when  you  set  out  You  may 
by  all  that  is  sacred  depend  upon  it,  there  is 
nothing  I  regard,  there  is  nothing  I  love,  on 
earth,  beyond  yourself.  I  took  at  Minturnae,  a 
most  affectionate  leave  of  Torquatus^.  He  is 
a  man  of  great  worth.  I  beg  you  will,  when  you 
talk  with  him,  let  him  know  that  I  mentioned 
him  to  you. 


EPISTLE  II. 

At  the  time  of  my  writing  this  letter,  May  10th 
I  set  out  from  Pompeianum,  to  pass  the  rest  of 
the  day  with  Pontius  at  Tribulil  I  determined 
then  to  proceed  in  longer  stages^  and  that  with- 
out farther  delay.  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meet- 
ins  with  our  friend  Hortensius  at  Cumae. 
AVhen,  at  his  own  request,  I  charged  him  with 
my  comniissions  in  general,  I  recommended  it  to 
him  in  a  more  particular  manner,  to  use  all  his 
influence  to  prevent  the  period  appointed  for  my 

government 

*  Cicero  had  chosen  him  for  one  of  his  lieutejiants  in  his 
government. 

*  He  liad  been  praetor  the  year  before. 

3  This  was  a  little  town  of  Campania,  and  still  keeps  the 
same  name. 

*  Orig.  Justa  Itinera, 


TO  ATTICUS. 


303 


government  from  being  farther  deferred.  I 
beg  that  you  will  again  remind  him  of  this, 
and  let  him  know  from  me  how  kindly  I  took 
both  his  visit  and  the  assurances  he  gave  me  of 
doing  me  service  in  this,  and  in  whatever  else 
lay  in  his  power.  I  have  likewise  recommended 
the  same  thing  to  our  friend  Furnius,  who,  I 
foresee,  will  next  year  be  a  tribune  of  the  com- 
mons. 

Cumae,  from  the  gieat  resort  of  company,  pre- 
sents to  us  a  miniature  of  Rome.  In  the  mean 
while,  our  friend  Ilufio^,  knowing  that  Vestorius 
observed  his  motions,  has  fairly  undermined  bim 
by  not  coming  to  wait  upon  me.  What,  is  it 
really  so  ?  Hortensius,  great  and  infirm  as  he 
is,  took  a  long  journey,  with  many  others  to  visit 
you,  and  Rufio  not  come  ?  I  assure  you  he  did 
not  You  have  not  seen  him  then,  continue 
you.  How  could  I  avoid  it,  w^hen  I  passed  by 
the  market  of  Puteoli,  where  1  suppose  he  had 
some  business,  and  where  I  saw  him?  I  after- 
wards took  my  leave  of  him,  as  I  met  him 
returning  from  his  country-seat,  and  he  asked 
my  commands.  Can  any  one  think  this  man  is 
ungrateful  ?    Is  it  not  even  commendable  in  him 

that 


^  His  true  name  was  Calus  Sempronius  •  Rufus.  What  is 
here  said  of  him  is  ironical.  He  had  a  diiterence  with  this 
Vestorius,  whidi  was  referred  to  our  author's  arbitration.  But 
Rufio,  conscious  that  his  cause  was  none  of  the  best,  did  all  he 
could  that  it  should  not  come  to  a  hearing. 


304 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


305 


that  he  has  not  put  himself  to  trouble  for  obtain- 
ing a  hearinff. 

But  I  return  to  my  other  business.  You  are 
not  to  imagine  that  1  have  any  consideration  to 
comfort  me  under  tlie  load  of  misery  I  am  to 
undergo,  but  the  hope  that  it  will  not  outlast  the 
year.  Many  who  form  a  judgment  of  me,  from 
the  practice  of  others,  do  not  believe  me  in  ear- 
nest in  this  declaration.  But  I  desire  you,  who 
know  my  sincerity,  to  use  your  utmost  endea- 
vours when  the  time  comes — When  you  shall 
return  from  Epirus,  I  request  that  you  will  write 
me  concerning  the  state  of  public  affairs,  if  you 
anticipate  any  event  of  importance.  For  we  are 
not  yet  sufficiently  informed  here,  in  what  man- 
ner Ceesar  treats  the  resolution^  of  the  senate; 
and  there  was  a  report  that  the  towns  beyond  the 
Po  were  ordered  each  to  create  four  magis- 
trates\  If  this  should  prove  true,  I  fear  great 
commotions.  But  I  shall  learn  somewhat  of 
Pompey. 

EPISTLE 


1  A  motion  had  been  made,  and  passed  in  the  senate,  for 
recalling  Caesar,  but  it  was  quashed  by  some  of  the  tribunes. 
The  motion,  however,  was  registered. 

-  This  was  a  scheme  of  Caesar  to  put  them  upon  the  footing 
of  the  municipal  towns  of  Italy,  where  the  persons  who  had 
passed  as  magistrates  could  vote  in  the  assemblies  of  the  peo- 
ple of  Rome,  and  could  even  stand  for  public  offices. 


11 


I 


EPISTLE  III. 

On  the  10th  of  May  I  came  to  Pontius  at  Tre- 
buli,  where  1   received   two   letters  from  you 
dated  three   days  before.     I  had   sent  you   a 
packet  by  Philotimus  from  Pompeia,  and  really  I 
have  nothing  material  to  impart  at  present.     Let 
me  have  all  the  public  news,    for  I  see  all  the 
towns  in  alarm;  but  many   of  the  reports  are 
groundless.     Indulge  me  with  your  thoughts  re- 
specting the   present  and    future    situation  of 
things.     I  know  not  what  letters  you  want  me  to 
answer ;  for  I  had  hitherto  none,  excepting  t\to 
which  I  received  both  at  the  same  time  at  Tre- 
buli ;  the  one  containing   the  edict   of  Publius 
Licinius  \  and  dated  the  4th  of  May,    the  other 
being  an  answer  to  what  I  wrote  you  from  Min- 
turnse.     I  much  fear  lest  the  letters,  which  did 
not  arrive,  and  which  you  want  me  to  answer, 
contained  matters  of  consequence. 

My  conduct  towards  Lentulus  shall  evince  the 

regard 


1  Every  governor  of  a  province  and  every  praetor,  who  was 
tojudgeofcivil  matters  at  Rome,  upon  entering  their  otfices, 
published  a  short  system  of  the  rules  and  laws  that  were  to 
regulate  their  conduct,  which  was  called  an  Edictum  or  Edict. 

Vol.  I  X 


[ 
i 


306 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


regard  I  have  for  your  recommendation  n  I  feel 
a  cordial  esteem  for  Dionysius.  Your  friend 
Nicanor  distinguishes  himself  by  his  attention  to 
me.  I  have  no  more  to  write,  and  it  is  now 
daylight.  I  intended  to  reacli  Beneventum  this 
day.  I  hope  by  my  assiduity  and  uprightness  to 
justify  your  good  opinion  in  the  administration 
af  my  province.  Dated  the  11th  of  May,  from 
the  house  of  Pontius  at  Trebuli. 


EPISTLE    IV. 

X  CAME  to  Beneventum  on  the  1 1th  of  May,  and 
there  I  received  the  letter,  which,  I  understand 
from  your  last,  you  had  previously  dispatched, 
and  which  I  answered  the  day  I  received  it,  by 
Pontius  from  Trebuli.  It  is  true,  I  received  two 
of  yours  at  Beneventum,  one  of  them  was  deli- 
vered by  Funisulanus  early  in  the  morning,  the 
other  by  Tullius  my  clerk.  I  am  very  uKich 
obliged  to  you  for  the*attention  you  have  paid 
to  that  very  serious  affair  *  which  I  recommended 

to 

^  Orig,  Apiia  Lcntulum  ponam  te  in  gratiam.  Our  author 
frequently  makes  use  of  this  phrase,  and  in  the  same  sense,  and 
it  signifies,  I  will  do  honour  to  your  recommendation  of  Len- 
tulus. 

2  The  whole  of  this  epistle  is  both  obscure  and  ambiguous. 
Not  to  mention,  that  scarce  two  copies  or  manuscripts  agree 
with  one  another  as  to  the  expressions  themselves.    We  have 

not 


TD  ATTICU3. 


307 


J 


to  your  notice ;  but  I  am  discouraged  by  your 
leaving  the  place.  I  feel  disposed  to  favour  the 
<>ther  person,  not  that  I  am  satisfied  with  him, 
i)ut  because  so  few  other  suitors  have  applied. 
As  to  the  gentleman  whom  you  recommend  as 
no  improper  match,  I  am  afraid  my  daughter 
will  nc^t  ^pprpve  of  him,  and  it  will  be  difficult  by 
any  application,  on  the  part  of  your  friends,  to 
ascertain  her  sentiments.  I  indeed  will  yield 
xny  consent ;  but  you  will  be  absent,  and  my 
presence  is  also  precluded.  Something  indeed 
could  be  done,  if  either  of  us  could  attend  ;  and 
by  the  intercession  of  Servilius,  the  approbation 
of  Servius  might  be  obtained.  But  as  things 
stand,  I  do  not  see  how  the  scheme  can  be 
effected  were  it  ever  so  eligible. 

Now,  as  to  your  letter  which  I  received  from 
Tullius,  you  have  acted  the  part  of  a  friend  to 
me  in  your  applications  to  Marcellus.  There- 
fore if  the  senate  come  to  any  resolution,  let  me 
know  it     For  a  contribution  must  be  levied^  for 

me 

not  the  same  advantage  that  Atticus  had,  in  understanding  all 
the  little  hints  and  innuendos  of  his  friend.  I  have  made  out 
the  meaning  in  the  best  manner  I  could  J  but  I  am  not  sure  of 
being  always  in  the  right.  The  matter  which  Cicero  alludes  to 
here,  seems  to  be  the  marriage  of  his  daughter,  who  had  been 
repudiated  by  Crassipes.. 

^  Orig.  Mihi  enim   atfrihui  oportelit,   item  Bibulo.     The 
word  attrilui  signifies  in  this  place  to  appropriate,  and  was  the 

senatorial 

X2 


N 


\ 


( 


SOS 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


309 


me  and  also  for  Bibulus.  But  I  dare  say  the  senate 
have  already  adopted  their  resolution  on  that 
subject,  especially  as  it  is  so  important  to  the 
public.  You  have  done  right  with  regard  to 
Torquatus.  As  to  the  affair  with  Maso  and 
Ligus,  it  will  be  time  enough  to  speak  of  it 
when  they  arrive.  With  regard  to  Chaerippus  *, 
you  refused  your  assent  and  shall  I,  honoured 
as  I  am  with  the  government  of  a  province,  heed 
such  a  man  ?  But  it  may  be  prudent  to  comply 
with  him,  lest  he  injure  me  with  the  senate. 
Some  of  whom  in  consequence  may  on  the 
motion  in  my  favour,  call  for  the  previous  ques- 
tion ",  or  demand  a  premature  division,  as  is  the 

case 

senatorial  term  when  any  extraordinary  military  money  was 
granted  for  particular  purposes.    Attrihuta  pecunia,  says  Varro> 

dicehatur  qucB  assignata  erat, id  quod  attrihutum  erat  ces 

militare  dicehatur.  De  ling.  Lat.  Lib.  4.  The  case  stood 
with  Cicero  as  follows :  He  likewise  applied  for  leave  to  raise 
recruits  in  Italy,  for  the  two  legions  he  was  to  command  j  but 
in  this  he  was  opposed  by  the  consul  Sulpicius.  But  he  was  in 
hopes  that  Marcellus  would  comply. 

-  ^  It  is  impossible,  at  this  distance  of  time,  to  recover  this  and 
many  other  pieces  of  our  author's  private  history. 

2  Orig.  Consuky  aut  numera.  I  think  I  have  hit  the  true 
meaning  of  Cicero  in  this  passage,  perplexed  as  it  is.  For 
Monsieur  Mongault  in  his  translation,  seenas  to  have  given  it 
fip  for  desperate.  We  learn  by  a  passage  in  Festus  Porapeius, 
that  the  same  custom  prevailed  with  the  senate  of  Rome,  as  with 
that  of  liritiiin.  Many  things  passed  without  a  division,  but  it 
wasm  the  po^ve:  of  any  senator  to  oblige  the  chair  to  divide  the 

house, 


case  on  many  other  occasions.      It  was  fortu- 
nate, that  he  disclosed  to  Scrofa'  his  intention. 

You  are  right  as  to  Pontius ;  for  if  he  should 
beat  Brundusium  before  the  1st  of  June,  I  need 
not  press  my  lieutenants  Annius  and  TuUius  so 
much.  I  approve  of  the  matter  suggested  to 
you  by  Socinius,  provided  the  exception  does  not 
seem  to  affect  my  friends,  who  have  served  me. 
But  I  will  think  farther  of  it;  upon  the  whole 
the  affair  meets  my  approbation.  I  will  take 
care  you  shall  know  how  I  settle  my  journey, 
and  what  Pompey  is  to  do  with  regard  to  the 
five  deputies',  as  soon  as  I  have  conversed  with 

him  on  the  subject 

You 


house,  and  then  the  question  went  according  to  the  majority. 
Any  member  might  likewise  insist  upon  telling  the  number  of 
members,  because  there  could  be  no  house  without  a  certain 
pumber.  Numera  Senatum,  says  Festus,  ait  quivis  senator 
consuU,  cum  impedimento  vult  esse  quo  minus faciat  senatus  co»- 
sultum:  postulatque  ut  aut  res,  qucB  adferuntur,  dividantur : 
aut  simul  corisulantur,  aut  si  tot  non  sunt  senatores,  quo  nume- 
ro  liceat  prcBscrili  S,  C.  expectentur.  Thus,  consule,  was  the 
term,  senators  used  when  they  moved  for  a  division,  and  numera 
when  they  applied  to  the  chair  to  tell  the  house. 

1  He  was  a  particular  friend  of  Atticus. 

2  Viz.  Who  were  to  be  under  him  in  his  government.  As 
this  was  a  post  of  honour,  some  peculiar  advantages  were  annex- 
ed to  it.  It  appears  to  me  as  if  Pompey  had  the  naming  of 
those  deputies,  in  consequence  of  the  Messian  law,  which  our 
author  tells  us  in  the  first  epistle  of  the  last  book,  gave  him 
more  power  over  the  provinces  than  the  governors  of  them 
had. 


310 


CICERO'S  tttStLES 


You  have  acted  quite  right  in  engaging  to 
Oppius  for  the  payment  of  the  hundred  thousand 
serteces  and  as  you  have  Philotimus  with  you, 
I  beg  you  would  fulfil  your  engagement  and  close 
the  account;  and,  that  I  may  have  no  farther 
solicitude  on  this  subject,  I  beg,  as  you  love  me, 
that  you  will  do  it  before  you  leave  Rome ;  for 
you  will  thereby  relieve  me  of  a  great  burden. 
Now  I  have  answered  every  particular  of  yours. 
I  have  however  to  remind  you,  that  you  are  in 
want  of  paper  \  Tliis  deficiency  it  is  my  inte- 
rest to  supply,  as  the  scarcity  of  that  article 
occasions  the  brevity  of  your  letters.  Well,  I 
will  allow  you  two  hundred  serteces  for  the 
expence  of  paper.  And  yet  my  crowding  this 
page  as  I  do,  is  no  great  indication  that  I  am 
myself  too  profuse  of  this  commodity,  while  so 
many  facts  and  rumours  are  flying  about,  to 
afford  matter  for  writing.  If  you  have  any  cer- 
tain accounts  of  Caesar,  let  me  know  them  by  a 
letter,  and  write  me  fully  on  every  thing  else  by 
Pontinius. 


EPISTLE 


*  The  raillery  of  our  author  here  arises  from  his  friends 
complaining,  that  he  could  not  write  any  more,  because  his 
paper  failed  him. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


311 


EPISTLE  V. 

I  HAVE  really  nothing  to  write   to  you ;  for  I 
know  of  nothing  to  recommend  to  your  care,  for 
every  thing  has  been  done ;  neither  can  I  give 
you  any  fresh   information.     There  is,   in  fact, 
nothing  new,   neither  am  I  in  a  humour  to  detail 
trifles ;  I  am  oppressed  with  various  cares.     All 
I  can  tell  you  is,   that  while  I  write  this,  I  pre- 
pare to  set  out  for  Venusium '  in  the  morning  of 
the  15  th  of  May,  on  which  day  some  business 
will  probably  be  done  in  the  senate.    Write  me 
therefore  an   account,   not  only  of  all  that  is 
done,  but  of  all  that  is  said;  and  I  shall  receive 
your  letter    at  Brundusium.      For  I   am  there 
resolved  to  wait  for  Pontinius,  till  the  day  you 
mention.     I  will  write  you   an  account  of  the 
conversation   I  am  to   have    with    Pompcy  at 
Tarentum  upon  the  state   of  public  affau-s ;  m 
the  meanwhile,  I  desire  to  know  to  what  precise 
time  I  can  address  my  letters  directly  to  your- 
self, that  is,  how  long  you  are  to  be  at  Rome, 
so  that  I  may  be  either  sure  of  the  person  to 
whom  I  send  them,   or  that  they  may  not  mis- 
catry.     But  before  you  leave,  pay  the  hundred 

thousand 


•  This  town  lay  between  Apulia  and  Lucania,  and  is  famous 
for  being  the  birth-place  of  Horace, 


312 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS- 


313 


thousand  serteces.  This  I  wish  you  to  regard 
as  one  of  my  most  important  concerns.  I  shall 
then  be  able  to  pursue, '  with  your  concurrence, 
the  measure  which  your  advice  has  suggested \ 


EPISTLE  VI. 

X  ARRIVED  on  the  18th  of  May  at  Tarentum, 
and  as  I  had  resolved  to  wait  there  for  Ponti- 
nius,  I  thought  it  advisable  to  spend  the  inter- 
val of  his  arrival  with  Pompey ;  and  this  I  did  the 
more  cheerfully,  as  I  saw  that  he  would  take 
this  kindly  of  me.  For  he  invited  me  to  be 
with  him  every  day  in  his  house,  and  I  accepted 
his  invitation  with  pleasure,  because  I  shall 
receive  from  him  long  and  authentic  accounts 
of  public  affairs ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  I  shall 
be  furnished  with  his  advice  as  to  my  conduct 
in  the  government. 

But  I  begin  to  shorten  my  letters  to  you,  as  I 
know  not  whether  you  are  at  Rome  or  not 
Notwithstanding  this,  I  will  continue  writing, 
rather  than  that  you  should  not  receive  letters 
from  me,  while  there  is  a  possibility  of  your 
receiving  them.  At  present,  however,  I  have 
neither  any  commission    nor  any  news  to  send 

you. 

^  He  means  his  connections  with  Cxsar,  from  whom  he  had 
porrowed  that  money. 


{ 


^ 


you.  I  have  no  commands  but  those,  which  I 
have  already  signified,  and  which  I  hope  you 
will  execute  as  you  promise.  When  I  have 
any  news  I  will  let  you  know.  One  thing,  how- 
ever I  must  insist  upon  while  I  think  you  are  at 
Rome,  I  mean  my  affair  with  Caesar,  which  I 
beg  you  will  finish  before  you  come  away.  I 
earnestly  wait  for  your  letters,  chiefly  that  I 
may  learn  the  time  of  your  departure. 


EPISTLE  VII. 

JVIy  letters,  or  rather  my  daily  accounts  to 
you,  become  every  day  shorter,  because  I  am 
more  and  more  inclined  to  think  you  are  gone 
to  Epirus.  You  must  know,  however,  that  I 
have  taken  care  of  what  you  recommended  to 
me.  Pompey  insists  upon  assigning  me  the 
number  of  praefects  above  mentioned  \  But 
not^  that  they  shall  be  idle,  or  that  they  shall 
preside  in   courts  of  justice.     On  the  20th  of 

May, 


1  They  were  five,  and  are  mentioned  in  a  former  letter. 

2  The  text  is  mutilated,  and  restored  only  by  conjecture. 
The  oric^inal  is  vacationes,judiciariam  caussam.  It  seems  Ci- 
cero  insisted  upon  his  lieutenants  serving  in  the  field,  the  ex- 
emptions from  which  services  were  called  vacationesj  nor  would 
he  suffer  them  to  preside  in  courts  of  justice. 


514f 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  Arncus. 


315 


May,  I  set  out  for  Brundusium,  after  spending 
three  days  with  Pompey  at  his  house.  I  left 
him  one  of  the  most  excellent  patriots^  in  the 
world,  and  in  the  greatest  readiness  to  defend  his 
country  from  all  the  impending  calamities  we  so 
much  dread.  I  shall  wait  for  your  letters  to 
inform  me  both  of  what  you  are  doing,  and 
where  you  reside. 

EPISTLE  VIII. 

X  HAVE  been  detained  for  twelve  days  at  Brun- 
dusium by  an  indisposition  of  which,  as  it  was 
not  attended  by  a  fever,  I  am  now  recovered, 
and  by  the  expectation  of  Pontinius,  of  whom  I 
have  not  yet  heard  one  syllable:  but  I  have  been 
some  time  waiting  for  a  passage.  If  you  are  at 
Rome  when  this  reaches  you  (which  I  scarcely 
think  you  are)  I  most  earnestly  beg  your  atten- 
tion to  what  follows. 

I  received  letters  from  Rome  informing  me, 
'that  my  friend  Milo  complains  of  my  having 
injured  him  in  suffering  Philotimus  to  become 
tjne  of  the   purchasers  of  his   effects'.     I  was 

induced 

1  This  I  believe  to  be  ironical,  for  it  is  impossible  to  be  ima- 
gined, after  what  our  author  has  said  upon  Pompey's  character 
before,  that  be  is  in  earnest  here. 

2  This  is  a  very  black  part  of  cur  author's  story,  notwith- 
standing all  he  says  here  to  excuse  it.     We  have  already  seen 

from 


induced  to  agree  to  this  from  the  opinion  of 
Caius  Duronius,    whom    I  Ifnow    to  have  the 
greatest  affection  for  Milo,  and  to   answer  the 
favourable  character  you  had  given  him.      Now, 
the  result  of  our  consultation  upon  this  subject; 
was  as  follows.     His  property  should  be  pur-i 
chased  by  us,  in  the  first  place,  least  a  spiteful, 
unconcerned  purchaser    should  rob  Milo  of  at 
large  number  of  slaves  he  had  carried  with  him; 
in  the  next    place,   that  the    proper  provision, 
which  he  intended  to  make  for  his  wife,  might  be 
secured;  and  we  had  it  likewise  in  contempla- 
tion, that  if  any  thing  could  be  saved  for  him, 
we  could  save  it  with  the  greatest  ease.     Now,  I 
desire    you    to  examine    the  whole  affair;  for 
things  by  report  are  often  exaggerated.     But,  if 
Milo  really  complains ;  if  he  writes  to  his  friends 
on  this  head,  and  if  his  wife  is  of  the  same  opi- 
nion, Philotimus  shall  not,  against  Milo's  consent, 

continue 

from  our  author  himself,  under  what  infinite  obligations  he 
yffUs  to  MiIo,-whom  he  treats  as  the  greatest  man,  the  hrmest 
p^tt'itt,  and  iht  best  friend  that  Rome  or  the  world  beheld. 
But  this  excellent  person  being,  for  the  murder  of  Clodius, 
condemned  to  banishment,  and  his  estate  being  confiscated,  this 
Philotimus,  who  was  Cicero's  creature  and  dependent,  with 
his  master's  privacy,  and  by  his  command,  buys  Milo's  effects, 
♦though  none  but  the  most  infamous  and  mercenary  amongst 
the  Romans  ever  were  concerned  in  such  bargains.     In  short, 
notwithstanding  what  he  says  here,  Ciceio,  as  appears  from  se- 
veral of  his  letter^,  had  a  share   in  the  spoil,  the  goods  being 
sold  greatly  under  value. 


316 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


Sir 


continue  in  possession  of  his  effects,  but  restore 
them,  according  to  the  agreement  made  between 
us.  I  had  no  such  object  in  view  as  is  ascrib- 
ed to  me.  You  may  speak  with  Duronius\ 
for  I  have  already  written  to  Camillus  and 
Lamia,  and  the  more  so,  because  I  was  not 
absolutely  sure  of  your  being  at  Rome.  In  fine, 
determine  things  in  that  manner,  which  shall 
appear  most  likely  to  promote  my  honour,  my 
reputation,  and  my  interest. 


EPISTLE  IX. 

vJn  the  15th  of  June,  I  arrived  at  Actium", 
after  we  had  feasted  like  Bacchanalians  at  Cor- 
cyra  and  Sybotae^  upon  the  provisions,  which 
you  presented,  and  vvhich  were  spread  before  us 
by  Areus*,  and  my  friend  Eutychides,  in  the 
most  hearty,  hospitable,  manner.  As  our  voyage 
was  very  uncomfortable,  and  as  I  saw  tljat  we  must 
have  had  great  difficulty  in  doubling  the  point 

of 


^  Duronius,  Camillus,  Lamia.  These  were  private  atten- 
dants of  our  author  and  Atticus.  * 

2  This  was  the  promontory  of  Epirus,  so  famous  from  the 
defeat  of  Anthony  by  Octavius,  afterwards  Augustus  Caesar. 

^  This  was  a  port  in  Epirus,  opposite  to  the  isle  of  Corcyra. 

^  Areus  and  Eutychides  were  freedmen  of  Atticus. 


» 


of  LeucateS  we  chose  to  go  from  Actium  by 
land;  but  I  thought  it  beneath  my  dignity  to 
approach  Patrae  in  little  boats,  and  without  my 

equipages. 

As  you  have  taken  every  opportunity  of  giving 
me  your  advice  on  that  head,   so  it  is  my  daily 
study   to  inculcate  upon  my  dependents  what  I 
am  determined  to  practise  myself,  I  mean  my 
fulfilling  this  extraordinary  department^  of  go- 
vernment, with  the  utmost  impartiality  and  self- 
denial.     I  hope  that  the  Parthians  will  remain 
quiet,  and  that  fortune  will  be  on  my  side.     To- 
wards attaining  these  ends,   I  will  perform  my 
part    Let  me  know,  I  beg  of  you,  what  you  are 
doing ;   tell  me  the   several  stages  of  your  in- 
tended removals,  in  what  situation  you  left  my 
affairs  at  Rome,  and  above  all  things,   in  what 
manner  you  have  settled  my  debts  with  Oppius. 
All  this  you  may  do  within  the  compass  of  a 

single 

1  Leucate  was  the  extremity  of  a  promontory  of  Epirus, 
which  was  joined  to  the  main  land  by  the  Isthmus  of  Corinth, 
which  was  so  very  narrow,  that  the  Corinthians  in  the  infancy 
of  their  navigation,  and,  when  their  vessels  were  very  small, 
used  to  carry  them  over  it  by  land  to  prevent  doubling  the  cape 
of  Leucate,  and  they  even  cut  a  canal  tlirough  it,  but  it  seems 
afterwards  to  have  been  filled  up:  So  late  as  our  author'* 
time,  navigation  was  so  imperfect,  tliat  mariners  durst  not  vea- 
ture  to  lose  sight  of  land,  which  put  them  to  infinite  labour  in 
doubling  capes, 

*  He  got  his  government  out  of  common  course,  since  he 
ought  tohavo  had  it  immediately  upon  going  out  of  his  consul-  ' 
ship, 


518 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS, 


319 


single  letter,  which  you  are  to  forward  so  as  to 
come  to  my  hands. 

One  thing,  however,  I  recommend  to  you  in  a 
more  special  manner,  (the  affair  you  write  is  not 
likely  to  be  discussed  during  your  absence,  but, 
when  you  return,  will  be  made  a  subject  of  dis- 
cussion) to  make  interest  with  all  our  friends, 
and  especially  liortensius,  that  my  year  may 
remain  upon  the  usual  footing,  without  any  new 
alteration.  So  earnest  am  I  in  this  request,  that 
I  am  in  some  doubt,  whether  I  should  not  desire 
you  strenuously  to  resist  its  being  intercalated^ ; 
but  I  presume  not  to  impose  upon  you  the  whole 
of  this  burden.  Endeavour  at  least  to  obtain 
the  whole  annual  term.  My  dearest  and  most 
delightful  boy  sends  you  his  compliments.  You 
know  I  have  always  had  an  affection  for  Diony- 
sius  ;  but  it  increases  daily,  and,  indeed,  one 
principal  cause  is,  that  he  regards  you,  and  loses 
no  opportunity  of  mentioning  your  name. 


EPISTLE 


"*  It  was  in  the  power  of  the  pontiffs  occasionally  to  intercal- 
ate, or  throw  in  an  additional  number  of  days  into  any  year,  by 
which  means  tbey  often  sened  their  friends  by  prolonging  the 
terms  of  their  government,  and  sometimes  they  prevented  their 
enemies  by  the  same  means.  This  practice  became  so  much  a 
job  among  the  great  men  of  Rome,  and  introduced  such  confu- 
sion into  all  public  dates  and  times  of  payment,  as  made  it  af- 
terwards necessary  for  Caesar  to  reform  the  calendar. 


EPISTLE  X. 

After  reaching  Athens  on  the  25th  of  June, 
I  waited  four  days  for  Pontinius,  without  hear- 
ing  any  certainty  of  his  arrival.     I  was,  believe 
me,   wholly  engrossed  by  you ;  and  though  the 
thought  of  you  is  habitual  to  my  mind,  the  ves- 
tit^es  of  your  residence  here    awakened  more 
lively  recollection  of  you  in  my  mind.      Indeed 
I  can  speak  of  nothing  but  you  ;  but  as  you  may 
wish  to  hear  something  of  me,  I  give  you   the 
following  particulars.     Hitherto  neither   I,   nor 
any  of  my  retinue,  have  been  of  any  expence  to 
the  public  or  to  individuals  ;  my  subjects  are  so 
much  convinced  that  this  conduct  tends  to  raise 
my  glory,  that  we  have  taken  none  of  the  ap- 
pointments allowed  by  the  Julian  law,   nor  any 
thing  from  our  hosts.     Thus  far  it  is  extremely 
well,  and  my  self-denial  was  no  sooner  observed, 
that  it  became  t*he  general  subject  of  applause 
and  conversation  amongst  the  Greeks.     I  mean 
to  pursue  the  same  conduct  upon  this  head,    be- 
cause I  know  it  will  give  you  pleasure;  and  if  I 
thus  persevere  to  the  end,  I  shall  then  merit  and 
obtain  your  praise. 

In  other  respects,  I  cannot  help  often  con- 
demning myself  for  not  finding  out  some  means 
or  other  to  get  rid  of  this  employmeit ,  an  em- 
ployment by  no  means  in  unison  witli  my  habits, 

and 


3£0 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


321 


and  which  realizes  to  me  the  truth  of  the  Greek 
proverb,  *'  Every  man  in  his  way." — What,  say 
you,  is  all  this  for ;  you  are  not  yet  entered  upon 
your  office. — I  am  little  acquainted  with  it,  and 
I  imagine  the  worst  is  yet  to  come.  I  endea- 
vour (and  I  flatter  myself  with  success)  to  as- 
sume a  smiling  face;  but  I  am  wrung  to  the 
bottom  of  my  soul :  Many  things  are  said  with 
anger,  with  insolence,  with  folly  in  various  ways, 
with  arrogance ;  and  if  such  things  are  not 
openly  expressed,  they  are  meant  every  day. 
I  write  you  no  particulars ;  not  from  any  desire 
to  conceal  them,  but  from  my  inability  to  ex- 
press them.  You  will  therefore  admire  my  self- 
command,  and  the  great  improvement  I  have 
made  in  the  discipline  of  patience,  if  I  live  to 
return,  and  acquaint  you  with  the  particulars. 

So  much  for  these  matters — and  yet  I  sat  down 
with  no  professed  purpose  of  writing  to  you 
upon  business,  because  I  cannot  form  a  conjec- 
ture either  of  what  you  are  doing,  or  where  you 
are  ;  nor  indeed,  was  I  ever  so  long  ignorant  of 
my  own  affairs,  or  how  my  accounts  have  been 
settled  with  Caesar  and  with  Milo.  I  am  so  far 
from  seeing  any  person  to  converse  with,  that  I 
do  not  hear,  even  a  rumour  concerning  public 
matters  at  Rome;  you  will  therefore  greatly 
oblige  me,  if  you  will  take  the  pains  to  give  me 
all  the  information  you  can  on  points  which  you 
think  to  be  interesting  to  me.  What  have  I  far- 
ther 


t: 


ii 


« 


thertoadd?    Nothing,  indeed,  but  tliat  I  am 
extremely  delighted  with  Athens.    The  city  it- 
self, its  splendour,  the  aflfectioh  of  the  inhabi- 
tants for  you,  a  certain  kindness  they  have  for 
me,   give  me  pleasure.      But  above  all,  I  aih 
delighted  with  the  academic  philosophy,  which, 
if  in  any  one,  is  completely  embodied'  in  my  host 
Aristus^     For  I  gave  up  your,   or  rather  my, 
friend  Zeno,  to  my  brother  Quintus,  but  as  we 
were  next  neighbours,  we  passed  whole  days  with 
one  another.     Let  me  know,  as  soon  as  you  can, 
what  you  intend,  how  you  proceed,  and,  above 
all,  when  you  design  to  return  to  Rome. 


EPISTLE   XI. 

W^HAT  !  Write  so  often  to  Rome  and  not  a 
line  for  you  !  Believe  me  that  hereafter,  pro- 
vided I  can  secure  a  direct  conveyance,  I  will 
hazard  the  miscarriage  of  a  letter  rather  than  not 
write  to  you  at  all.     I  conjure  you,  by  all  that 

you 

1  Orig.  avu  Kxru.  This  is  a  proverb,  and  may  mean  a  thing 

*  tamed  up  side  down ;    or,  from  top  to  hottom-^the  whole  en- 

tirely.    In  the  last  sense  it  is  used  in  this  place. — E. 

^       2  He  was  mentioned  in  other  works  of  our  author,  and  he 

was  of  the  academy,  for  the  tenets  of  which  the  reader  may 

consult  our  author's  philosophical  works. 

Vol.  I.  Y 


«         • 


322 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


323 


you  hold  dear  in  life,  while  you  are  at  Rome,  to 
take  as  much  care  as  possibly  you  can,  that  my 
provincial  government  he  not  prolonged.  My 
impatience,  to  revisit  Rome,  is  as  inexpressible, 
as  are  my  vexations  under  the  stupidity  of  all  I 
meet  with  here. 

• 

Marcellus  has  treated  a  magistrate  of  Comum^ 

most 

1  The  case  was  this,  Caesar,  during  his  consulship,  procured 
a  denizenation-bill  to  pass,  entitling  those  who  had  served  as 
magistrates  in  the  colony  he  had  established  at  Conium  to  the  Jus 
Lata,  by  which  they  became  Roman  citizens.  Marcellus,  out 
of  disrespect  to  Caesar,  laid  hold  of  an  opportunity  of  whipping  a 
noagistrate  of  Comum,  which  was  a  punishment  incompatible 
with  the  privileges  of  a  Roman  citizen.  But  before  Caesar  had 
obtained  this  privilege  for  his  colony  at  Comum,  Strabo  Pompei- 
us,  the  father  of  the  great  Pompey,  had  obtained  the  Jus  Latii 
for  all  the  towns  on  the  other  side  of  the  Po.  There  seems 
however  here  to  be  some  inconsistency,  not  cleared  up  either 
by  Monsieur  Mongault,  or  any  of  the  commentators.  For  if 
the  colonies,  beyond  the  Po,  had  the  Jus  Latii  from  Strabo 
Pompeius,  why  should  Caesar  pass  a  bill'  in  favour  of  that  of 
Comum,  which  lay  beyond  the  Po  ?  Wecan  clear  tliis  up  no  other 
way,  than  by  attending  to  what  is  said  by  Asconius,  in  his 
commentary  upon  one  of  the  fragments  of  our  author's  oration 
against  Piso.  There  he  tells  us,  that  Strabo  Pompeius  gave  the 
Jus  Latii  only  to  the  ancient  colonists  beyond  the  Po.  Pom- 
pous enim,  says  Asconius,  non  novis  colonis  eas,  constituity  scd 
veterjbus  incolis  manenilhus  jus  dedit.  But  even  this  does  not 
quite  solve  the  difficulty  I  have  started,  because,  supposing  this 
magistrate  of  Comum  to  have  been  a  late  colonist,  why  should 
Pompey  be  displeased  for  not  treating  him  as  a  Roman  citizen  ? 
We  must  therefore  conclude,  that  the  hatred  of  Maicellus, 
against  Cxsar,  was  so  great,  that  he  ordered  this  person  to  be 

whipt 


I 


most  scandalously.     But  supposing  that  he  had 
borne  no  magistracy  in  that  town,  yet  still  he 
lived  beyond  the  Po;  so  that  oifr  common  friend', 
1  imagine,  will  be  as  much  disgusted  as  Ceesar 
himself  can  be,  with  this  insult     But  let  Mar- 
cellus look  to  that.     It  appeared  to  me  likewise, 
that  Pompey  (according  as  you  write  to  what 
Varro    had  said)    would  most  certainly  go  to 
Spain.       This   resolution,    by  no   means,    met 
with  my  approbation.  I  easily  made  Theophanes"^ 
sensible,  that  Pompey  could  not  do  better  than 
remain  where  he  was.     That  Graecian,  therefore, 
will  do  all  he  can  to  detain  him,  and  indeed  I 
know  that  Pompey  has  a  great  deference  for  his 
opinion.     I  wrote  this  letter  on  the  6th  of  July, 
the  day  on  which  I  left  Athens,    after  staying 
there  for  ten  days.     I  there  met  with^Pontinius 
and  Cnseus  Volusius,  together  with  my  questor, 
so  that  none  was  absent  of  all  I  expected,  ex- 
cepting your  friend  TuUius.     I  had  flat-bottomed 
boats  from  Rhodes,    with  some   barges  of  Mity- 
lenfE  and  other  galleys  for  my  conveyance  and 
convoy.      Nothing  is  heard  of  the  Parthians; 

,  Heaven 

whipt  without  making  any  inquiries,  whether  he  was  an  old  or 
a  late  colonist.  Even  this  circumstance  was  enough  to  affront 
Pompey,  and  much  more  if  he  was  found  to  be  an  old  colonist. 

1  Meaning  Pompey. 

«'  He  was  a  learned  Greek  of  MityleuK,  and  had  great  credit 
with  Pompey,  whose  life  he  wrote. 

Y  2 


r 

f 


324 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


325 


Heaven  grant  that  in  other  respects  we  may 
prosper. 

I  have  hitherto  passed  through  Greece  highly 
admired ;  nor  have  I  the  smallest  cause  of  com- 
plaint against  any  of  my  dependents,  who  behave  ' 
as  if  they  were  perfectly  sensible  of  my  character, 
my  circumstances,  and  the  terms  on  which  they 
attend  me.  In  short  they  do  credit  to  my  repu- 
tation. As  to  the  future  part  of  their  conduct,  it 
w^ill  be  in  conformity  with  the  present,  if  there 
be  any  truth  in  the  proverb,  "  Like  master  like 
man."  For  I  am  resolved  they  shall  never  see  any 
thing  in  my  conduct,  that  may  give  them  any  en- 
couragement to  deviate  from  their  duty.  But 
if  my  example  be  not  sufficient  for  this,  I  will 
have  recourse  to  more  severe  measures.  Hither- 
to I  have  recommended  myself  by  gentleness, 
which,  I  hope,  has  not  been  altogether  unsuc- 
cessful. But  all  my  attendants  say,  that  my  pa- 
tience cannot  extend  beyond  the  year.  I  there-  - 
fore  beg  you,  my  friend,  to  use  all  your  interest 
to  prevent  the  risk  of  my  being  disgraced  by  a 
prolongation  of  that  term. 

I  now  return  to  your  order ;  excuse  me  for  not 
having  mentioned  to  you  my  prefects*.   You  may 

^        name 

*  I  am  not  quite  satisfied  with  Monsieur  Mongault's  trans- 
lation of  this  passage  which  he  reads  as  follows.  In  perfectis 
excusatioy  tis  quos  voles,  deserto.  Non  ero  tarn  tJLsrtupos  (animi 
sHspensi  et  dubiij  quam  in  Apukiofui,  which  he  translates,   // 

faut 


i 


name  in  their  commission  whom  you  please ;  for 
I  shall  not  hesitate  so  much  in  that  affair,  as  I 
have  done  with  regard  to  Apuleius.     I  love  Xeno 
as  well  as  you  love  him,    and  I  am  convinced 
he  is  sensible  of  it.     I  have  honoured  your  re- 
commendation of  Patro,    and  others  of  his  sect'. 
This,  believe  me,  I  have  done  from  a  regard  to 
your  worth.     For  Patro  told  me  that  you  had 
written  him  three  tinges  informing  him,  that  the 
concern,  which  I  took  in  his  welfare,  arose  mere- 
ly from  esteem  for  his  learning,  a  circumstance 
which  he  regarded  with  gratitude.     But  when 

Patro 

faut  que  vous  m*excusie%  sije  nai  point  fait  Apuleius  prefet;je 
serai  moins  difficile  pour  tout  autre  tsf  vous  pouvex  me  dinner 
qui  il  vousplaira.  The  reading,  in  the  original  it  is  true,  is  ir- 
retrievable, but  I  think  Monsieur  Mongault  has  taken  too 
great  liberty,  even  with  the  translation  in  his  own  reading.  I 
have  regarded  his  reading,  but  I  have  given  it  a  turn  in  the 
translation,  which  I  think  does  less  violence  than  his  does  to 
the  original,  and  is  more  defensible  in  point  of  propriety. 

*  Orig,  Reliquos  larones.  I  shall  not  here  trouble  my  reader 
with  any  of  the  many  learned  expositions  of  this  word,  farther 
than  it  relates  to  our  author's  meaning  here.     It  appears  pretty 
plainly  to  have  been  of  celtic  original,  and  to  have  signified  a 
man  of  weight.     But  as  is  the  common  case  of  conquered  coun- 
tries, the  Romans  sometimes  gave  this  title  a  contemptible  turn, 
as  if  it  signified  a  heavy  man.     Notwithstanding  this,  the  word 
seems  to  have  been  in  such  general  use  over  all  Europe,  that  it 
still  retained  with  it  a  certain  dignity,  as  appears  by  other  parts 
of  our  author's  works.     In  this  place,  however,  he  certainly 
means  the  followers  of  Epicurus  at  Athens,  and  his  application 
of  it  to  them  is  equivocal  and  pleasant  enough.     I  have  trans- 
lated it  in  that  equivocal  sense. 

0  w 


% 


326 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


3^7' 


Patro  had  applied  to  me  to  solicit  your  Areo- 
pagus for  a  repeal  of  a  decree  \  made  under  the 
praetor  Polycharmus,  Xeno,  and  afterwards  Pa- 
tro himself,  thought  it  much  more  advisable  for 
me  to  write  to  Memmius,  who  went  to  Mitylenee, 
the  day  before  I  came  to  Athens,  to  persuade 
him  to  inform  his  friends  by  letters,  that  he 
would  not  oppose  the  repeal ;  for  Xeno  was  sen- 
sible that  it  never  could  have  been  obtained  from 
the  Areopagus,  against  the  consent  of  Memmius. 
Now  Memmius  himself  had  laid  aside  the 
thoughts  of  building,  but  still  he  was  displeased 
w  ith  Patro.  I  was  therefore  at  great  pains  in 
writing  him  the  letter,  of  which  I  have  s6nt  you 
a  copy.  ^^ 

I  beg  that  you  will  express  my  condolence* 

#  ^         with 

^  Orig,  vvjoi^rftyLitrKTiAiijt  decretum.  The  case  was  this,  Mem- 
mius, who  had  been  banished  from  Rome,  and  who  resided  at 
Athens,  had  obtained  leave  from  the  Areopagus,  or  the  magis- 
tracy of  that  city,  to  build  a  house  upon  tl)e  ground,  on  which 
the  house  of  Epicurus  had  stood,  and  where  its  ruins  were  still 
to  be  seen.  The  Epicureans  took  this  amiss,  and  made  use  of 
the  interest  of  Attic  us  with  our  author,  to  engage  the  latter  to 
obtain  a  repeal  of  this  order  of  the  Areopagus,  which  indeed 
was  pretty  arbitrary,  as  Epicurus  had  left  his  house  and  gar- 
dens to  the  future  professors  of  his  sect.  This,  as  appears  from 
our  author's  letter  to  Memmius,  Ep.  Fam.  Lib.  13.  Ep.  1. 
was  strongly  urged  by  Patro,  who  seems  to  have  been  chief  of 
the  Epicureans  at  Athens. 

"  This  seems  to  have  been  a  private  story,  and  is  hardly 
worth  the  pains^  commentators  have  bestowed  upon  it.    It  is 

possible 


I 


withPilia.  I  will  tell  you  the  affair,  but  you 
need  not  disclose  it  to  her.  I  received  a  packet 
in  which  was  a  letter  from  her  ;  I  seized,  openexi, 
and  read  it,  and  indeed  it  was  written  with'  * 
great  sensibility.  If  at  Brundusium  you  re- 
ceived letters,  without  any  from  me,  it  must  have 
been  at  a  time  when  I  was  indisposed,  for  I  will 
not  desire  you  to  accept  of  the  common  apology*. 
Let  me  know  every  thing,  and  especially  how 
you  are  in  health. 


.N 


EPISTLE  XIL 

A  VOYAGE  is  a  dreadful  thing,  even  in  the 
month  of  July.  After  six  days  sail  we  arrived  at 
Delos  -  from  Athens.  On  the  6th  of  July,  the 
wind  was  unfavourable,  and  we  came  from  Pyrae- 

eus, 

possible  Cicero  might  break  this  letter  up  by  mistake.  My 
only  difficulty  is,  why  he  should  desire  her  husband  to  condole 
with  her  in  his  name,  and  at  tlie  same  time  conceal  the  cause 
of  that  condolence.  ^ 

1  The  original  is  vo/xav^^^a  excusatio,  which  means  the  excuse 
generally  made  by  men  of  business,  that  they  had  no  leisure  — 
that  their  time  was  engaged  5  for  v3//,a»^f/oj  signifies  prtB/ecto- 
rius,  or  one  that  is  occupied  in  public  affairs.  This  at  least  is  the 
explanation  approved  of  by  Olivet,  and  appears,  it  must  be  al- 
lowed, the  most  satisfactory. — E. 

2  This  was  an  island,  the  chief  of  those  which  a* e  called  the 
Cyclades  in  t^e  Archipelago. 


39& 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


329 


eus^  to  Zoster^  where  we  were  weatherbound 
ajl  the  next  day.  On  the  8th  we  had  a  pleasant 
voyage  to  Ceos,  from  whence  we  reached  Gyarus^ 
driven  before  a  brisk  gale,  which  carried  us,  sooner 
than  we  wished  for,  to  Syrus  *,  and  from  thence  to 
Delos.  You  are  no  stranger  to  the  flat-bottom- 
ed boats  of  Rhodes,  and  how  ill  fitted  they  are  to 
bear  a  swell  of  sea.  I  was  therefore  in  no  hurry 
to  proceed,  or  to  move  from  Delos,  without  signs 
of  a  prosperous  wind. 

I  wrote  you  from  Gyarus  concerning  Messala  * 
the  moment  that  I  heard  of  his  affair,  together 
with  my  opinion  which  I  also  sent  to  Hortensius. 
I  expressed  to  him  my  unfeigned  sympathy ;  but 
I  impatiently  wait  for  the  account  of  the  public 
opinion  concerning  the  trial  of  his  nephew,  and 
the  state  of  the  commonwealth.  I  expect  you  to 
W/ite  like  a  consummate  statesman,  because  I 
know  you  are  reading  my  political  works  along 
with  our  friend  Thallumetus :  if  so,  I  shall  know 
from  you  not  only  present,  but  future,  events ; 

«  for 


'  P^raeeus  was  a  port  of  Athens. 

^ , A  promontory  of  Attica. 

'  These  were  two  islands  in  the  iEgean  sea. 

*  This  was  another  of  the  Cyclades. 

*  He  had  been  tried  for  undue  practices  in  coming  to  the 
consulship,  and,  though  he  had  been  onoe  acquitted,  he  was 
found  guilty  upon  a  second  trial,  and  sent  into  banishment,  not- 
withstanding all  that  his  uncle  Hortensius,  the  famous  orator 
could  do  to  save  him. 


i 


for  even  your  client,  the  very  grave  Helenius, 
could  instruct  me  as  to  the  former.  I  expect 
that  before  this  comes  to  your  hand,  that  the 
consuls  will  be  chosen,  and  that  you  will  be  able 
to  form  a  judgment  concerning  Caesar,  Pompey, 
and  even  the  courts  of  judicature. 

As  you  love  me,  I  beg  you  will  finish  my  affairs, 
since  you  are  to  remain  at  Rome.     I  entreat  that 
you  will  take  care  of  the  brick  aquaeduct  which  I 
neglected  to  mention  in  answer  to  yours.     In 
respect  to  the  water,  I  wish  you  to  oblige  me 
with  your  usual  alacrity.     From  what  occurs  to 
myself,  as  well  as  from  what  you  suggest,  I  con- 
ceive this  a  great  convenience ;  you  will  there- 
fore take  care  that  somewhat  may  be  done.     I 
shall  only  add  my  request  that  you  assist  Philip, 
if  he  has  solicited  your  assistance   in  his  af- 
fair.    When  I  am  settled,  I  will  write  you  more 
fully.    At  present  I  am  surrounded  by  the  sea. 


EPISTLE  Xlil. 

On  the  22nd  of  June,  560  days  after  the  battle 
of  Bovilla ',  I  came  to  Ephesus,  after  a  safe  and 
pleasant  voyage,  though  somewhat  slow  on  ac- 
count 

1  This  was  the  recounter  in  which  Clodius  was  killed  by 
Milo,  and  from  which  our  author  affects  to  date  as  being  a 
remarkable  Epocha  for  himself  and  his  country. 


«w     •' 


#  > 


y 


330 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


531 


count  of  the  heaviness  of  the  Rhodian  flat-bot- 
tomed boats.  You  have,  no  doubt,  heard,  with 
other  things  respecting  me,  of  the  deputies,  the 
private  gentlemen,  the  multitudes  of  people,  who 
came  to  meet  me  at  Samos^  and  in  still  greater 
crowd  at  Ephesus.  You  must  know,  however, 
that  our  farmers  of  the  public  received  me  as  if  I 
had  been  the  governor  of  the  province,  and  the 
Greeks,  with  the  same  satisfaction  as  they  would 
have  done  the  praetor  of  Ephesus.  From  which  you 
will  conclude  with  certainty,  that  my  conduct  for 
these  many  years  has  been  acceptable  to  both 
parties.  But  I  am  in  hopes  to  practise  those 
principles  which  I  have  learned  from  you,  and 
keep  well  with  all ;  and  this  will  be  the  more 
easy  for  me,  as  my  province  has  already  finished 
its  contract  with  the  farmers. — Here  I  must  end; 
for  Sestius,  the  bearer  of  this,  while  I  am  at  sup- 
per, tells  me  he  is  to  set  out  this  very  night. 

I  have  taken  care  of  all  your  little  affairs  at 
Ephesus,  and  1  have  strongly  recommended  Phi- 
logenes  and  Sejus  to  the  favour  of  Thermus  ^, 
though,  before  my  arrival,  he  was  most  liberal  of 

his 

*  This  island  lay  opposite  to  Ephesus,  which  was  a  Roman 
government,  and  it  had  been  long  a  maxim  preached  up  by 
Cicero,  that  a  wise  Roman  patriot  would  behave  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  reconcile,  to  himself,  the  affections  of  all  ranks 
of  men.  ^ 

*  He  had,  during  that  and  the  preceding  year,  been  gover- 
nor of  Asia,  after  serving  as  praetor  in  Rome. 


/* 


I 


'  m 


his  promises  to  all  your  dependants ;  and  I  have 
likewise  recommended  to  him  Xeno  of  Apollo- 
nis.  In  short,  he  has  absolutely  promised  to  do 
all  you  can  desire;  I  have  likewise  settled  with 
Philogenes  the  account  of  that  money  I  borrowed 

from  you. 

So  much  for  these  matters.     I  return  to  the 
affairs  of  the  city.     By  all  you  hold  dear,  as  you 
are  to  remain  at  Rome,  I  conjure  you  to  make  it 
a  strong,  and  an  indispensable,  preliminary,  that 
my  commission  be  not  protracted  beyond  the 
year,  and,  that  too,  not  intercalated.     You  are 
then  to  advert  to  my  other  concerns  recommen- 
ded to  you,  particularly  that  domestic  business  * 
which  you  know  I  have  so  much  at  heart,  and 
my  transactions  with  Caesar,  whose  friendship  I 
courted,  by  your  advice,  without  repenting  as  yet 
of  that  connection.     And  if  you  have  any  notion 
how  desirous,  how  anxious  I  am  to  be  informed 
of  all  public,  and  even  of  all  private  events,   you 
will  send  me  a  minute  and  faithful  account  of 
them.     Above  all  things,  let  me  know  the  state 
of  the  trials  past,  present,  and  to  come  ^    Inform 
me  concerning  the  water  I  wrote  about,  whether 
it  has  been   minded,  or  what  Philip  is  doing  in 
that   matter. 

EPISTLE 

*       1  Probably  the  marriage  of  his  daughter. 

'    2  Orig.  In  pr'imis  ecquidjudiciorum  status  autfactorum,  aut 
futurorum  etiam  laloret.     Meaning  the  trials  of  undue  prac- 
tices amongst  candidates  for  public  offices,  encouraged,  and  set 
foot  by  Pompey  the  year  before, 


4 


332 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


333 


EPISTLE  XIV. 

« 

U  NTiL  such  time  as  I  shall  settle  in  some  place, 
you  are  not  to  expect  that  my  letters  will  either 
be  very  long,  or  always  written  with  my  own 
hand ;  but  they  shall  be  both  the  one  and  the 
other,  as  soon  as  I  have  leisure.  1  have  just 
finished  a  most  sultry,  dusty,  stage.  Yesterday 
I  wrote  you  from  Ephesus,  and  this  comes  from 
Tralles.  I  expect  to  reach  my  province  by  the 
1st  of  August,  from  which  day,  if  you  love  me, 
you  are  to  reckon  the  annual  term  of  my  govern- 
ment. In  the  meanwhile,  it  luckily  happens  to 
roe,  in  the  first  place,  that  the  Parthians  are 
quiet,  that  the  contract  of  my  province  is  finished 
M  ith  the  farmers,  that  Appius  *  had  quelled  the 
mutiny  of  the  soldiers,  and  that  they  are  paid  up 
to  the  15th  of  July.  We  were  received  in  Asia 
with  prodigious  satisfaction,  for  our  journey 
cost  not  a  farthing  even  to  the  meanest  inhabi- 
tant I  am  in  hopes  that  all  my  dependants 
have  done  honour  to  my  character ;  I  am  not 
however  without  alarming  apprehensions,  and 
yet  I  hope  for  the  best.  All  my  retinue  are  now 
arrived,  excepting  your  friend  Tullius,  I  in- 
tended going  directly  to  the  army,  that  I  might 

employ 

*  He  was  Cicero's  predecessor  in  the  government  of  Cilicla. 


I 


employ  the  remainder  of  the  summer  in  military, 
and  the  winter  in  civil,  duties. 

As  you  know  me  to  be  as  anxious  about  the 
public  as  you  are  yourself,  I  beg  you  will  write 
me  every  thing  as  it  is,  and  is  likely  to  be.  You 
cannot  oblige  me  more,  unless  by  finishing  what 
I  gave  you  in  commission,  and  especially  that 
domestic  concern,  which  you  know  lies  nearest 
to  my  heart  This  note,  which  I  have  written 
in  the  midst  of  bustle,  I  conclude  with  haste. 
Hereafter  I  will  write  you  more  particularly. 


t 


EPISTLE  XV. 

On  the  last  of  July  I  came  to  Laodicea,  and 
from  that  day  you  are  to  reckon  ^  the  year  of  my 
government.  Nothing  could  be  more  agreeable 
or  welcome  than  my  arrival  in  this  place,  and 
yet  you  cannot  imagine  how  sick  I  already  am 
of  this  employment.     Here  my  genius,  to  which 

you 

*  Orig,  Ex  hoc  die  clavum  anni  movehis.  This  expression 
has  an  allusion  to  one  manner  of  reckoning  years  amongst  the 
Romans,  that  of  moving  a  nail,  which  had  the  year  before  been 
driven  into  the  gate  of  the  temple  of  Minerva,  and  driving  it 
afresh  into  another  place  of  the  gate,  and  thus  the  number  of 
holes  served  as  a  reckoning  from  the  number  of  years.  Lao- 
dicea being  the  first  town  of  his  province  to  which  Cicero  arri- 
ved, he  desires  that  the  term  of  his  government  may  be  fixed 
from  the  day  on  which  he  entered  that  town. 


I 


334 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


33^ 


you  are  no  stranger,  has  not  scope  enough  for  its 
'  operations,  nor  can  my  studies  here  display  their 
beautiful  eflbcts.  Since  it  is  not  a  very  desira- 
ble thing  for  me  to  determine  causes  at  Laodi- 
cea,  while  Plotius^  decides  at  Rome,  and  while 
a  certain  friend  of  ours  is  at  the  head  of  a  great 
army,  I  have  the  command  of  two  nominal, 
weak,  legions.  But  these  are  not  the  matters 
that  I  regret.  I  regret  the  loss  of  my  conspi- 
cuous 


^  The  whole  of  this  passage  displays  excessive  weakness.  The 
Plotius,  here  spoken  of,  seems  to  have  been  the  same  who  was 
this  year  praetor  at  Rome,  and  our  author  ^>erhaps  had  no  great 
opinion  of  his  abilities  compared  to  his  own.  As  to  the  gene- 
ral, liinted  at  here,  it  is  not  so  easy  to  say  wlio  he  was,  some 
commentators  think  he  means  Cassius,  but  that  will  not  agree 
witkhis  circumstances,  for  he  was  then  at  the  head  of  a  very 
inconsiderable  number  collected  from  the  ruins  of  the  army  of 
Crassus.  Monsieur  Mongault  thinks  he  means  Caesar,  but  I 
cannot  be  of  that  opinion.  It  is  true,  he  sometimes  affects  to 
call  Caesar  his  friend,  but  the  friend,  here  mentioned,  is  cer- 
tainly a  person  who  commanded  a  great  array,  and  ©f  whom 
our  author  had  a  hearty  contempt.  This  therefore  agrees  bet- 
ter with  Pompey,  whom  he  frequently  affects  to  call  his  friend, 
whom  he  greatly  despised,  and  who  was  at  the  head  of  the  army 
at  Rome,  in  the  same  manner  as  Plotius  was  at  the  head  of  the 
law.  Add  to  this,  that  the  word  nostcr  points  out  a  common 
friend  to  Atticus  as  well  as  our  author,  which  when  we  consi- 
der our  author's  manner  is  scarcely  applicable  to  Caesar,  though 
it  is  highly  so  to  Pompey.  The  passage  brought  by  Monsiedr 
Mongault,  in  favour  of  his  own  opinion,  seems  to  make  against 
himself,  and  to  strengthen  my  conjecture  in  this.  Itaque 
Cfpsaris  aviicij  says  he  in  a  former  epistle.  Lib.  4.  Ep.  l6. 
Me  dico  et  Oppiuni,  dirumparis  licet. 


I 


cuous   station,    of  the  forum  of  Rome,   of  my 
family,   and  of  you  my  friend.     I  will  however 
do  the  best  I  can  to  bear  with  all,  provided  it 
be  but  for  a  year,  but  all  beyond  that  will  be 
death   to  me.     If  you  remain  at  Rome,  such  a 
prolongation,  however,    may  be  guarded  against. 
You  ask  me  what  I  do  here  ?    I  live  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  incur  great  expences.    So  much  am 
I  pleased  with  my  plan  of  conduct,    and  so  scru- 
pulously do  I  abstain  from  all  pecuniary  advan- 
tages,  as  you   have   prescribed,    that   I  am  in 
danger  of  borrowing  money  to  pay  the  sum  you 
lent  me;  I  do  not  again  lay  open  the  wounds  of 
Appius,  but  they  are  too  evident  to  be  concealed. 
On  this  3rd' of  August,  at  the  time  of  writing 
these  letters,    I  set  out  from  Laodicea  for  the 
,  camp  at  Licaonia',    from  whence  I  resolve  to 
march  to  Taurus^  and  then,  with  colours  dis- 
played, I  will  endeavour  to  demand  your  slave 
from  M^ragenes  \ 

^  I  look  like  an  ox  under  a  pack-saddle^  and 
the  drudgery  of  this  government  is  evidently  little 

adapted 


1  This  was  a  province  of  Asia  Minor. 

*  A  mountain  lying  between  Cilicia  and  Capadocia. 

3  This  is  a  private  piece  of  raillery,  scarce  recoverable  at  this, 
time".  '  It  seems  this   Maegeranes  was  a  Parthian,  who  had 
entertained  a  fugitive  slave  belonging  to  Atticus. 

*  This  was  ^  proverbial  expression  j  the  original  is  Clitella 
lovi  sunt  impositcc,  plane  non  est  nostrum  onus. 


I 


336' 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


3S7 


adapted  for  me !  I  will,  however,  bear  my  loa9, 
but,  as  you  love  me,  let  it  not  be  beyond  the 
year.  Attend  at  the  tiitie  at  Rome :  rouse  thfe 
whole  senate  in  my  favour :  you  cannot  imagine 
how  uneasy  I  am  at  being  so  long  without  news 
from  home.  Therefore,  as  I  have  often  desired 
you  by  my  letters,  take  care  to  acquaint  me  with 
every  thing,  especially  what  concerns  the  public. 
I  cannot  write  any  more,  as  my  letter,  from  the 
length  of  the  road,  is  likely  to  miscarry.  The 
bearer  however,  Caius  Andronicus  is  my  friend 
and  familiar  acquaintance  \  As  to  you,  there  are 
friequent  opportunities  to  convey  letters  to  me. 
You  can  often  forward  them  by  means  of  the 
receivers  of  the  pasture- far,  or,  in  the  packets 
of  the  farmers  bound  to  our  ports. 


EPISTLE  XVL 


V  «  •«, 


A  HO u Gil  the  packets  of  the  farmers  of  the 
revenue  set  out  while  I  was  upon  my  journey  on 
the  public  road,  and  even  in  haste,  yet  have  I 
snatched  this  short  time,  lest  you  should  think 
me  unmindful  of  what  you  recommended  to  me. 
I  therefore  sat  down  upon  the  very  road,  to  write 

you 

1  The  original  is  here  very  uncertain;  I  read,  plura  scribam 
tarde  redditiiro  9  Sed  dabam  familiari  homini,  ac  domestico, 
Caio  Andronica  Puteolano. 


n 


you  a  short  account  of  matters,  which  require  a 
long  explanation.    Be  it  known  to  you,  that  on  the 
last  day  of  July,  I  arrived  at  this  oppressed  and 
irrecoverably  ruined,  province,  where  I  was  most 
impatiently  expected.     I  remained  three  days  at 
Laodicea,  three  at  Apamea,  and  three  at  Syn- 
nade  \  and  in  all  those  places  nothing  was  heard 
but  the  inability  of  the  people  to  pay  their  poll 
and  capitation-taxes^  the  selling  of  all  their  own 
possessions,  the  sighs  and  the  cries  of  the  oppres- 
sed, which  indicate  the  government  of  a  brute 
rather  than  of  a  man.     The  inhabitants  are  tired 
of  life.     Their  misery,   however,  receives  some 
alleviation,  that  they  have  been  at  no  ex  pence 
from  nie,  my  deputies,  my  questor,  nor  any  of 
my  retinue.     You  must  know  that  I  refused  to 
accept,    not  only  of  pay  and  other  perquisites 
allowed  by  the  Julian  law,  but  even  of  wood;  nor 
put  I  any  man  to  farther   expence  than  that  of 
furoishing  me  with  four  beds  and  a  lodging;  nay 
in  many  places  I  was   without    a  lodging,  and 
generally  passed  the  night  in  a  tent.     Incredible 
therefore  was  the  crowd  to  meet  me  from  the^ 
country,  the  towns,  and    all  the  houses  round. 
Even  my  arrival,  indeed,  seems  to  give  them  new 

life. 

1  Tliese  were  three  towns  of  Pbrygia  Aecassiana. 

2  Orig.  Audivimus  nihil  aliud,  nui  imperata  ti!^ya^»Ki»  {ex^ 
actionem  capitum)  solvent  non  posse,  *»^^  (possessiones)  omni- 
am  vendiias. 

Vol.  I.  z 


358 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


839 


life.  Could  you  but  hear  bow  tiiey  extol  the 
justice,  the  disinterestedness,  and  the  clemency  of 
ypur  friend,  and  how  greatly  he  has  surpassed 

their  fondest  expectations! ; 

As  soon  as  my  predecessor  heard  of  my  arrival, 
he  retired  as  far  as  Tarsus,  the  remotest  part  of 
all  the  province,  where  he  still  exercises  his  judi-» 
eial  capacity.  We  hear  not  a  word  concerning 
the  Parthians  ;  and  yet  some  people,  who  came 
from  those  parts,  mention  that  a  party  of  our 
cavalry  has  been  cut  oft'  by  those  barbarians. 
Bibulus  has  not  as  yet  so  much  as  thought  of 
repairing  to  his  government;  because,  as  some 
say,  he  intends  to  remain  the  longer  in  it  I  aoa 
now  two  days  journey  from  the  camp,  to  which 
I  am  posting. 


EPISTLE  XVII. 

X  RECEIVED  from  Rome  a  packet  without  any 
letter  from  you.  This  is  an  omission  which  \, 
eannot  impute  to  you,  but  to  Philotimus,  I  mean, 
if  you  had  your  health  and  were  at  Rome.  I  dic- 
tated this  epistle  as  I  sat  in  my  chaise,  on  my 
journey  to  the  camp,  which  I  can  reach  in  two 
days.  Some  days  hence  1  shall  have  bearers,  to 
whom  1  can  with  safety  entrust  my  letters.  I 
have  therefore  reserved  wliat  I  have  to  say  for 
them.     With  regard  to  myself  (though  I  could 

wish 


wish  that  you  heard  it  rather  from  another)  so 
disinterested  is  my  conduct  in  the  province,  that 
I  have  not  taken  a  farthing  from  any  man.  No 
more  have  my  legates,  tribunes  and  prefects ;  so 
punctual  are  they  to  my  orders,  and  so  zealoua 
of  my  glory.  Lepta'  behaves  wondertuUy  weH 
to  me.  But  I  am  now  in  haste ;  a  few  daifs 
hence,  I  will  write  you  every  thing. 

The  younger  Dejotarus,  who  has  received  the 
title  of  king  from  the  senate,  has    carried   my 
nephew,  and  my  son,  with  him,  into  his  kingdom, 
which  I  thought  the  most  convenient  residence 
for  the  boys  while  1  was  in  the  field.     Sestms« 
has   informed  me  by  letters  of  his  conversation 
with  you  about  the  domestic  concern,  which  hes 
nearest  my  heart,  and  of  your  opinion  on  tbi3 
subject     As  you  love  me,  attend  to  that  matter, 
and  tell  me  what  can  be  done  in  it,  and  what  you 
think  of  it     He  writes  me  likewise,   tliat  Hor- 
ten^ius  has  talked  somewhat  about  prolonging 
the  time  of  my  government.     But  Hortensius 
himself  told  me  when  he-sawme  at  Cumae,  he 
would  most  strenuously  endeavour,  that  my  go- 
vernment should  be  but  of  one  year's  standing. 
If  you  love  me,  secure  to  me  this  point     My 
reluctance  to  be  absent  from  you  is  inexpres- 

sible ; 

'  »  He  served  ia  the  capacity  of  chief  eDgineerin  Cicero's 


army. 
9  SeepageaoS,  floteS, 


z  s 


I 


340 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  AtTICtJS. 


341 


sible ;  and  by  my  speedily  finishing  my  commisf 
sion,  I  am  in  hopes  that  the  glorious  character  I 
bear  for  justice  and  disinterestedness,  will  become 
the  more  illustrious.  This  was  the  case  with 
Scaevola,  who  governed  Asia  for  no  more  thaa 
nine  months. 

When  our  friend  Appius  understood  that  I  was 
approaching,  he  removed  from  Laodicea  as  far 
as  Tarsus,  where  he  acts  in  a  judicial  capacity, 
though  I  am  in  the  province,  an  affront  which  I 
am  far  from  resenting ;  for  I  am  sufficiently  em- 
ployed in  healing  the  wounds  which  this  govern- 
ment has  received,  and  which  I  endeavour  to  do, 
fis  little  as  I  possibly  can,  to  his  discredit  But 
j  desire  you  will  let  our  friend  Brutus^  know, 
that  Appius  has  not  behaved  handsomely  in  re- 
tiring, upon  my  approach,  to  the  other  extremity 
of  the  province. 

.-       '■■*•■■ 
RPISTLE  XVIII.  - 

xlow  earnestly  do  I  wish  you  to  be  at  Rome,  if 
you  are  not  there;  for  I  know  nothing  for  cer- 
tain, but  I  received  your  letters  dated  tlie  lyth 
of  July,  informing  me,  that  you  was  to  set  otat  for 
Epirus  about  the  1st  of  August  But  be  that  as 
it  will,  whether  thi§  finds  you  in  Rome  or  Epirus,^ 
you  must  know  that  the    Parthians  under  the 

command 

^  H«  was  son-in-law  to  Appius, 


t 


command  of  Pacorus,    tli6=S0n   of  their  king 
OrodesS  have  passed  the  Euphrates  with  almost 
their  whole  army; .  We  have  yet  had  no  accounts 
of  Bibulus,  being  in  Syria,  and  Cassius  continues 
'shut  up  with  all  his  army  in  the  town  of  Antioich. 
I  am  now  in  Cappadocia,   near  Mount  Taurus, 
at  the  town  of  Cybistra  with  my  array,  and  the 
enemy  is  in  Cyrrhestica,  which  is  the  nearest 
part  of  Syria  to  my  province. 
'   I  have  sent  the  senate  an  account  of  all  thes'e 
matters ;  but,  if  you  are  at  Rome,  you  will  peruse 
my  letter  beforehand,   and  consider  whether  it  i8 
proper  to  be  presented.     You  are  to  think  for 
me  upon  a  great  many  other  points,  nay  upon 
all;  the  main  one  is,  that  no  means  be  taken  ill 
the  time  of  deliberation"  to  increase  the  busi- 
ness, or  to  prolong  the  term,  of  my  government 
The  truth  is,  situated  as  I  am,  my  army  weak, 
and  my  allies  few,  especially  those  who  are  faith- 
ful to  us,  the  winter  will  prove  my  greatest  safe- 
tj'      If,  before  the  time,  they  should  not  attack 
piy  province,  I  am  only  afraid  lest  the  senate's 

apprehensions 

»  This  was  the  prince  wh6  defeated  Crassus  the  year  before. 

t  Jnter  cmsa  et  porrecia.  Not  as  Manutius  supposes,  the 
time  of  Cicero's  departure,  but  the  time  of  deliberation  m  lie 
senate/ whether  he  was  permitted  to  return,  agreeably  to  hii 
wishes,  or  compeiled  to  continue  in  it  another  year.  For  the 
iieure  is  borrowed  -  fh>m  those  entraib,  which,  when  cut  and 
Mrdtched  out.  determined,  whether  the  sacrifice  was  to  be 
carried  on.  which  was  the  case:  if  auspicious,  or  again  repeated 
which  was  done,  ifinauspicious,--*. 


♦ 


:342 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


343 


N 


apprehensions  from  the  internal  state  of  affairs 
may  then  be  so  great,  that  they  will  not 
5ufFer  Pompey  to  leave  them\  But  if  they  send 
another  towards  the  spring,  without  prolonging 
my  term,  I  shall  be  indifferent. 

You  must  know  then  (whether  you  be  at 
Rome,  or  absent,  or  returning  to  it,  is  not  mate- 
rial) my  present  situation  is  as  follows.  I  have 
adopted  those  measures,  which  appeared  to  me 
the  most  advantageous,  and  hence  entertain  hopes 
of  success.  I  rely  upon  my  forces ;  my  camp  is 
strong,  and^onvenient  for  forage;  it  lies  on  the 
▼ery  frontiers  of  Cilicia,  and  all  our  posts  can  be 
easily  changed.  My  army  is  indeed  small,  but  I 
flatter  myself,  entirely  well  affected  to  me,  and 
when  Desotarus  arrives  with  all  his  forces,  their 
numbers  will  be  then  doubled.  No  general  ever 
hbd  the  same  advantages  with  regard  to  the  good 
dispositions  of  my  allies;  so  greatly  are  they 
charmed  by  my  affability  and  moderation.  I  am 
now  putting  arms  into  the  hands  of  our  Roman 
citizens,  and  raising  magazines  of  provisions, 
from  the  country,  in  the  fortified  places  of  my 
government.  Thus  I  am  prepared  to  fight,  if  a 
fair  opportunity  presents,  or  to  act  upon  the 
defensive,  if  I  choose  it. 

Yoii  have  no  reason,  therefore,  to  be  discou- 
raged, for  well  do  I  know  you,  and  I  can  see 

you 

s 

^  He  was  designed  to  have  the  chief  conlmand  airainst  the 
Parthians. 


you  melt  with  tenderness,  as  plainly  as  if  you 
were  before  my  eyes.  But  I  beg  you  to  do  all 
that  lies  in  your  power  to  be  at  Rome  m  the 
month  of  January,  if  nothing  should  be  done  by 
the  senate  in  my  business  till  the  1st  of  that 
montli.  Never  can  I  suffer  any  prejudice  while 
you  are  present.  The  consuls  are  my  friends, 
the  tribune  Furnius  is  my  friend ;  but  still  I  must 
rely,  in  that  delicate  conjuncture,  upon  your  assi- 
duity, experience  and  interest.  It  is,  however, 
unnecessary  to  use  many  words  with  you. 

My  two  Ciceros  are  with  Dejotarus,  but  it 
there  should  be  occasion,  they  can  be  conveyed 
to  Rhodes,     If  you  are  at  Rome,  be  as  punctual, 
as  usual,  in  your  correspondence ;  but  if  you  ar« 
in  EpiruB  send  some  of  your  domestics  express  t© 
me,  that  you  may  know  my  situation,  and  that  I 
may  know  what  you  are  doing,  and  what  you 
intend  to  do.     I  am  more  assiduous  about  the 
affair  of  Brutus'  than  he  would  himself  be,  were 
he  here  in  person.     But  I  am  now  to  give  up 
my  guardianship,  and  to  have  no  farther  concern 
with  my  pupil,  so  perplexed  and  disordered  are 
his  afltairs.     I  shall,  notwithstanding,  act  so  as 
to  please  you,  which  is  doing  more  than  plea^ 

sing 


1  This  relates  to  money  that  was  doe  to  Brutus  from  Ario- 
barzanes.  the  young  king  of  Cappadocia,  whose  father  havmg 
been  murdered,  Cicero,  by  order  of  die  senate,  acted  as  a  kind 
of  tutor  for  the  son. 


( 


(^ 


544 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


1X5    ATTiaJS. 


34J 


sing  him;  I  shall  act,   however,  I  hope,  to  the 
satisfaction  of  both. 


EPISTLE  .XIX. 

X  HAD  just  sealed  the  letter,  which  I  suppose  you 
have  received  by  this  time,  all  written  with  my  own 
hand,  and  giving  an  account  of  whatever  concerns 
me,  when  all  of  a  sudden  a  courier  from  Appius  on 
the  2 1  St  September,  broughtme  your  letter  in  forty 
seven  days  from  Rome.    What  a  length  of  time, 
and  yet  he  pretended  to  come  with  haste.     From 
the  tenor  of  it  I  make  no  doubt,  that  after  waiting 
for  Pompey's  return    from   Ariminum,  you  are 
now  set  out  for  Epirus,  and  I  can  easily  imagine 
Ihe  concern  you  hint  at,  which  must  be  as  great 
to  you  in  Epirus  as  it  is  to  me  here.     I  have  writ- 
ten to  Philotimus  that  he  should  not  demand  of 
Messala  the  debt  of  Attelicus.    I  am  glad  that  the 
fame  of  my  progress  has  reached  you,  and  shall 
be  still  more  so,   when  you  are  acquainted  with 
all  the  circumstances.     I  share  in  the  pleasure 
which  you  take  in   your  little  daughter  at  Rome, 
and  tliough  1  never  saw  her,  yet  1  have  conceived 
an  afiection  for  her,  and  I  believe  her  to  be  so 
vitniable,  that  she  deserve?  it     You  will  J'sup^ 

pose, 


I 


j)Ose,   now,  renounce  Pa tro  and  his  sect\   I  am 
extremely  glad,  that  you  are  pleased  with  the  mea- 
sure I  have  taken  during  my  campaign  respecting 
the  Tarcntine  squadron'.     As  to  what  you  write 
me  of  your  being  pleased  with  the  repulse  of  a 
person  ^  who  presumed  to  enter  the  lists  with  the 
uncle  of  your  sister's  son,  it  is  to  me  a  fresh  proof 
of  your  great  affection.     You  therefore  did  right 
to  let  tne  know  it,  that  I  may  partake  in  your  joy, 
for  it  never  could    have    come    into  my  mind. 
This  perhaps,  you  may  not  credit.     Do  as  yoii 
please.     It  is  however  true;  for  there  is  a  great 
difference  between  indignation  and  envy. 


■0, 


EPlSTLE 


^  This  Patro  was  of  the  Epicurean  school,  one  of  wJ^^ 
maxims  was,  ov  ^ver/Jtoy  nv»t  rnv  fofyv  rnfv^os  rx  wkv*,  that  the 
hve  of  children  is  not  implanted  by  nature  in  the  breasts  of  their 
parents,  Cicero,  on  perceiving  the  great  affection  of  his  friend 
stewards  his  daughter,  rallies  him  on  his  former  opinion,  and 
,  now  supposes  him  convinced  of  Us  falsehood  by  the  dictates  of 
jhis  own  bosom. — E. 

«  They  were  of  light  horsemen  which  served  in  the  Roman 
armies  and  bad  their  name  from  Tarentum,  where  their  order 
was  first  instituted.  Every  one  of  them  had  two  horses.  One 
of  which  he  rode,  and  another  he  led  ;  and  they  were  so  expert 
Jn  riding,  that  they  could  vaultfrom  the  back  erf  one  upon  die 
other, 

3  Tliis  was  Hirrus,  who  had  opposed  Cicero  when  he  stood 
for  the  augurship,  and  who  had  been  lately  disappointed  of  the 
yEdileship. 


k 


( 


346 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


I 


TO  ATTICUS. 


347 


EPISTLE  XX. 

Ox  the  morning  of  the  17th  of  December,  Piii- 
denissa'  surrendered  to  me,  being  the  forty- 
seventh  day  after  the  commencement  of  the  siege. 
What  untowared  place  is  Pindenissa,  for  till  now 
I  never  heard  the  name, — How  can  I  explain  it? 
Can  I  render  the  obscure  country  of  Cilicia  so 
well  known  to  you  as  is"  iEtolia  or  Macedonia? 
You  must  know,  at  present,  however,  that  I 
could  undertake  no  such  actions  as  have  been 
performed  there,  with  such  an  army  as  I  com- 
mand here.  I  will  therefore  give  you  a  summary 
account  of  the  whole ;  for  so  you  give  me  leave 
to  write  in  your  last  letters. 

You  know  in  what  manner  I  arrived  at  Ephe- 
sus;  you  even  congratulated  me  upon  the  hon- 
ours which  that  day  crOuded  upon  me,  and  which 
indeed  gave  me  the  greatest  pleasure.  The 
towns  through  which  I  passed,  after  leaving 
Ephesus,  received  me  with  high  admiration ;  and 

on 

*"^  lliis  was  the  capital  of  that  part  of  Cilicia  wLich  was 
■ansubdued  by  the  Romans. 

«  Monsieur  Monganlt,  with  all  his  accuracy,  seems  not  per- 
fectly to  have  attended  td  Cicero's  meaning  in  this  passage.  For 
the  tanta  negotia  is  evidently  put  in  opposition  to  the  great 
actions  performed  by  Attkus's  favourite  Greeks  upon  those  two 
cfelebrated  theatres  of  war,  iEtoli  and  Macedon,  with  which 
Atticus  was  so  well  acquainted. 


m  the  last  of  July,  I  arrived  at  LaodiCea,  where 
I  staid  for  two  days  in  great  splendour ;  and  the 
assurances  of  my  favour  eradicated  the  injuries 
which  they  received  from  my  predecessor.  I 
afterwards  passed  five  days  at  Apamea,  three  at 
Synnada^  five  at  Philomelum,  and  ten  at  Iconium; 
and  my  administration,  during  this  time,  was 
conducted   with  unexampled  equity,  clemency* 

and  dignity. 

From  Iconium  I  went,   on  the  26th  of  August, 
to  my  army,  and,  four  days  after,  I  reviewed  it 
near  that  place.     Some  disagreeable  news  arri* 
ving  concertiing  the  Parthians,  1  decamped  from 
thence  towards  Cilicia,  through  that  part  of  Cap* 
padocia  which  borders  upon  Cilicia,  with  a  view 
ofmakingArtavasdes  the  Armenian,  and  the  Par- 
thians themselves,   sensible  that  they  were  pre- 
cluded out  from  all  access  to  Cappadocia.   After 
being  encamped  for  five  days  at  Cybistra  in  Cap* 
padocia,  I  had  certain  intelligence  th^t  the  Pdr- 
thians  were  at  a  great  distance  from  the  frontiers 
of  Cappadocia,  and   that  they  rather  menaced 
Cilicia  itself.     I  therefore  immediately  marched 
for  Cilicia,  through  the  defiles  of  mount  Taurus. 
On  the  5th  of  October  I  reached  Tarsus,  from 
whence  I  marched  towards  mojint  Amanus,  the 
ridge  of  which  pours  its  streams  into  Syria,   and 
t>r>  the  other  into  Cilicia.     The  mountain  wag 
billed  with  our  eternal  eneliiiesj  of  whom  we  kil- 
led a  great  number  on  the  1  ^h  of  October.     By 

ordering 


i 


I 


348 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


ordering  Pontinius  to  advance  against  them  in 
the  night,  and  by  my  attacking  them  in  the 
morning,  I  took  and  burnt  their  camp  though 
strongly  fortified.  1  then  received  the  trium- 
phant name  of  Imperator. 

For  a  few  days,  I  possessed  the  very  camp 
which  Alexander,  a  far  more  accomplished  gene- 
ral than  either  of  us,  occupied  against  Darius, 
near  the  river  Issus.  After  staying  there  for 
five  days,  and  plundering  and  ravaging  mount 
Amanus,  I  moved  my  quarters.  For  there  are 
beings  which,  though  empty  phantoms,  appearing 
in  the  field  of  battle,  spread ^e^r  and  consterna- 
tion *.    These  effects  were  felt  by  the  enemy ;  and 

the 


*  These  imaginary  beings  were  called  Uafu  panes  and 
bence  the  confusion  and  honors,  whioh  they  were  supposed  te 
occasion,  ntxttxix  panics.  They  were  thought  to  appear  under 
those  empty  forms,  which  the  Epicureans  stiled  species,  Simula^ 
era  tmioLi,  liSa/Xa  ;  and  for  this  reason  Cicero  designates  them 
T«  xiva,  i.  e.  «iW*  empty  forms.  The  original  term,  as 
Bocchart  has  observed,  is  Hebrew  {pun)  and  signifies  to  ter- 
rify. Plutarch  (vt^i  laiJo^  t"^)  joins  these  supposed  spectres  with 
the  satyrs,  and  represents  them  as  frequenting,  in  an  especial 
manner,  the  land  of  Egypt. — E. 

Monsieur  Mongault  translates  the  whole  passage  Car  vous 
scavez  qua  la  guerre  it  Jaut  craindre  Ics  supriseSj  tff  ne  pas 
irop  tenter  la  fortune.  But  I  cannot,  for  ray  life,  conceive 
why  Cicero  should  be  apprehensive  of  those  panics  and  terror* 
seizing  his  own  army.  ,  I  have  therefore  applied  them  tp  that 
of  the  Parthians,  and  indeed  the  natural  connection  of  the  sepse 
directs  me  so  to  do,  and  likewise  destroys^  in  a  great  measure,  a 


charge 


TO  ArFIGUS. 


34d 


the  fame  of  my  march  gave  great  spirits  to  Cas* 
iius,  who  was  shut  up  in  Antioch,  and  terrified 
the  Parthians  so  much,  that  they  retreated  from 
the  town,  and  Cassius  followed  them  with  great 
slaughter.  In  their  flight  Osaces,  one  of  their 
generals,  a  man  of  great  authority  among  them, 
received  a  wound,  of  which  he  died  in  three  days. 
This  raised  my  reputation  in  Syria,  and  in  the 
meantime  Bibulus  arrived.  He  wanted,  I  sup- 
pose, to  be  on  the  same  footing  with  me,  as  to 
the  empty  title  of  Imperator,  and  he  therefore 
set  out  in  quest  of  cheaply  purchased  laurels  ^ 
upon  the  same  mount  Amanus.  But  he  lost  all 
his  first  battalion,  with  the  centurion  of  the  first 
company,  one  of  the  best  officers  of  his  rank, 
Asinius  Dento,   with  other  officers  of  the  same 

corps, 

charge  brought  by  Monsieur  Mongault  against  our  author's  ve- 
locity, in  ascribing  to  his  own  march  the  defeaf-  of  the  Parthians. 
For,  as  I  have  translattxl  the  words  this  charge  vanishes,  and  he 
says  no  more  to  his  friend  than  that  the  effects  of  panics  and 
terrors  are  very  strong  in  armies,  which  might  be  the  reason 
why  the  Parthians,  hearing  of  his  great  successes,  had  raised 
tibe  siege.  And  indeed  to  speak  candidly,  a  general  of  much 
greater  experience  and  less  vanity  than  our  author  possessed^ 
might  have  fallen,  in  like  circumstances,  into  the  like  mistake, 
if  it  was  a  mistake;  for  I  neither  see  any  absurdity  in  supposing 
the  Parthians  to  have  been  alarmed  with  his  niarch  nor  any  van- 
ity in  his  believing  that  they  were,  as  we  cannot  suppose  hitr\, 
when  he  wrote  thik  letter,  to  have  been  informed  of  the  truth 
of  this  affair,  arid  of  the  stratagem  which  Dion  tells  us  Cassfoii 
made  use  of  gn  this  occasion. 

1  Orig\  Laurtvlam  inmnstatceo  ^yceiere. 


«  aUKHtiiSdUUI 


350 


CICERO^  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


351 


corps,  togetlier  with  Sextus  Lucilius,  a  colonel  in 
his  army,  son  to  Titus  Gavius  Saepio,  a  man  of 
rank  and  fortune.  This,  must  be  owned,  was  an 
event  much  to  be  deprecated  in  respect  both  to 
the  occasion  and  its  consequences. 

I  then  invested,  with  a  trench  and  a  ditch,  Pin- 
denissa,  the  strongest  of  the  towns  yet  unsub- 
dued in  Cilicia.  The  inhabitants  had  been,  from 
time  iumiemorial,  in  arms  against  us.  They  were 
hardy  and  desperate,  and  provided  with  every 
thing  necessary  to  make  a  vigorous  defence.  By 
the  help  of  a  very  large  mound,  covered  galleries, 
a  lofty  tower,  a  large  train  of  engmes,  a  number 
of  archers,  and  laborious  arrangements.  I  car- 
ried my  point  without  any  considerable  loss, 
though  I  had  many  wounded.  You  may  be  sure 
this  success  heightened  the  joys  of  our  trium- 
phal feast  especially  as  I  withheld,  from  the 
soldiers^  none  of  the  booty  but  the  horses.  The 
slaves  were  sold  upon  the  19th  of  December,  and, 
while  I  write  this  upon  the  bench  of  justice,  the 
money  for  them  already  amounts  to  twelve  mil- 
lion serteces\  I  then  gave  the  command  of  my 
army  to  my  brother  Quintus,  witli  orders  that 
th^y  should  take  up  their  winter  quarters  in  the 
worst  aft'ected  part  of  the  province,  while  I  retired 
to  Laodicea.     So  much  for  these  matters,   but 

let  me  return  to  what  preceded  tliem. 

As. 

i  One  hundred  thousand  pounds. 


iV 


1 


•  As  to  your  earnest  request,  and  what  I  regard 
more  than  all  things,  your  anxious  endeavours 
that  I  should  give  satisfaction  to  our  fluent  Cynic  ^ 
may  I  die,  if  any  thing  could  be  done  more 
becoming,  in  this  respect ;  yet  1  do  not  call  my 
conduct,  self-denial,  because  self-denial  is  a  vir- 
tue that  implies  the  mortification  of  our  appetites. 
I  never  in  the  whole  course  of  my  life  experienced 
so  lively  a  pleasure  as  was  afforded  me  by  thii 
instance  of  integrity.  The  glory  attending  such 
virtue,  gives  me  less  delight  than  the  virtue  itself. 
Believe  me  my  joy  was  so  great,  that  it  inspired 
me  with  higher  ideas  of  myself,  for  I  had  not  else 
known,  that  I  was  capable  of  such  exalted  deeds. 

I  aiii 

^  Orig,  Ut  etiam  ligurino  ijiu(/.u  freprehensori)  satisfaciam^ 
Monsieur  Mongault,  in  his  note  upon  this  passage,  is  inclined  to 
think  that  Cicero  had  Hortensius  in  his  eye,  and  other  com- 
mentators tliink  that  he  had  Cato.  I  cannot  believe  that  he 
had  either.  It  is  true,  the  epithet  Ligurinus  agrees  very  well 
witli  Hortensius,  who  knew  all  the  quirks  of  speaking,  as  the 
term  Momus  does  with  Cato,  who  always  u^de  use  of  very  irae. 
language.  But  nothing  can  be  more  distant  than  the  character 
of  Momus  is  from  that  of  Hortensius,  whom  our  author  is  per- 
petually blaming  for  disguising  his  hatred  towards  him,  and 
notiiing  can  suit  worse  than  Ligurinus  with  the  character  of 
Cato,  who  was  the  mirror  of  plain  dealing.  I  have  therefore 
given  the  expression  a  general  turn  and  a  different  sense.  Li" 
gurire  signifies  to  lick,  and  is  a  metaphor  taken  from  the  liquor- 
ishness  of  the  chops  of  a  dog  when  any  thing  is  in  his  view  that 
he  cannot  come  at. '  Upon  the  whole,  I  should  like  the  reading 
Ligurientem  momum,  if  I  could  find  it  authorized  by  any  man- 
uscript. 


i 


359, 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


I  am  justly  raised  in  my  own  estimation  ;  sufely 
nothing  can  be  more  noble.  These  splendid 
achievements  are  heightened  by  the  glory,  that  by 
me  Ariobarzanes  lives  and  reigns.  For  by  the 
way  I  preserved  that  prince  on  his  throne  by 
my  conduct  and  authority;  and  his  traitors  found 
me  not  only  incorruptible  but  inaccessible. 
Meanwhile  I  have  not  exacted  a  straw  from 
Cappadocia,  and  1  hope  that,  tiirough  the  whole 
year  of  my  government,  I  shall  not  put  my  pro- 
vince to  the  expence  of  a  single  farthing.  I  have 
retrieved  the  debt,  due  to  Brutus,  as  far  as  I 
could,  after  he  thought  it  was  hopeless ;  I  love 
him  as  much  you  love  him,  1  was  going  to  say, 
as  mucli  as  I  love  you. 

Now  1  have  told  you  every  thing,  and  I  am 
preparing^  to  dispatch  my  public  letters  for 
Rome.  They  will  be  more  copious  and  satisfac- 
tory than  they  would  have  been,  had  I  dispatched 
them  from  mount  Amanus.  But  you  are  not  to 
be  in  Rome  at  that  time.  It  is,  however,  most 
material  for  you  to  be  there  by  the  1st  of  March ; 
for  I  am  afraid  tliat,  if  Cffisar  stands  out  when  the 
government  comes  to  be  debated,  my  term  may 
be  prolonged.  -  But  if  you  are  upon  the  spot  I 
shall  fear  nothing.  And  now  with  regard  to  the 
affairs  of  Rome,  with  w  hich  I  have  at  last,  after 
a  long  suspense,  been  made  acquainted  by  your 
most  agreeable  letters,  which  I  received  the  28th 
of  December,  and  which,  your  freedman  Philo- 

genes, 


TO  ATTiCUS. 


35J 


gtnes,  took  great  pains  to  transmit  by  a  tedious 
and  unsafe  conveyance;  for  as  to  those  which, 
you  say,  you  delivered  to  the  slaves  of  Lenius, 
I  have  not  received  them.     I  am  pleased  with 
what  you  write  me  about  Caesar,  and  the  senate's? 
resolution  concerning  him.     If  he  answers  y out* 
hopes  in  submitting  to  it,  I  shall  be  under  no  ap- 
prehensions.    I  am  not  very  sorry  that  Lejus  is 
consumed  in  the  conflagration  raised  about  Ple^ 
torius.     I  long  to  know  the  reason  why  LucceiuSI 
has  appeared  so  keen   against  Quintus  Cassius, 
and  what  has  been  done  in  that  matter.     When 
I  shall  come   to   Laodicea,    I  intend  to  order  a 
manly  gown  for  your  nephew   Quintus,  and  to 
take  him  under  my  particular  tuition;  for  Dejo- 
terus,  whose  service  is  of  great  use  to  me,  writes 
that  he  is  to  meet  me   at  Laodicea  with  the  two 

Ciceros. 

Meanwhile,  I  am  impatient  for  your  letters  from 
Epirus,  to  give  me  an  account  not  only  how  you 
employ,  but  how  you  amuse,  yourself.  Nicanor 
is  useful  to  me,  and  I  treat  him  with  liberality. 
I  am  now  thinking  of  sending  him  to  Rome  with 
my  public  letters,  that  they  may  be  cotiveyed  with 
more  security,  and  that  he  may  impart  to  you  sa- 
tisfactory account  of  me,  and  bring  me  in  return 
the  same  from  you.  I  kindly  accept  the  compli- 
ments which  you  sa  often  write  me  from  Alexis. 
But  why  does  he,  as  being  a  secretary,  not  send 
me  the  same  under  his  own  hand,  as  my  Alexis 
Vol.  I.  A  a  doe* 


* 


354 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


355 


does  to  you.  This  verifies  the  proverb,  A  musi^ 
cian  without  his  instrument^  But  enough  of  this 
subject.  Farevvel,  and  take  care  of  informing 
me  when  you  think  of  returning  to  Rome.  Again 
and  again  I  wish  you  w  ell.  When  I  was  at  Ephe- 
sus,  I  most  earnestly  recommended  your  interests, 
and  your  friends,  to  Tliermus  (who  I  understand 
has  a  great  affection  for  you)  and  I  am  now 
doing  the  same  by  letters.  I  wrote  to  you  before 
concerning  the  house  of  Pammenes,  and  I  again 
beg  that  you  will  take  care,  that  the  boy  may  not 
by  any  means  be  deprived  of  what  by  our  kind- 
ness he  possesses.  This  we  shall  both  of  us 
deem  honourable.  Upon  me,  moreover,  it  will 
confer  the  greatest  obligation. 


EPISTLE  XVIIL 

X  HAT  you  arrived  safely  in  Epirus,  and  that 
too,  as  you  write  me,  after  a  pleasant  voyage, 
gives  me  great  pleasure ;  but  that  you  cannot,  at 
a  time  sa  critical  to  me,   be   at  Rome   gives  me 

sensible 

^  Orig.  Phemib  quaerltur  xi^xs  (Cornu).  I  have  translated 
this  phrase  very  diftereutly  from  Monsieur  Mongault,  who 
translates  it,  Jefais  chercher  im  cor  pour  Phemis,  without  ma- 
king any  remark  upon  it,  though  I  think  it  a  very  difficult  pas- 
sage. Phemius  or  Phamius  was  a  name  for  any  musician.  I  am 
therefore  inclined  to  think  that  the  sentence  is  proverbial^ 
We  shall  have  occasion  again  to  mention  this  Phemiusr 


\''i 


sensible  uneasiness.  In  this,  however,  I  feel  com- 
fort, that  you  will  not  spend  the  winter  there 
with  satisfaction,  or  that  you  will  abide  there 
from  inclination. 

The  letters,  of  which  you  inquire  the  meaning 
from  me,  written  by  Caius  Cassius,  brother  to 
your  friend  Quintus  Cassius,  were  more  modest, 
compared  with  those  which  he  afterwards  wrote, 
and  in  which  he  says  he  has  finished  the  Parthian 
war.  It  is  true,  that,  before  the  arrival  of 
Bibulus,  they  retreated  from  Antioch,  though 
not  to  my  advantage.  At  present,  however,  they 
winter  in  Cyrrhestica,  and  the  most  warhke  pre- 
paration is  made  against  them.  For  the  son  of 
Orodes, ,  king  of  the  Parthians,  is  now  in  our 
province,  and  Dejotarus,  whose  son  has  espoused 
the  daughter  of  Artavasdes,  from  whom  he  has 
perhaps  his  intelligence,  seems  positive,  that  by 
the  beginning  of  summer,  he  will  pass  the  Eu- 
phrates with  all  his  forces.  These  triumphant 
letters  of  Cassius  were  read  in  the  senate,  on  the 
same  day,  viz.  the  7th  of  October,  with  mine, 
and  were  full  of  so  many  alarms.  Our 
friend  Axius^  informs  me,  that  my  letters 
made  a  great  impression  upon  the  assembly, 
while  they  paid  little  regard  to  his.     The  letters 

of 


^  He  was  a  Roman  senator,  and  corresponded  with  Cicero 
by  letters. 

Aa  2 


i 


356 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


S57 


of  Bibulus  had  not  then  been  received,  but  I  am 
well  assured  they  will  be  full  of  dismay. 

The  consequences,   of  all  these  things  I  fear 
will  be  that,  while  Pompey  is  detained  at  Rome, 
from  apprehension   of  public  commotions,  the 
senate  will  refuse  to  ratify  any  of  the  demands 
of  Caesar  and,   while    this  difficulty  is  unravel- 
ling, the  senate  will  be  against  my  leaving  this 
government  before  my  successor  shall  arrive ;  as 
judging  it  improper  that  deputies  alone  should 
govern  these  great  provinces,  while  we  are  upon 
the   eve  of  some  mighty  revolution.     I  tremble 
when  I  reflect  on    this,  lest  they  should  decree  a 
prolongation  of  my  government  in  such  terms,  as 
that  none  dare  put  a  negative  upon  it;  and  my 
apprehensions  of  this  are  increased,  by  reflecting 
that  you,    whose  counsel,    popularity,   and  zeal, 
could  serve  me  in  many  respects,  are  now  absent 
from  Rome.     You   will   tell   me,  that   I  afflict 
myself  with  unnecessary   torments.     I  wish  they 
were  unnecessary.     But  these  are  torments  I  can- 
not avoid;  every  thing  alarms  me.     The  closing 
paragraph  however  of  the  letter,  you  wrote  me 
from  Burthrotum,    inunediately   on  your  going 
ashore,   charms  me.     To  i/our  immediate  return^ 
as  far  as  I  see  and  hope,  there  xtHl  be  no  impedi- 
ment.    1  wish  you  could  have  expressed  not  your 
hope  but  your  conviction,   that  I  may  return.     I 
received,   at  Iconium,   however,  in  a  reasonable 
time  after  their  date,  which  was  on  the  day  of 

Lentulus's 


i 


Leritulus's  triumph,  the  letters  you  sent  by  the 
couriers  of  the  farmers  of  the  revenue,  written  in 
the  same  undecided  strain,  first  telling  me  there 
would  be  no  impediment  to  my  return,  and  then 
adding  that,  ''  if  there  should  be  any,  you  would 
come   to  me  in  person."     Your  doubts  torture 

me. 

From  what  I  have  written,  you  may  conclude 
what  letters  I  have  received;  for  I  did  not 
receive  the  packet  given,  as  you  inform  me,  to 
Hermo,  the  freedman  of  the  centurion  Camula. 
You  had  often  informed  me  of  letters  which 
you  delivered  to  the  slaves  of  Lenius.  I  per- 
ceive they  were  dated  so  far  back  as  the  22nd  of 
September,  nor  did  I  receive  them  till  the  11th  of 
February,  when  Lenius  put  them  into  my  hands, 
upon  my  arrival  at  Laodicea.  Lenius  shall  feel 
the  benefit  of  your  recommendation.  At  present 
I  can  only  treat  him  with  civility  ;  but  I  shall  be 
able  hereafter  to  do  him  some  more  substantial 

kindness. 

Tliese  letters  bring  nothing  new,  except  one 
particular,    respecting  the  panthers  of  Cybira. 
You    was  in    the    right    to    acquaint    Marcus 
Octavius',  that  you  did  not  think  I  would  com- 
ply. 

1  He  was  iEdile  this  year,  and  his  colleague  Caslius  being 
intimate  with  Cicero,  liad  pressed  him  to  send  him  some  pan- 
thers for  the  public  shows  out  of  Cilicia,  which  was  famous  for 
those  savage  beasts.  But  our  author,  who  at  first  atfected  a 
great  delicacy,  refused  to  harass  the  people  of  his  government 
in  catchinjT  those  animals. 


S5S 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


I 


TO  ATTICUS- 


359 


ply.  Bat,  for  the  future,  assert  positively  that 
I  shall  not  comply,  where  you  have  reason  to 
suspect  that  compliance  is  doubtful.  Hitherto, 
I  have  been  firm  to  my  own  resolution  and  to 
your  advice ;  and,  as  you  will  find,  have  surpas- 
sed all  my  predecessors  in  disinterestedness,  in 
justice,  affability,  and  clemency.  Nothing  can 
exceed  the  admiration  of  the  people,  at  their 
being  put  to  no  expence  under  my  administration, 
on  account  either  of  my  government  or  officers, 
with  the  exception  alone  of  my  deputy  Lucius 
Tullius.  Him,  indeed,  though  he  is  moderate  in 
ofher  respects,  I  must  except,  when  I  say,  that 
not  a  farthing  has  been  expended.  For  he  has 
exacted  the  appointments  allowed  by  the  Julian 
law  for  his  travelling  ex pences,  but  this  only  once 
in  the  twenty-four  hours,  since  he  does  not,  as 
other  officers  have  done,  exact  them  from  every 
village  he  stops  at  None  else  of  my  train  has 
made  any  demand.  This  stain  on  my  govern- 
ment I  owe  to  our  friend  Quintus  Titinius^ 

Upon  finishing  the  campaign,  I  made  my 
brother  Quintus  commissary  general  of  my  army 
in  their  winter  quarters,  and  over  all  Cilicia.  I 
dispatched  Quintus  Volusius,  son-in-law  to 
your  friend  Tiberius,  a  man,  in  a  high  degree 
faithful  and  disinterested,  into  Cyprus,  that  he 
might  remain  there  for   some  days,  lest  the  few 

Roman 

^  And  yet  several  times  before  he  intimates^  as  if  Tullius  had 
been  recommended  to  him  by  Atticus. 


i 


Roman  citizens,  who  trade  there,   should  com- 
plain, that  they  had  no  court  of  justice  to  resort 
to  ;  for  the  Cyprians  are  not  compelled  to  leave 
their  own  island.     I  set  out  for  Asia,  on  the  5th 
of  January,    from    Tarsus.     You    can    hardly 
imagine  how  greatly  I  was  admired  by  all  the 
cities  of  Cilicia,  and  especially  by  the  inhabitants 
of  Tarsus.     But  after  I  passed  Mount  Taurus, 
the  expectation  of  the  Asiatics,    who  inhabited 
the   boundaries  of  my  government,    was  sur- 
prising.    For,  in  the  six  months  of  my  adminis- 
tration, they  had  not  once  received  a  letter  from 
me,  nor  had  I  sent  them  so  much  as  one  guest; 
while  the  same  period  was  made  by  those  before 
me  a  season  of  profit.     For  the  rich  cities  paid 
heavy  fines  to  exempt  them  from  soldiers  going 
into   winter  quarters   amongst   them.     I   speak 
rather  under,  than  above,  the  truth,  when  I  say 
that  the  island  of  Cyprus  itself  paid  yearly  two 
hundred  Attic  talents^  but,    under  my  govern- 
ment, no  exaction  is  demanded  from  it.     For  all 
these  instances  of  kindness,   which  astonish  the 
inhabitants,    I  accept  only  verbal  compliments; 
for  I  prohibit  all  statues,  temples,   and  trophies. 
In  all  other  respects,    I  give  no  trouble  to  these 
cities,  though  perhaps  I  do  to  you,   by  thus  pro- 
claiming my  own  praises.     But  if  you  love  me, 
you  will  bear   with  me.     I  am  thus  impertinent, 
in  compliance  with  your  wishes. 

You 

1  25,000L 


I » 


360 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


361 


You  must  know  then  that  I  passed  through 
Asia,  in  such  a  manner,  that  the  famine,  which 
then  raged  in  that  part  of  my  province,  where  the 
harvest  had  failed,  though  the  most  calamitous  of 
all  evils,  was  in  respect  to  me  a  desirable  event 
Tor,  wherever  I  travelled  1  prevailed,  not  by 
compulsion,  not  by  judiciary  measures,  not  by 
reproaches,  but  by  my  authority  and  advice 
alone,  upon  the  Greeks  and  the  Roman  citizens, 
who  had  in  stores  magazines  of  corn,  to  promise 
large  quantities  to  the  people  of  the  province. 

On  the  13th  of  February,  I  opened  my  judicial 
proceedings  for  Cibyra  and  Apamea  at  Laodicea ; 
on  the  15  th  of  March,  I  will  open  those  for 
Synnada,  Pamphilia  and  Isauria.  Then  I  will 
expect  from  Phemius  the  note  of  praise  \  I  pro- 
pose, 

*  Orig.  Turn  Phemio  despiciam  xipxs  (Cornu)  ionium.  Not- 
withstanding all  the  pains  Monsieur  Mongault,  and  the  com- 
mentators have  taken  to  explain  and  justify  this  passage,  as 
meant  of  a  particular  person  and  thing.  I  am  still  convinced 
that  the  v^^hole  of  it  is  an  allegory,  and  that  the  expression  itself 
is  either  proverbial,  or,  which  1  rather  incline  to  believe,  taken 
from  some  poet,  who,  known  to  Cicero  and  Atticus,  is  lost  to 
lis.  We  cannot  consistently  either  with  the  rules  of  common 
sense,  or  with  Cicero's  manner,  conceive  the  smallest  meaning 
that  can  be  in  his  thrusting  it  in  as  he  does  without  the  least 
connection  with  the  matters  either  before  or  after  it,  if  this 
Phemius  was  really  a  musical  slave,  for  whom  Atticus  wanted 
an  instrument  out  of  Cilicia.  At  the  same  time,  nothing  is 
more  common  with  our  author,  than  a  kind  of  preventive  rail- 
lery ijpon  his  own  vanity,  which  he  generally  introduces  when 

he 


\ 


1 

i 
{ 


i 


(" 


pose,  about  the  15th  of  May,  to  set  out  for  Cilicia, 
there  to  remain  all  June,  without  interruption  (I 
hope)  from  the   Parthians.     If  matters  fall  out, 
as  1  wish  them,  I  shall  spend  the  month  of  July, 
in  returning  to  Rome  through  my  province  ;  for 
I  entered  upon  my  government  at  Laodicea,  in  the 
consulate  of  Sulpicius,   ^nd   Marcellus,   on  the 
31st  of  July,   and  I  propose  to  leave  it  on  the 
29th  of  the  same  month.     But  I  will  first  endea- 
vour to  prevail  (though  it  will  be  against  his  in- 
clination and  mine)  with  my  brother  Quintus, 
that  he  continue  to  act  as  my  first  lieutenant.     I 
cannot  otherwise    acquit  myself   as    a   man  of 
honour,  especially  as  I  cannot  persuade  Ponti- 
nius,  who  is  the  only  proper  person,  to  stay  here 
any  longer ;  for  he  is  hurried  to  Rome  by  Pos- 
tumius,   and  perhaps  too  by  Postumia.     This  is 
the  plan  of  my  conduct ;  you  shall  next  know  the 
concerns  of  Brutus. 

That  friend  of  your's  is  intimate  with  two  per- 
sons, who  have  demands  upon  the  Salaminians; 
M.  Scaptius  and  P.  Matinius,  in  the  isle  of  Cy- 
prus, and  he  recommended  their  interests  to  me 
in  the  most  earnest  manner.  I  knew  nothing  of 
Matinius,  but  Scaptius  came  to  me  in  the  camp, 

where 

he  is  rencounting,  as  in  this  place,  some  of  his  own  meritorious 
actions.  Add  to  this,  that  Phemius  having  been  celebrated  by 
Homer  as  a  musician,  his  name  became  common  to  signify  a 
line  performer.  Quid  juvct,  says  Ovid,  al  surdas  si  cantet 
Phcmin^aures? 


\ 


362 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


363 


where  I  promised,  from  regard  to  Brutus, 
that  I  would  see  him  paid  by  the  Salaminians. 
After  returning  me  thanks,  he  solicited  from  me 
a  lieutenancy,  I  replied  that  I  would  bestow  no 
such  commission  upon  a  usurer.  My  determi- 
nation in  this  respect  you  know  I  imparted  to 
you;  and  when  Pompey  himself  asked  me  for  one, 
he  was  satisfied  with  my.  reasons  for  refusing  it; 
not  to  mention  that  I  did  the  same  to  Torquatus, 
your  friend  M.  Lenius,  and  many  others.  I  told 
him  if  he  wanted  the  place  on  account  of  his 
debt,  I  would  engage  to  see  him  paid.  He 
thanked  me,  and  then  departed. 

Aly  predecessor  Appius  had  given  to  this 
Scaptius  the  lieutenancy  of  Salamis,  and  like- 
wise the  command  of  some  squadrons  of  horse, 
to  keep  the  Salaminians  in  order.  Finding  that 
he  had  oppressed  them,  I  commanded  the  caval- 
ry to  evacuate  the  isle  of  Cyprus,  to  the  great 
disappointment  of  Scaptius.  In  short,  that  I 
might  discharge  my  engagements  to  him,  I  or* 
dered  the  Salaminians,  when  they  came,  and  with 
them  Scaptius,  to  me  at  Tarsus,  to  discharge  the 
debt.  They  complained  much  of  the  exorbi- 
tance of  their  bargain,  and  much  of  the  oppres- 
sions of  Scaptius;  but  I  refused  to  hear  them. 
I  then  exhorted  and  even  entreated  them,  by  all 
the  services  I  had  done  their  city,  to  finish  the 
affair,  and,  at  last  I  acquainted  them  I  would 
force  them  to  do  it.     Upon  this,  so  far  from  refu- 


i 


smg 


sing  to  comply,  they  assured  me,  they  would  pay 
it  with  the  money  which  they  saved  from  me ;  be- 
cause I  had,  in  a  manner,  made  them  a  present  of 
so  much  money,  by  refusing  to  accept  the  usual 
perquisites  given  to  their  governor;  and  that 
their  savings,  from  their  public  cxpence,  exceed- 
ed the  sum  due  to  Scaptius.  I  thanked  them ; 
Scaptius  was  satisfied  and  received  his  payment 
Meanwhile,  in  the  edict  I  published  as  the  rule 
of  my  government,  I  had  fixed  twelve  in  the  hun- 
dred as  the  legal  interest,  and  the  creditor  to  be 
at  liberty  to  add  it  at  the  end  of  the  year  to  his 
principal  sum  \  But  Scaptius  demanded  by  vir- 
tue of  his  bonds,  forty-eight  in  the  hundred. 
You  do  not  mean,  said  I,  that  I  am  to  go  against 
the  rule  laid  dow  n  by  my  own  edict.  Upon  this, 
he  produced  a  resolution  of  the  senate,  under 
the  consulate  of  Lentulus  and  Philip,  de- 
claring "  that  an  action  might  be  held  at  law, 
*'  upon  the  validity  of  his  bond,  before  any  future 
"  governor   of  Cilicia."     This  was  giving  that 

city 


^  Interim  cum  ego  in  edicto  tralaticio  centesimas  meolserva- 
turum  halerem,  cum  anatocismi  anniversario ;  ille  ex  syngrapha, 
postulalat  quaterncLS.  I  have  not  taken  the  same  hberttes  that 
Monsieur  Mongault  has  done  in  translating  the  account  of  this 
transaction,  but  I  hope  my  translation  is  equally  intelligible; 
nor  (to  say  the  truth)  do  I  think  he  has  perfectly  well  understood 
it.  As  to  the  terms  made  use  of,  the  reader  must  apply  to  lex- 
icons and  antiquaries )  for  it  would  take  a  great  deal  of  writing 
to  explain  them  here. 


354 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


citv  a  mortal  blow,  and  therefore  at  first  it  struck 
me  with  horror. 

Upon  farther  inquiry,  I  find  that  two  resolu- 
tions passed  the  senate,  under  the  same  cons  ds, 
and  upon  the  same  subject.  For,  when  the 
Salaminians  wanted  to  borrow  the  money  at 
Rome,  and  found  themselves  precluded  from 
doing  it  by  the  Gabinian  law,  those  friends  of 
Brutus,  relying  on  the  strength  of  his  interest, 
offered  to  advance  the  money  at  48  per  cent, 
provided  they  had  an  indemnification  from  the 
senate.  Brutus,  upon  this,  had  interest  enough 
to  carry  a  resolution  through  the  senate,  import- 
ing ''  that  the  clause  of  48  per  cent,  should  be  of 
*'  no  prejudice,  either  to  the  Salaminians  or  to 
•*  the  lenders."  But  the  usurers,  having  paid  the 
money,  afterwards  reflected  with  themselves,  that 
this  resolution  could  do  them  no  service,  as  it 
amounted  to  no  more  than  a  bare  indemnification 
from  the  penalties  of  the  Gabinian  law,  which 
forbad  that  any  action  should  lie  in  a  court  of 
justice,  upon  such  a  bond.  Another  resolution 
then  passed,  importing  ''  That  the  said  bond 
should  be  as  valid  as  others."  But  the  validity 
of  the  bond  was  not  contested  as  to  the  payment 
of  the  principal  and  legal  interest.  After,  there- 
fore, I  had  explained  my  sense  of  the  thing 
Scaptius  took  me  aside,  and  told  me  that  he 
consented  to  all  I  said,  but  that  the  Salaminians 
thought  they  owed  him  two  hundred  talents  and 

that 


i 


TO  ATTICUS. 


365 


i 


that  he  was  willing,  though  in  reality  they  did  not 
owe  him  quite  so  much,  to  accept  of  that  sum. 
lie  then  entreated  me  to  advance  them  up  to  the 
two  hundred  talents.  Very  well,  replied  I;  and 
then  sending  Scaptius  away,  I  ordered  the  Sala- 
minians to  appear.  Pray,  gentlemen,  said  I,  how 
much  does  this  debt  amount  to  ?  They  told  me 
to  no  more  than  a  hundred  and  six  talents. 
When  1  had  acquainted  Scaptius  of  this,  he 
roared.  Such  noise,  said  I,  will  be  of  no  use  to 
you,  compare  your  accounts  together.  Upon  this 
they  sat  down,  the  accounts  were  made  up,  both 
of  them  tallied.  The  Salaminians  made  a  tender 
of  the  money,  and  pressed  Scaptius  to  take  it. 
He  called  me  aside  again,  and  begged  that  I 
would  leave  the  matter  as  I  found  it.  The  fel- 
low importuned  me  so  hard,  that  I  consented,  to 
the  great  discontent  of  the  Salaminians,  whom  I 
refused  to  suffer  to  deposit  the  money  in  a  tern- 

ple\ 

All  who  were  present  exclaimed  that  this  be- 
haviour was  most  impudent  in  Scaptius,  who  was 
not  contented  with  12  percent,  and  interest  upon 
interest,  while  others  said  that  his  folly  was  equal 
to  his  impudence.  I  could  not  be  of  that  opinion ; 
because  he  used  to  lend  money  to  any  sure  hand, 
at  1^2  per  cent.  But  when  the  security  was  doubt- 
ful, 

1  A  deposition  of  money  in  a  temple  put  a  Stop  to  its  bearing 
any  interest  while  it  lay  there. 


366 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


367 


ful,  at  48.  This  is  a  true  state  of  my  conduct, 
and  if  Brutus,  does  not  approve  of  it,  he  is  not 
vorthy  of  our  friendship.  But  I  know  it  will  be 
approved  of  by  his  uncle  Cato,  especially  as  I 
suppose  a  resolution  has  just  now  passed  the 
senate,  since  your  departure  from  Rome,  in  this 
matter  of  the  creditors,  that  twelve  in  the  hun- 
dred should  be  the  constant  and  the  legal  inte- 
rest. If  I  am  not  mistaken  in  your  talent  at 
calculation,  you  are  perfectly  sensible  what  a 
wide  difference  there  is  between  this  and  the  de- 
mand of  Scaptius  \ 

By  the  way  Lucceius  complains  to  me  in  a  let- 
ter, that  there  is  great  danger  lest  those  decrees 
of  the  senate  should  be  attended  by  a  general 
bankruptcy.  He  puts  me  in  mind  of  the  mischief 
Caius  Julius  did  formerly,  by  prolonging  the  term 

of 


'  Orig.  Hoc  f/uid  inter  sit,  si  tuos  digiios  novi,  certe  hales 
iuhductum.  Monsieur  Mongault  has,  I  think,  mistaken  the 
sense  of  this  passage.  He  translates  it,  Fous  veyez  lien,  vous 
qui  scavez  compter  de  comlien  ce  que j  accorde  a  Scaptius  monte 
plus  haut.  Now  I  cannot  see  any  difference  between  the 
legal  interest  settled  by  the  senate,  and  that  offered  to  Scaptius 
by  Cicero,  excepting  that  Cicero  allowed  him  the  Anatocismus; 
but  I  apprehend  that  the  Anoticlsmus  was  legal  in  all  cases,  and 
Cicero  certainly  thought  it  to  be  so  by  his  own  edict,  otherwise 
the  creditor  must  have  sutfered  considerably,  even  to  the  amount 
of  his  whole  sum  in  about  eight  years.  The  expression  there- 
fore quidinlersit,  necessarily  and  naturally  refers  to  the  diffe- 
rence between  the  exorbitant  demand  of  Scaptius,  and  the  legal 
interest  settled  by  the  senate. 


*IM 


i'\n 


> 


i 


of  payment  but  for  a  short  time  \  Never  did  the 
republic  run  a  greater  risk  than  it  did  at  that 
time.  But  to  return  to  the  subject.  Place  my 
excuse  in  the  best  light  to  Brutus,  if  that  can  be 
called  an  excuse,  which  can  be  contradicted  with 
no  colour  of  truth,  especially  as  I  have  left  the 
whole  affair  and  the  proceedings  in  the  same  state 
I  found  them.  I  have  nothing  farther  to  say  but 
to  my  private  affairs.  As  to  the  main  one  of  all, 
I  am  of  the  same  sentiments  with  you.  Let  us 
close  with  the  son  of  Posthumia ;  because  Pon- 
tidia's  son  trifles  with  us.     But  I  wish  you  were 

upon 

1  Orig.  Quid  olim  viali,  Caius  Julius  fecerit,  cum  dieculam 
duxerit.      The  obscurity  of  this  expression  has  given  rise  to  a 
prodigious  number  of  conjectures.     It  does  not  appear  plain  to 
me  that  the  decrees  here  blamed  by  Lucceius  relate  to  the 
decree  for  settling  the  interest;  I  am  strongly  inclined  to  be- 
lieve that  he  means  the  decrees  obtained  by  Scaptius  to  autho- 
rize his  exorbitant  interest,  and  which  indeed  tended  to  a  ge- 
neral bankruptcy  J  whereas  the  decree  for  regulating  interest 
seems  to  have   been  calculated  to  prevent  it.     As  to  the  fact 
mentioned  here  concerning  Caesar,  we  know  nothing  of  it;  nor 
has  either  Monsieur  Mongault,  or  any  of  the  commentators 
pretended  to  ascertain  what  it  was.     I  cannot,  however,  help 
observing,  that  most  probably  it  related  to  some  part  of  Caesar's 
conduct,  at  the  time  of  Catiline's  conspiracy.     For  we  find  that 
at  that  time  the  Roman  knights,  who  were  the  monied  men  of 
Rome,  were  terribly  exasperated  at  his  behaviour,  and   that 
Cicero,  in  a  great  number  of  places,  hints  that  the  republic  of 
Rome,  at  that  time,  was  upon  the  eve  of  a  general  bankruptcy. 
But  for  the  sake  of  perspicuity,  we  must  here  observe,  that  our 
author  calls  the  senatus  consultum,  for  settling  the  interest,  as 
well  as  those  blamed  by  Lucceius,  by  the  terra  of  Decreta. 


N    * 


> 


11 


368 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES,  &c. 


upon  the  spot.  You  are  to  expect  no  letters  for 
some  months  from  my  brother  Quintus,  because 
Mount  Taurus  is  impassably,  on  account  of  the 
snows,  before  June.  I  forward  Thernms,  as  you 
desire  I  should,  with  repeated  letters.  King 
Dejotarus  assures  me,  that  Publius  Valerius  pos- 
sesses nothing,  and  tliat  he  is  maintained  by  him. 
As  soon  as  you  know  whether  this  year  is  to  be 
intercalated  at  Rome,  or  not.  Let  me  know  pre- 
cisely the  day  on  which  the  ceremonies  of  Bona 
Dea  are  to  be  performed.  I  do  not  expect  to 
hear  from  you  quite  so  often  as  when  you  were 
at  Rome;  but  still  let  me  hear  as  often  as  you 
can. 


i 


ff 


i 


n 


A 


END    OF   THE    FIRST   VOLUME, 


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R.  Edwards.  Printer, 
Ccane-Court,  flttt  Street. 


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BRITTLE  DQ  NOTPI 
PHOTOCOf^ 


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CICERO'S 


EPISTLES 


{ ■ 


TO 


ATllCUS. 


WITH    NOTES, 

HISTORICAL,   EXPLANATOKY,   AND    CRITICAL. 


•      TRANSLATED 

BY  WILLIAM  GUTHRIE,  ESQ. 


A  NEW  EDITION,  CORRECTED  AND  AMENDED. 
IN    THREE    VOLUMES. 


VOL.  IL 


Hi/*,  qui  legat,  non  multuni  desidaet  historiam  contextam  eorum  teniporum. 

Nep.  Vit.  Attici. 


LONDON: 

PRINTED  FOR  LACKTNGTON,  ALLEN,  AND  CO.  •     H.DELL  AND  DAVIESj 

LONGMAN   AND  CO.;  W.  J.  AND   J.  R^iiARDSON;  VERNOR, 

HOOD,  ANDSHARPE;  OTRIDGE   AND   SON;  CUTIIELL 

AND  MARTIN  ;  DARTON  AND  HARVEY  ;  OGILVY 

AND  SON  ;  J.  NUNN  ;  J.  WALKER  ; 

R.  LEA ;  E.  BOOKER  ;  A'-H) 

J.  ASPERNE. 

1806; 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  11. 


V.7. 


^  Gift 

^-  JAMES  PEctf 
.June  7,  19(3 


l.  EAwcfis,  Frmter,  Cran«  Coait,  ll««t  k>i«€t. 


BOOK  VI. 
rri 

1  HE  letters  of  this  book,  contain  the  histor>'  of  Cicero*s 
proconsulship.  The  last  is  dated  the  15th  of  October,  from 
Athens,  in  the  year  of  Rome  703.  P.   1 

BOOK  VII. 

The  first  nine  letters  of  this  book,  are  written  in  the  same 
year  with  those  in  the  preceding  book,  and  the  rest  contains 
ttje  best  and  most  accurate  account  of  the  origin  of  the  civil 
wars  between  Caesar  and  Pompey,  which  happened  in  the  year 
of  Rome  704,  when  Cicero  upon  his  return  from  his  consul- 
ship, was  in  expectation  of  a  triumph.  P.  59 

BOOK  VIII. 

Contains  only  the  important  transactions  of  sixtein  days  be- 
tween the  armies  of  Caesar  and  Pompe)  in  Italy,  during  which 
time  our  author  is  in  great  perplexity  how  he  shall  conduct  him- 
self,  and  consults  his  friend  Atticus  upon  that  subject.    P.  145 

BOOK  IX. 

Continues  the  former  curious  account  of  the  civil  war  after 

Pompey  fled  from  Italy,  for  above  twenty  days,  during  which 

time,  our  author  had  an  interview  with  Caesar,  in  the  year  of 

Rome  70(5.  p^  205 

BOOK  X. 

This  book  continues  the  same  subject,  with  a  multitude  of 
curious  particulars,  to  be  found  in  no  other  author,  and  contains 
Cicero's  Letters  to  Atticus,  from  the  beginning  of  April  to  the 
beginning  of  June  the  same  year.  P.  28^ 


ir 


CONTENTS. 


BOOK  XI.      ^ 

About  nine  months  past,  before  the  intercourse  of  letten 
was  renewed  between  our  author  and  Atticus,  and  this  book 
contains  a  moral,  minute,  and  authentic  account,  both  of  the 
history  of  the  civil  wars,  and  our  author's  private  affairs,  dur- 
ing great  parts  of  the  years  of  Rome  706,  707.  P.  343 


IWM 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO 


ATTICUS. 


BOOK  VI. 


i)'ff! 


EPISTLE  I. 


■ 


On  the  17th  of  February  t  received  your  letter 
et  LaocKcea ;  and  read  it  with  raptures,  as  re- 
plete with  affection,  love,  benevolence,  friend- 
ship, and  zeal.  Take  therefore  my  answer  in 
your  own  method,  without  my  following  the  plan 
I  generally  lay  down.  You  tell  me  that  my  last 
letters,  dated  the  22nd  of  September,  are  come 
to  your  hands ;  and  you  want  to  know  what  let- 
ters I  have  received  from  you  ?  Almost  all  you 
mention,  excepting  those  which  you  say  you  de- 
livered to  the  slaves  of  Lentulus,  at  Equotuti- 
cum  and  Brundusium.  Your  labour,  as  you 
seem  to  apprehend,  is  not  lost ;  but  his  produced 
Vol.  II.  B  a  noble 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


S 


a  noble  effect,  if  your  intention  was  to  give  me 
pleasure;  for  never  in  my  life,  did  I  receive  more, 
I  greatly  rejoice  that,  contrary  to  my  expecta- 
tion, you  approve  of  my  reserve  towards  Appius, 
and  tlie  freedom  I  took  in  respect  to  Brutus. 

For  Appius,  on  his  journey,  wrote  me  two  or 
three  querulous  letters,  because  I  had  repealed 
some  of  his  acts.     Tliis  is  just  as   if  a  patient 
should  be  delivered  over  from  one  physician  to 
another,   and  the  first  be  displeased  witli  the  lat- 
ter, for  altering  the  regimen  he  had  laid  down  for 
his  recovery.     Tims,  the  regimen  of  Appius  con- 
sisted in  evacutions;  he  exhausted   as  much  as 
he  could,    the  veins  and  the  strength  of  the  pro- 
vince, and  delivered  her  over  to  me  when  she 
>yas  expiring;  and  ik)w  it  is  with  pain  that  he 
sees  her  again  restored  to  life  and  vigour.     His 
resentment,  however,  is  tempered  with  expres- 
sions of  gratitude ;  for  in  all  my  measures^  I  did 
not  interfere  with  his  conduct ;  so  that,  in  fact, 
the  man  is  only  angry,   because  my  government 
differed  from  his.     And  nothing  surely  can  be 
more   different     Under  his  administration,  the 
province  was  quite  exhausted  by  exactions  and 
losses.     Under  mine,   not  a  farthing  was  raised^ 
in  any  way  public  or  private.     Need  I  mention 
his  prefects,    his  attendants,  his  lieutenants,  his 
oppressions,    his    lusts,    and    his   contumelious 
abuses.     At  present,    indeed,  there  cannot  be,, 
even  in  a  family,  better  oeconomy,  greater  regula- 

rity> 


rity,  or  more  moderation  than  appears  in  every 
part  of  my  province.  The  construction  put  upon 
this  reform  of  abuses  by  some  of  Appius's  friends, 
is  ridiculous ;  for  they  say  that  I  pursue  this  me- 
ritorious conduct  as  a  satire  upon  him,  and  that 
the  virtue  of  my  government  is  not  owing  to  a 
regard  for  my  own  character,  but  to  my  spite  of 
his.  If  Appius,  however,  as  the  letter  of  Brutus, 
which  I  sent  to  you,  intimated,  should  return  me 
his  thanks,  I  shall  be  very  well  pleased,  and  yet, 
when  I  write  this  letter,  which  I  do  before  day- 
break, I  am  thinking  of  repealing  a  great  many 
of  his  wicked  acts  and  statutes. 

As  to  Brutus,  for  whom  at  your  recommenda- 
tion, 1  conceived  a  regard  bordering  on  affection. 
But — no — I  will  check  myself  lest  I  disoblige 
you. — For  1  assure  you  that  I  never  in  my  life 
felt  a  more  sincere  wish  than  to  comply  with  the 
solicitation  of  your  friend,  nor  took  greater  pains 
to  accomplish  his  purpose.  Though  he  gave  me 
a  memorial  of  all  his  commissions,  and  which 
contained  only  the  matters  which  had  before  pas^ 
sed  between  you  and  me,  yet  I  attended  to  every 
particular. 

In  the  first  place,  I  pressed  Ariobarzanes,  to 
pay  Brutus  the  money,  which  he  promised  to  do* 
While  that  prince  was  with  me,  the  affair  wore  a 
very  favourable  aspect ;  and  he  afterwards  began 
to  bo  pressed  by  a  multitude  of  Pompey's  agents. 
Pompey  for  many  other  reasons,  especially  as 

B  2  being 


^5 

*    n 


4  CICERO'S  EPISTLES 

being  expected  to  command  against  the  Parthi- 
ans,  has  greater  influence  with  him  than  any 
other  person  in  the  world.  Notwithstanding  that, 
Pompey  is  now  obliged  to  receive  in  payment 
every  month  thirty-three  .Vttic  talents,  which  is 
not  indeed  the  interest  of  the  principal  lent,  and 
that  too  out  of  the  taxes.  But  our  friend  Cnaeus 
meekly  puts  up  witli  this.  He  goes  without  prin- 
cipal, and  he  does  not  get  even  the  whole  of  his 
interest.  His  majesty  neither  does,  nor  can  pay 
any  body  else,  for  he  is  a  king  without  either 
treasure  or  taxes  to  support  him.  He  puts  his 
country,  after  the  manner  of  Appius,  under  con- 
tribution, and  yet  all  is  insufficient  for  discharging 
the  interest  of  his  debt  to  Pompey.  It  is  true, 
two  or  three  of  his  friends  are  rich  men,  but  nei- 
ther you  nor  I  can  be  more  tenacious  of  our  pro- 
perty than  they  are  of  theirs.  Notwithstanding 
all  this,  I  am  incessantly  soliciting,  teasing,  ex- 
horting, and  reproaching  the  prince  by  letters. 
Dejotarus  has  even  informed  me,  that  he  sent  an 
embassy  to  Ariobarzanes  concerning  his  transac- 
tions with  Brutus,  but  that  all  the  answer  he  recei- 
ved was,  that  he  had  no  money;  and  in  my  con- 
science I  believe  never  was  there  a  kingdom  more 
drained,  or  a  king  more  needy  \     I  am  therefore 

thinking 


•  The  poverty  of  the  kings  of  Cappadocia  seems  to  have  be- 
come proverbial  about  this  time.  Horace  takes  notice  of  it- 
Mancipiis  locuples,  eget  ctris  Cappadocum  Rex. 


TO  ATTICUS.  5 

thinking  of  either  resigning  my  guardianship,  or, 
as  Scflevola'  did  in  the  case  of  Glabrio,  stopping 
the  payment  of  both  principal  and  interest. 

And  yet  I  have  bestowed  the  lieutenancy, 
which,  in  compliment  to  me,  you  gave  to  Brutus 
upon  Marcus  Scaptius'  and  Lucius  Gavius,  who 
were  his  agents  in  Cappadocia,  for  they  no  lon- 
ger traded  in  money  within  my  province.  Now 
you  may  remember  we  agreed,  that  he  might 
have  w  hat  lieutenancy  he  pleased,  provided  he 
did  not  dispose  of  one 'to  a  money-broker.  In 
consequence  of  this,  I  presented  him  two  con> 
missions  besides  ;  but  the  persons,  for  whom  he 
asked  them,  have  left  the  province. 

Now  concerning  the  Salaminians ;  that  affair  I 
perceive  has  surprised  you  as  well  ag  me,   for  he 

never 


1  This  seems  to  have  been  apiece  of  private  histoiy,  Scaevola 
probably  was  tutor  to  a  young  gentleman,  whose  affairs  were  so 
circumstanced,  that  he  was  obliged  to  suspend  the  payment  of 

the  debts  upon  his  estate. 

2  Ori<r.  J^eceniminprovinciameanegoUalantur.  Accord- 
inty  to  the  obvious  meaning  of  these  words  Cicero  falls  into  a 
direct  contradiction,  which  has  not  been  observed  by  Monsieur 
Mongault,  or  any  of  the  commentators.  Here  he  tells  us  ex- 
pressly, that  he  gave  Scaptius  one  of  these  commissions,  because 
he  discontinued  his  trade  within  his  province,  and  yet  we  find 
him  in  the  same,  quarrel  with  Brutus  for  refusing  this  commis- 
sion to  Scaptius,  because  he  was  a  money-broker.  But  in  fact 
there  were  two  of  that  name,  and  both  of  them  friends  to  Bru- 
tus. One  of  them  was  an  agent  in  Cappadocia,  the  other  4 
woney -broker  in  Cyprus, 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


never  told  me  that  money  was  owing  to  him.  So 
ftir  from  it,  I  have  a  memorandum  of  his  writing, 
in  which  he  has  these  words,  "  The  people  of  Sa- 
*'  lamis  owe  money  to  Marcus  Scaptius  and  Pub- 
*'  lius  Matinius  my  friends."  He  recommends 
them  to  me,  he  gives  his  reason  for  doing  it,  and 
says,  in  order  to  instigate  me,  that  he  was  enga- 
ged^ for  them  in  a  great  sum  of  money.  The 
settlement  was  that  the  Salaminians  should  pay 
at  the  rate  of  twelve  in  the  hundred,  the  interest 
being  added  to  the  principal  every  six  years. 
But  Scaptius  insisted  upon  forty-eight  in  the  hun- 
dred. I  could  not  gratify  him  in  this  without  be- 
ing in  danger  of  forfeiting  the  esteem,  even  of 
you,  my  dearest  friend.  For  I  should  have  violated 
the  rule  of  my  own  government,  and  absolutely 
ruined  a  city  which  claims  the  patronage  of  Cato  * 
and  of  Brutus  himself,  and  has  been  distinguished 
by  marks  of  my  kindness. 

At 


^  This  probably  was  the  money  which  Scaptius  had  borrowed 
at  Rome  for  the  Salaminians. 

2  Cato  had  reduced  Cyprus  into  the  form  of  a  province,  when 
the  Romans  took  it  from  king  Ptolemy,  and  he  had  been  atten- 
ded in  his  expedition  thither  by  his  nephew  Brutus,  for  which 
reason  both  of  them  declared  themselves  the  patrons  of  that 
island.  Upon  the  whole,  it  is  moffe  than  probable,  that  some  of 
the  circumstances  of  this  loan  have  not  come  to  our  knowledge, 
otherwise  we  can  scarcely  reconcile  the  conduct  of  Brutus,  to 
that)noble  inflexible  character,  for  which  he  is  so  remarkable 
in  history. 


TO  ATTICUS.    -  f 

At  this  very  time,  Scaptius  throws  before  me  a 
letter  from  Brutus,  informing  me  that  the  thii^g 
was  a  concern  of  his  own,  though  Brutus  never 
told  so  much,  either  to  you  or  me,  and  likewise 
desiring  me  to  bestow  the  lieutenancy  upon  Scap- 
tins.     Now,  you  know,  that  when  I  empowered 
you  to  make  that  offer  to  Brutus,  I  excepted  ail 
money-brokers,  and  he,  of  all  mankind,  ought  to 
be  excluded.     For  he  was  lieutenant  to  Appius, 
and  commande4  some  squadrons  of  horse,  with 
whom  he  shut  up  in   their  senate-house,  the  ser 
nate  of  Salamis,  until  five  of  the   senators  were 
starved  to  deatli.     I  had  therefore  no  sooner  set 
foot  within  my  province,  and  was  met  by.the  Cy- 
prian deputies  at  Ephesus,  than  I  dispatched  let- 
ters, ordering  those  squadrons  of  horse  to  leave 
the  island,  without  delay ;  and  for  that  reason,  I 
suppose  Scaptius  sent  Brutus  some  unjust  char- 
ges ajiainst  me.     I   am,    however,    determined 
upon  what  to  do-     If  Brutus  shall  think  that  1 
ought  to  determine  for  forty-eight  in  the  hun- 
dred,   after  laying  it  down  as  a  rule  in  my  edict, 
and  enforcing  it  by  my  judgment,  in  every  part 
of  the   province,     to   the    satisfaction   even   of 
the  most  unprincipled  usurers,  that  no  more  than 
twelve   in   the  hundred  should  be  taken;  if  he 
shall  take  it  amiss  that  I  refused  a  lieutenancy  to 
a  money-broker,  after  refusing  the  same  to  my 
friend  Torquatus,   who  solicited  it  for  La3lius, 
and  to  Pompey  himself,  who  asked  it  for  Sextius 

Statins, 


l1f 


i  CICERO'S  EPISTLES 

Statius,  while  both  of  them  were  satisfied  with  my 
reasons ;  if  he  shall  resent  my  ordering  the 
squadrons  to  evacuate  the  island;  I  shall  indeed 
be  sorry  for  his  offence,  but  shall  be  more  sorry 
to  find  Brutus  not  to  answer  the  character  I  had 
conceived  of  him. 

Scaptius  himself  must  at  least  acknowledge 
that  it  was  in  his  option,  while  I  was  upon  the 
bench,  to  have  received  his  money.  I  will  add 
another  thing,  and  I  do  not  know  whether  you 
will  not  think  I  have  gone  too  far  in  it.  All  the 
interest  ought  to  have  stopt,  even  the  interest, 
which  my  decree  allowed  from  the  time  the  Sala- 
minians  offered  to  deposit  the  money,  and  yet  I 
prevailed  with  the  Salaminians  not  to  insist  upon 
this.  They  have  at  my  request  dispensed  with 
the  rigid  letter  of  the  law  towards  him ;  but  what 
will  be  the  consequence  to  them,  should  Paulus^ 
succeed  me  in  this  government  ?  All  this  I  have 
done  entirely  to  oblige  Brutus,  who  has  written 
very  handsomely  to  you  concerning  me;  but  his 
letters  to  me,  even  when  he  solicits  a  favour,  are 
written  in  haughty,  insolent  and  distant  terms. 
But  I  beg  that  you  would  write  to  him  concerning 
the  things  I  have  mentioned,  and  let  me  know 
how  he  takes  them. 

I  thought 

*  He  means  ^milius  Paulusj  whose  brother  Lepidus  had  ii^ 
marriage  the  sister  of  Brutus^  and  was  therefore  likely  to  be  parr 
tial  in  his  favour. 


J* 


TO  ATTICUS.  § 

I  thought  I  had  sufRciently  explained  all  these 
particulars  in  my  former  letters;    but,  to  say  the 
truth,  J  was  determined  to  make  you  sensible  how 
well  I  had  treasured  up  what  you  imparted  to  me 
more  than  once,  I  mean,  that  if  I  gained  nothing 
by  my  government  but  the  friendship  of  Brutus, 
I  was  amply  rewarded.     In   this  I  will  not  con- 
tradict you,  but  still  I  believe  you  will  agree  with 
me,  that  his  friendship  would  be  too  dearly  pur- 
chased by  the  loss  of  my  honour.     Supposing, 
therefore,  that  my  decree  had  compelled  Scaptius 
to  be  immediately  paid,  on  what  terms  I  will 
refer  to  you,  a  reference  which  I  would  not  make 
even  to  the  judgment  of  Cato :  yet  do  not  ima- 
gine, that  I  have  discarded  your  maxims*     No, 
I  have  treasured  them   up   in   my  soul.     With 
tears  you  recommended  to  me  the  care  of  my  ho- 
nour.    Did  ever  a  letter,  come   from  your  hand 
in  which  you  did  not  repeat  the  same  recommen- 
dation ?     Let  him,  who  is  so  disposed,    be   dis- 
pleased with  me ;  I  will   bear  him  with  patience. 
Justice  and  honour  shall  ever  be  on  my  side :  and 
my  six  treatises  upon  government,  which  I  am 
glad  you  so  much  approve  of,  are  new  pledges  of 
my  integrity. 

With  the  historical  incident  respecting  Cnaeus 
Flavius,  the  son  of  Marcus^  you  express  yourself 

dissatisfied. 

*  This  probably  relates  to  a  passage  in  Cicero's  book  of  go- 
vernment. This  Flavins  lived  about  the  year  448.  The  niat- 
jter  is  farther  explained  in  his  character  of  an  orator.  See  page 
g5  of  the  translation. 


10 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


U 


I 


dissatisfied.  But  you  are  to  consider,  that  he  is 
not  to  be  placed  before  the  decemviri,  because  he 
was  Cu7-ule  /Edile,  an  institution  many  years 
later  than  the  decemviri.  Where  then,  you  will 
say,  was  the  utility  of  publishing  the  calendar  ? 
Before  that  time,  the  calendar  was  a  matter  so 
mysterious,  that  people  were  obliged  to  apply  to 
a  few  lawyers,  who  were  in  the  secret,  to  know 
the  days  of  pleading.  Now,  many  authors  tell  us 
that  Cnoeus  Flavins,  a  scribe,  published  the  ca- 
lendar, and  digested  the  public  records.  I  in- 
form you  of  this,  lest  you  should  imagine  that  I, 
or  rather  Africanus  (for  he  is  my  author)  is  mis- 
taken. I  see  you  have  noticed  the  mention  I 
made  of  the  action  of  a  certain  player,  and  you 
make  a  wicked  application  of  it;  but  I  wrote 
without  meaning  ill. 

The  letters  of  Philotimus  inform  you  of 
my  being  saluted  Imperator.  But  I  suppose, 
now  that  you  are  in  Epirus,  you  have  received 
two  letters  of  mine,  containing  my  whole  history, 
^ne  dated  from  Pendenissum,  upon  its  being 
taken,  the  other  from  Laodicea,  and  both  of  them 
were  delivered  to  your  own  servants.  I  sent  two 
public  letters  by  different  couriers  to  Rome,  upon 
the  same  subject,  not  choosing  to  trust  the  sea 
conveyance. 

\  quite  agree  with  you-in  your  sentiments  con- 
cerning my  daughter  TuUia,  and  I  have  signi- 
fied, in  a  letter,  my  consent,  both  to  her  and  my 

wife. 


wife.  I  remember  the  words  you  told  me  sometime 
ago,  "  I  wish  that  you  would  return  to  your  old 
flock  ^".     But  there  was  no  occasion  for  correcting 
any  thing  of  that  letter  concerning  Memmius; 
for  I  much  rather  approve  of  the  party  proposed 
by  Pontidia,  than  that  by  Serviha.     You   may 
therefore  employ  my  friend  Auffius,  who  has  al- 
ways professed  a  great  regard  for  me,  and  I  sup- 
pose more  now  than  ever,  if,  as  I  believe,  he  has 
suceeded  to  his  brother's  affection  for  me,  as  well 
as  to  his  estate.     How  sincere  that  affection  was 
I  had  frequent  proofs,  and  especially  in  the  affair 
of  Bursa.     It  now^  lies  with  you  to  relieve  me  of  a 
load  that  lies  heavy  upon  my  spirits.     I  am  by  no 
means  pleased  with  the  exception'  proposed  by 
Furnius,  for  I  had  no  apprehension  as  to  any 
other  time,  but   the  one  excepted.     But  if  you 
wxre  at  Rome,  I  would  write  you  more  fully  on 
this  head.     I  am  not  surprised  that  you   rest  all 
your  hopes  of  ti'anquillity   upon  Pompey  in  the 
present  situation  of  affairs,   and  in  speakinc^  of 
him  for  the  future,  I  think  you    need  no  lont^er 
apply  to  him  the  epithet  faithless  \ 

.If 

1  Meaning  that  our  author  should  give  his  daughter  to  a 
Roman  knight,  of  which  order  both  he  and  Atticus  originally 
were.  What  follows  here  is  all  private  history,  and  perhaps 
rcfin'res  more  explanation  than  it  deserves. 

-  Viz.  That  Cicero  should  return  home,  if  there  was  no  war 
with  the  Parthians. 

^  Nothing  surely  could  be  more  weak  than  Cicero  was  in  his 
judgment  of  mankind,  but  at  the  same  time  his  acknowledg- 
nJents  show  an  honest  heart. 


13 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


IS 


ii 

I 


If  I  preserve  no  method  in  this  letter,  I  must 
impute  it  to  you,  whose  extemporaneous  eftusion  I 
imitate.  My  two  little  Ciceros  love  one  another ; 
they  pursue  the  same  studies  and  the  same  exer- 
cises; but,  as  Isocrates  said  of  Ephorus  and 
Theopompus,  the  one  requires  a  bridle,  the  other 
a  spur.  I  intend  to  give  Quintus  the  manly  robe 
on  the  feast  of  Bacchus  \  at  his  fathers  request. 
I  will  observe  that  feast  without  any  regard  to 
intercalations.  I  have  a  great  affection  for  Dio- 
nysius,  though  my  boys  say,  that  he  is  furiously 
passionate ;  but  no  man  can  have  more  learning 
or  better  morals  than  he  has,  or  love  you  and  me 

better  than  he  does. 

You  have  been  justly  informed,  that  Thermus 
and  Silius*  are  very  popular  in  their  government, 
which  they  deserve  of  me  by  their  disinterested 
conduct.  You  may  say  the  same  thing  of  Marcus 
Nonius,  Bibulus,  and  if  you  please,  of  me.  Now 
I  wish  Scrofta '  had  a  situation  where  he  might 
evince  his  worth  ;  for  it  is  an  office,  which  renders 
talents  conspicuous.  All  the  others  disgrace  the 
political  system  of  Cato.  It  was  very  kind  in  you 
to  recommend  my  interest  to  Hortensius.     Dio- 

nysius 

1  Orig.  LiUralihus.  It  fell  upon  the  l/th  of  March,  and 
it  was  a'time  of  the  year  in  which  young  gentlemen  commonly 
assume  the  manly  robe. 

*  He  was  governor  of  Bithynia  and  Pontus. 

3  He  was  mentioned  before,  and  the  whole  of  this  passage 
about  him  is  extremely  obscure. 


nysius  has  no  hopes  of  Amianus,  nor  have  I  the 
least  hint  concerning  Terentius.  Masragenes  is 
certainly  dead ;  I  travelled  over  his  estate  without 
seeing  one  creature  upon  it.  This  I  did  not  know, 
when  I  conversed  with  your  freedman  Democra- 
tus.  I  have  given  the  order  respecting  the  Rho- 
sianware^  But  what  can  be  your  meaning? 
You  used  to  administer  only  simple  herbs  in  em- 
bossed charges  and  magnificent  dishes,  what  then 
do  you  mean  to  serve  in  these  earthen  vessels? 

A  trumpet  is  ordered  for  your  Phemius,  and 
it  shall  be  sent  him,  provided  the  strains,  which  he 
may  play  will,  be  worthy  of  him. — ^The  Parthian 
war  is  ready  to  commence.     Cassius   had  dis- 
patched very  foolish  accounts  upon  that  head, 
before  the  letters  of  Bibulus  reached  Rome ;  but 
when  these  are  read,  I  hope  they  will  at  last  rouse 
the  senate.     For  my  own  part  I  am  very  uneasy. 
.Even  supposing  my  government  should  not  be 
prolonged  beyond  the  year,  and  I  hope  it  will 
not,  yet  still  I  have  some  apprehensions  of  June 
and  July.     Whatever  may  be  the  event,  Bibulus 
will  hold  out  at  least  for  two  months ;  but  what 
will  become  of  him,  whom  I  shall  leave  in  my 
command,  especially  if  it  be  my  brother.     Nay, 
what  will  become  of  myself,   if  I  am  obliged  to 
gtay  longer  than  I  look  for ;  I  am  greatly  per- 
plexed. 

^  Rhosus  was  a  town  situated  upon  the  gulph  of  Issus,  and 
ieems  to  have  been  famous  for  a  coarse  kind  of  earthenware. 


1^ 


u 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


15 


plexed.  I,  however,  have  at  length  agreed  with 
Dejotarus,  that  he  shall  serve  in  my  camp  with 
all  his  forces,  which  amount  to  thirty  cohorts,  of 
400  men,  each  armed  in  the  Roman  manner,  and 
isJOOO  horse.  With  this  reinforcement  I  shall  be 
able  to  defend  myself,  till  Pompey  arrives,  and 
his  letters  inform  me  that  he  is  appointed  to  that 
command.  The  Parthians  have  fixed  their  win- 
ter quarters.  Orodes  is  expected  in  person.  In 
short  we  shall  have  enough  upon  our  hands. 

My  edict  conforms  to  that  of  Bibulus,  with  the 
exception  of  that  clause,  which,  as  you  wrote  to 
me,  **  would  bear  too  hard  upon  our  order  ^". 
Now  my  expression  has  the  same  meaning,  but  it 
is  better  guarded,  and  is  taken  from  the  Asiatic 
edict  of  Quintus  Mucins,  the  son  of  Publius,  and 
imports,  **  that  if  a  transaction  be  of  such  a  na- 
ture as   in  equity  to  be  invalid,   we  will  then 

appeal 

*  Cicero  had  a  particular  deference  for  the  order  of  knights 
here  mentioned.  We  have  already  seen  that  they  generally 
farmed  the  public  revenues,  and  consequently  they  were  per- 
jnitted  by  the  senate  to  make  the  best  of  the  people  of  the 
conquered  countries,  whom  they  sometimes  oppressed  most 
dreadfully.  On  this  account  Bibulus  in  his  edict,  as  other 
governors  have  done,  had  a  clause,  declaring  he  would  observe 
all  contracts  that  were  not  oppressive  or  fraudulent.  Pacta 
eonventa,  quae  nee  vi,  nee  dolo  facta  erunt,  servaho.  Bibu- 
lus, it  seems,  had  named  the  knights  expressly,  as  if  this 
clause  had  been  applicable  peculiarly  to  their  order,  which  our 
•author  did  not  think  so  decent,  and  therefore  kept  to  more  ge- 
neral terms. 


appeal  to  the  principle  of  conscience."  In  many 
other  respects,  I  followed  the  edict  of  Scsevola. 
I  have  in  particular  adopted  that  clause,  which 
the  Greeks  think  amounts  to  the  restoring  them 
to  their  liberty,*  by  allowing  them,  in  all  their  dis- 
putes, to  proceed  according  to  their  own  laws. 

Now  you  must  know,  that  my  edict  is  but  shorty 
because  I  have  thought  fit  to  divide  it  into  two 
heads.     One  comprehends  the  affairs  of  the  pro- 
vince, and  regulates  all  matters  regarding  the  ac- 
counts of  the  city  debts,   interests,  bonds,  and 
every  thing  that  relates  to  the  farmers  of  the  re- 
venue.    The  other  head,  which  cannot  be  regu- 
larly  settled,  but  by  an  edict,  relates  to  the  modes 
of  succession,  to  entries  upon  estates,  to  commis- 
sions of  bankruptcies,  and  to  sales,  all  which  mat- 
ters can  only  be  proceeded  upon,  and  settled  by 
edict     Every  thing  else  relating  to  jurisdiction,  I 
have  left  unmentioned,  and  have  declared  that  ia 
such  matters  my  decision  should  be  in  confor- 
mity to  the  rules  of  the  city   praetors.     By  these 
means,  it  has  been  my  care,  and  I  have  hitherto 
succeeded,   to  please  every  body.     The  Greeks 
exult  in  being  left  to  their  own  judges  and  their 
own  municipal  laws.     This,  you  will  say,   is  to 
leave  them  to  a  gang   of  jugglers.     No  matter, 
they  think  they  are  restored  to  their  former  inde- 
pendence.  The  judges,  whom  you  have  at  Rome 
are,  1  suppose,  men  of  high  respectability;  wit- 
ness Turpio  the  cobler,  and  Vettius  tlie  usurer. 

You 


-fi> 


16  CICERO'S  EPISTLES 

You  seem  curious  to  know  how  I  have  proceed-' 
ed  with  regard  to  the  farmers  of  the  revenue. 
I  caress  Uiem,  I  humour  them,  I  compliment  and 
oblige  them,  and  thus  I  prevent  their  being  op- 
pressive to  any  person.  What  will  surprise  you 
still  more  is,  Servilius  has  even  given  them  a 
title  to  the  interest  of  the  money,  for  which  they 
contracted  with  the  province.  I  manage  the 
affair  thus.  I  give  tlic  contractors  for  the  pro- 
vince a  reasonable  time  for  payment;  and  if  they 
make  it  before  the  day  elapses,  I  tell  them  I  will 
deduct  the  legal  interest,  but  if  they  pass  the 
day  of  payment,  they  must  then  stand  to  the 
terms  of  their  contracts.  By  this  regulation  the 
Greeks  are  not  loaded  with  intolerable  usury,  and 
the  farmers  are  extremely  well  pleased.  Thus  I 
give  them  fine  compliments  in  abundance,  and 
make  them  always  welcome  at  my  house.  In 
short,  I  live  with  them  so  familiarly,  that  each 
thinks  himself  the  favourite.  I  know  them  how- 
ever too  well.     You  understand  what  I  mean. 

What  do  you  say  concerning  the  statue  of 
Africanus?  What  a  medley  this  letter  is !  But  your 
letters  have  made  me  in  love  with  his  manner. 
Is  Mettellus  Scipio  ignorant,  that  his  grandfather 
never  was  censor'  ?     The  inscription  upon  that 

statue 


1  Our  author  probably  means  a  statue  of  the  second  Scipw 
Africanus,  which  Metellus  insisted  upon  to  be  a  statue  of 
Scipio  Nasica,  the  grandfather  of  this  Scipio. 


to  ATTICUS. 


17 


statue  to  which  you  have  given  so  exalted  a 
place  in  the  temple  of  Ops,  mentions  only  his 
being  consul.  In  like  manner;  upon  the  statue 
in  the  temple  of  Pollux,  the  inscription  mentions 
only  his  being  consul ;  and  that  it  is  his  statue 
appears  from  the  attitude,  the  robe,  the  ring  and 
the  face.  And  indeed,  when  I  observed  in  that 
cavalcade  of  gilded  equestrians^  which  this  same 
Metellus  has  erected  in  the  capitol,  the  itaige 
of  Scipio  Africanus,  inscribed  with  the  name  of 
Serapion ',  I  thought  it  had  been  the  mistake  of 
the  workmen,  but  I  am  now  convinced  it  was 
owing  to  the  disgraceful  ignorance  of  Metellus 
himself. 

With  regard  to  my  mistake  concerning  Flavins 
and  the  calendar,  if  it  be  one,  it  is  a  very  gene- 
jTal  mistake.  You  have  done  well  to  inquire; 
I  was  obliged  to  follow  a  public,  though  perhaps 
a  false  tradition,  which  is  often  all  the  direction* 
we  have  with  regard  to  the  Greeks.  How  gene- 
ral is  the  opinion  among  them,  that  Alcibiades 
in  his  voyage  to  Sicily  threw  into  the  sea  Eupo- 
lis,  the  father  of  ancient  comedy.  Yet  this  fact 
is  confuted  by  Eratosthenes^,  who  has  produced 
plays    of  Eupolis,    composed   since  that  time. 

Not- 


^  This  was  a  name  given  to  Scipio  Nascica,  on  account  of 
bis  great  resemblance  to  a  slave  of  the  same  name. 

-  He  wrote  a  treatise  upon  the  drama  which  is  quoted  by 
Atheneus  and  Julius  Pollux. 

Vol.  II.  C 


18 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


li 


Notwithstanding  this  anachronism,  Duris'  tlie 
Samian,  an  accurate  historian,  has  not  lost  liis 
credit  by  falling  into  it,  because  the  mistake  was 
general.  Is  it  not  universally  understood,  and 
by  Theophrastus  among:>t  others,  that  Zalcucus^ 
composed  tlie  LocrianMaws?  But  does  Theo- 
phrastus suffer  in  his  character,  if  your  favourite 
Timeus  has  shewn  him  to  be  under  a  mistake  as 
to  the  fact  ?  But  it  is  disgraceful  in  a  man  to  be 
ignorant,  that  his  great  grandfather  never  was 
censor,  especially  as  none  of  the  Cornelii,  after 
his  consulate*,  was  censor  during  his  life. 

As  to  Philotimus,  and  tlie  payment  of  the  five 
hundred  twenty-four  thousand  serteces;  I  un- 
derstand he  is  to  be  at  Chersonesus  about  the 
beginning  of  January ;  but  as  yet  I  have  had  no 
letter  from  him.  Camillus  whites  me,  that  he 
has  received  my  arrears.  1  should  be  glad  to 
know,  what  at  present  I  do  not  know,  how  much 

they 

1  He  was  contemporary  with  Ptolemy  Philadelpbus,  and  wrote 
the  history  of  the  Greeks  and  Macedonians. 

«  He  was  a  disciple  of  Thales,  and  is  mentioned  by  many 

authors. 

»  These  were  descendants  of  the  Locnans,  who  lived 
about  mount  Parnassus,  and  lived  in  a  city  of  Magna  Gra>cia  in 
Italy,  which  was  built  by  the  attendants  of  Ajax  Oileus,  who  set- 
tled there  afi^tlie  war  of  IVoy. 

4  It  was  a  rule  among  the  Romans  not  to  make  a  man  censor, 
till  he  had  passed  the  otfice  of  consul,  and  this  made  the  mistake, 
ofMeteUus  the  more  inexcusable,  for  the  reason  given  by 
Cicero. 


they  amount  to.  But  we  will  tall^  of  these  mat- 
ters hereafter,  and  perhaps  more  conveniently, 
when  we  meet.  I  own  to  you,  my  dearest 
friend,  that  I  was  alarmed  with  that  passage, 
towards  the  end  of  your  letter,  which  thus  begins, 
Need  I  add.  You  then  conjure  me  in  the  most 
affectionate  terms  to  be  always  circumspect,  and 
see  how  ^very  thing  is  transacted.  Have  you 
then  heard  any  rumour?    It  is  not  indeed  likely 

that  you  have;  for  I  think  nothing  has  or  can 
escape  my  vigilance.  But  yet,  that  hint,  though 
cautious,  seems  to  me  to  have  some  meaning. 

I  again  tell  you,  that  your  answer  to  Marcus 
Octavius  was  very  proper,  had  it  been  a  little 
more  peremptory.  For  Ceelius.  has  sent  his 
freedman  to  me  with  very  pressing  letters,  but 
his  request  respecting  the  panthers,  and  the  con- 
tributions of  the  several  states^  was  scandalous. 
I  replied  that  I  was  mortified  by  the  public  inat- 
tention to  my  government,  and  that  it  w^as  not 
known  at  Rome  I  levied  no  money  on  the  public, 
but  to  discharge  the  public  debts.  I  informed 
him  farther,  that  I  could  not  bring  myself  to  think, 
that  I  could  honourably  grant,  or  he  receive,  the 
money  he  demanded ;  and  I  admonished  him 
from  the  sincere  affection  I  have  for  him,  that 

he 

^  These  iEdiles  generally  insisted  upon  the  provinces  being 
taxed  to  defray  the  expence  of  the  public  shows,  which  Cicero 
thought  was  a  scandalous  imposUion. 

C  2 


# 


20 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


21 


he,  who  accuses  others,  should  see  that  himself  bf 
free  from  faults  As  to  his  request  respecting 
the  panthers,  I  observed  that  it  was  not  consis- 
tent with  my  honour  to  compel  the  Cibyrites  to 
hunt  at  the  public  expence. 

Lepta  is  quite  overjoyed    with    your    letter, 
which  is  well  composed,  and  has  done  me  great 
honour  with  him.     I  am  gratified  that  your  little 
daughter  ^vas  so  earnest  in  desiring  you  to  send 
me  her  compliments;  I  am  likewise  obliged  to 
Pilia.     Do  you,  therefore,   present  my  compli- 
ments  to   both,    but   especially  to   the   former, 
whose  affection  is  the  more  remarkable,  as  it  is 
impossible  for  her  to  remember  ever  to  have 
seen  me^.     The  date  of  your  letter  being  the 
last  of  December,  renewed  to  me  the  dear  re- 
membrance of  that  glorious  oath^  which  shall 
never  be  forgotten.     Never  did  a  magistrate  ap- 
pear with  more  lustre  than  I  did  that  day.     Now 
I   have  answered  all   particulars;  and   I  repay 

you  in  kind,  and  not  gold  for  brass. 

I  have 

1  Caelius  had  distinguished  himself  in  three  several  impeach- 
ments  of  great  men  for  mal-practices. 

2  There  is  an  obscurity  in  the  original/  the  best  reading  h. 
Quern  jampridem  nunquarii  vidit. 

^  When  Cicero  was  going  out  of  his  consulate,  he  was  hin- 
dered by  Metellus  Nepos,  the  tribune,  from  haranguing  the 
people.  He  therefore  took  the  opportunity  of  adding  to  the 
ordinary  oath  made  by  the  consuls^  upon  the  expiration  of  thehr 
office,  that  he  had  saved  his  country,  and  in  this  the  people  ap- 
plauded him. 


I  have  indeed  another  note  from  you,  which  I 
must  not  let    pass   unanswered.     Lucceius,   it 
seems,  has  parted  with  his  seat  at  Tusculanum, 
and  I  think,   he   has  done  right,  if  it  serves  to 
diminish  his  expences;  for  there  he  used  to  have 
no  other  company  but  his  music-master.  I  should 
be  f^lad  to  know  how  his  affairs  stand.     I  even 
hear  that  our  friend  Lentulus  has  been  obliged  to 
advertise  his  estate  at  Tusculanum  to  raise  money; 
I  wish  the  aflfairs  of  both,  and  also  those  of  Ses- 
tius  and  Caelius,  if  I  mistake  not,   were  less  em- 
barrassed.    We  may  say  of  them  all' as  Homer 
says  of  the  Greeks,  when   Hector  gave  them  a 
challenge,     They 

Bluslid  to  i^efuse^  and  to  accept  it  feafd^. 

I  suppose  you  have  heard,  that  Curius  has  some 
thoughts  of  recalling  Memmius.  As  to  the  debt 
of  Egnatius  the  Sidicinian,  my  hopes  are  neither 
very  faint  nor  very  sanguine.  Dejotarus  is  ex- 
tremely concerned  about  the  recovery  of  Pena- 
rius,  whom  you  recommended  to  me.  So  much 
for  your  short  letter.  I  beg  that,  about  the  15th 
of  May,  when  I  shall  be  at  Laodicea,  you  will 
frequently  write  to  me,   and  that,  after  you  are 

arrived 

2  Orig.  aihfrQsv  /xsv  xvnyataQoct,  ^itarav  S  Izjohx^ai.  Our  author 
applies  this  to  their  situation  with  regard  to  Caesar,  whom  they 
wished  well,  though  they  durst  not  yet  venture  to  decjare  their 
attachment  to  him. 


I  #4 


S2 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


23 


1 1  s 
ft 


arrived  at  Athens,  you  will  send  couriers  to  me ; 
for  I  shall  then  learn  how  tilings  are  at  Rome, 
and  how  the  governments  have  been  distributed, 
which  distribution  has  taken  place  in  the  month 
of  March.     But  how  came  you   by  means  of 
Herodes  to  extort  from  Caesar  fifty  Attic  talen^ts. 
By  this  you  have  incurred  great  displeasure  with 
Pompey.     For  he  thinks  the  money',  thus   ob- 
tained by  you,  is  so  much  loss  to  him,  and  that 
CsBsar  will  be  more  cautious  how  he  proceeds  in 
building  his  seat  in  the  forest  of  Aricia. 

I  learned  this  circumstance  from  Publius  Ve- 
dius,  who,  though  a  profligate,  is  very  intimate 
with  Pompey.  He  came  to  meet  me  with  two 
chariots  and  a  chaise  drawn  by  coursers,  a  litter, 
and  such  a  numerous  retinue,  that  were  the  bill 
brought  in  by  Curius'  to  pass,  Vedius  could  not 
be  taxed  at  less  than  a  hundred  thousand  serte- 
ces.  He  had  in  one  of  his  chariots  a  Cynoce- 
phalus ',  and  was  attended  by  a  number  of  wild 
asses.  Never  did  I  see  a  more  unprincipled 
man.  But  hear  the  sequel.  He  was  entertained 
at  Laodicea,  in  the  house  of  Pompeius  Vindul- 

lus, 

1  This  relate?  probably  to  money  borrowed  by  Caesar  of 

Pompey. 

2  This  was  a  kind  of  a  turnpike  bill  for  imposing  a  tax  upon 

all  equipages  to  keep  the  public  roads  in  repair. 

3  Very  strange  stories  are  told  of  this  creature,  which  seems 
to  have  been  very  rare  among  the  Romans.  It  was  an  ape  with 
the  head  of  a  dog,  and  hence  called  xtnwxf^aXoj. — E. 


lus,  where  he  left  his  baggage  when  he  set  out  to 
wait  upon  me.  In  the  mean  while,  Vindullus 
died,  and,  of  course,  his  estate  was  understood 
to  devolve  to  his  patron  Pompey  the  Great. 
Caius  Vennonius  then  came  to  the  house  of  Vin- 
dullus, and  in  sealing  up  his  effects,  he  seizes 
those  of  Vedius,  in  wliich  were  found  the  mini- 
atures^ of  five  ladies,  and  amongst  them  that  of 
the  sister  and  wife  of  your  two  friends  Brutus  and 
Lepidus,  whose  names  indeed  are  characteristic 
of  their  characters  ;  for  none  hut  sl  brute  would 
have  associated  with  such  a  fellow,  and  he  who 
could  connive  at  such  foul  misconduct  in  his  wife, 
must  be  gay  indeed  ^  This  incident  I  by  the  way 
communicate  to  you ;  for  both  of  us  have  too 
much  of  female  curiosity. 

There  is  one  thing  I  would  recommend  to  you, 
I  hear  that  Appius  is  constructing  a  portico  at 
Eleusis;  what  would  you  think,  if  I  should  make 
one  for  the  academy?  You  will  tell  me,  I  am  in 
the  right  of  it;  but  I  desire  to  have  your  senti- 
ments in  writing.     To  speak  the  truth,  I  am  so 

much 


*  Some  here  read  the  original  Langulcula*,  others  Plangul- 
culae.  The  latter  resembled  childrens'  dolls,  and  were  made 
use  of  as  puppets  by  the  young  ladies  of  Athens.  Be  this 
as  it  will,  those  mentioned  here  by  Cicero  seem  to  have  been 
common  presents  of  ladies  to  their  gallants,  and  a  tacit  acknow- 
ledgment of  their  having  granted  them  favours. 

2  The  reader  no  doubt  perceives  Cicero's  puns  here.  Lepi^ 
dits  in  the  Latin  signifies  a  jovial  man 


24 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


0 


i 


much  in  love  with  Athens,  that  I  am  desirous  tQ 
bequeath  to  it  some  monument  of  my  affection. 
I  am  averse  to  inscribe  my  own  name  upon  the 
statues  of  others  ^ ;  bat  in  this  I  will  be  directed 
by  you.  Let  me  kiK)w  the  precise  day  on 
which  the  Roman  mysteries  are  to  be  celebrated, 
and  how  you  spent  the  winter.  Farewel,  written 
on  the  765th  day  after  the  battle  of  Leuctra^ 


EPISTLE  II. 

W  HEN  your  freedman  Philogenes  came  to  pay 
me  his  compliments  at  Laodicea,  and  told  me  he 
was  to  sail  directly  for  you,  I  committed  to  his 
care  this  letter,  in  answer  to  that  which  I  recei- 
ved from  the  courier  of  Brutus.  I  will  begin  with 
the  latter  part  of  yours,  which  has  given  me  much 
uneasines;  I  mean  what  Cincius  wrote  you  con- 
cerning the  conversation  of  Statins,  who  to  my 
very  great  concern,  is  made  to  say  that  I  approve 
of  the  measured  I  approve  of  it! — Could  such  a 

thing 

1  Cicero  seems  to  have  been  doubtful,  whether  to  present  to 
the  city  of  Athens  anew  statue,  made  at  his  own  expence,  or  tp 
appropriate  one  already  made  by  a  new  inscription.-^E. 

2  He  means  the  death  of  Clod i us. 

2  This  regards  the  bad  understanding  that  still  continued  be- 
tween Cicero's  brother  and  his  wife,  sister  to  Atticus,  which 
bad  gone  so  far  that  Statius,  the  favourite  freedman  of  Quintus 

Cicero^ 


thin<»  come  into  their  head  !  Give  me  leave  to  say 
that  I  wish  the  bonds  of  my  intimacy  with  you  to 
be  multiplied,  though  those  of  affection  are  the 
most  binding.     So  far  am  I  from  wishing  for  any 
dissolution  of  the  ties  which  at  present  mutually 
bind  us.     As  to  my  brother,  I  am  no  stranger  to 
the  harsh  expressions  he  often  throws  out  upon 
this  subject ;  but  I   have  as  often  brought  him 
again  into  temper.     I  believe  you  are  sensible 
of  this.     In   our  late  journey  and  campaign,   I 
have  frequently  seen    him  in    a  passion,     and 
as  frequently  appeased.     I  know  not  what  he 
has  written  to  Statius,  but,  whatever  resolution 
he  may  have  adopted,  it  was  indecent  for  him  to 
correspond  with  his  freedman  upon  so  delicate  a 
point.     For  my  own  part,   it  shall  be  my  prin- 
cipal study  to  prevent  his  taking  any  step  that 
may  distress  us,  or  be  improper  in  itself.     In  an 
affair  of  this  nature,  every  friend  ought  to  exert 
himself  to  the  utmost ;  but  the  chief  burden  of 
this  duty   falls  upon  young  Cicero,  who  is  now 
more  than  a  boy.     I  am  not  wanting  to  him  in 
my  counsel  on  this  head,   and  I  think  he  has  a 
most  tender  and  becoming  affection  for  his  mo- 
);her,  and  is   likewise  wonderfully  fond  of  you. 
He  has  indeed  a  fine  genius,  but  I  have  my  dif- 
ficulties 

Cicero,  took  the  freedom  to  say,  that  our  author  approved  of 
their  being  divorced  from  one  another;  and  this  it  seems  had 
piqued  Atticus^  who  was  unwilling  that  his  sister  should  be  thus 
exposed. 


t  4 


2C 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


27 

/  / 


/  / 


,0 


5=^ 


n. 


ficulties  in  managing  his  spirit,  which  is  not  a  lit- 
tle untractablc. 

Having  thus  in  my  first  page,  answered  the 
last  page  of  your  letter,  I  now  return  to  the  first 
page  of  yours.  I  imagined,  that  all  the  cities  of 
Peloponnesus  were  maritime,  upon  no  obscure 
authority,  but  such  a  one  as  you  approve  of,  I 
mean  the  geography  of  Dicaearchus.  In  Chre- 
ron  s  narrative  of  the  descent  into  the  cave  of 
Trophonius\  he  blames  the  Greeks  on  many  ac- 
counts, for  being  so  fond  of  the  seaside;  nor 
does  he  mention  a  place  in  all  Peloponnes- 
sus,  that  is  not  maritime.  Notwithstanding  the 
regard  I  have  for  the  author,  who  was  a  very  ac- 
curate historian,  and  lived  in  Peloponnesus,  yet 
still  I  was  astonished,  and  not  knowing  what 
judgment  to  form,  I  consulted  Dionysius.  At 
first  he  was  at  a  loss ;  but  at  last  he  gave  it  en- 
tirely for  Dicaearchus,  who  has.  as  much  credit 
with  him  as  your  banker  has  with  you,  or  mine 
with  me^     lie  pronounced  a  place  called  Le- 

preon 

'  This  regards  some  passages  of  our  author's  book  upon  go- 
vernment, which  Atticus  was  not  quite  satisfied  with.  This 
Charon  was  supposed  to  be  the  son  of  Apollo,  and  Dicaearchus 
pat  into  his  mouth  a  narrative  or  description  of  the  descent  into 
the  cave  of  Trophonius,  so  well  known  to  antiquity  for  reveal- 
ing future  events.  It  seems  Atticus  was  not  satisfied  with  our 
author's  assertion,  that  all  the  to^^Tis  of  Peloponnesus  were  ma- 
ritime, because  Arcadia,  which  lay  within  Peloponnesus,  was 
entirely  an  inland  province. 

2  Viz.  Cdius  Vestorius  and  Marcus  Cluvius. 


t! 


preon  to  be  a  sea  town  of  Arcadia.     As  to  Tene\ 
Aliphera  and  Tritia,  he  was  of  opinion,  that  they 
were  built  since  the  Trojan  war,  and  as  a  proof 
of  this  he  produced  Homer's  catalogue  of  ships, 
where  no   such  places   are  mentioned.     Now  I 
transcribed  this  passage  from  Dicaearchus  ver- 
batim  into    my    own   work.     I   am   sensible   I 
ought  to  write  Phliasios,  and  you  will  take  care 
to  make  that  correction  in  your  copy,   as  I  have 
done  in  mine.     But,  at  first  sight,  the  similitude 
of  the  words  deceived  me ;  for  I  believed  that 
Philountai  came  from  Philius  in  the  same  man- 
ner,  as  Opontioi  from  Opous,    and  Sipountioi 
from  Sipous.     But  I  soon  was  convinced  of  this 

mistake. 

I  perceive  that  my  moderation  and  disinteres- 
tedness give  you  pleasure  ;  but  how  would  it  be 
enhanced  were  you  here  in  person.  O  !  had 
you  been  but  present  at  the  court  of  justice, 
which  I  held  from  the  13th  of  February  to  the  1st 
of  May,  for  all  the  divisions  of  my  government, 
excepting  Cilicia.  There  I  performed  wonders 
indeed.  Many  cities  had  the  whole  of  their  debt 
cancelled  ;  many  were  greatly  relieved ;  while  all 
of  them,  being  judged  by  their  own  laws  and 
in  their  own  forms,  recovered  their  spirits  by 
thus  recovering  their  constitution.  I  have  given 
those  cities  a  power  of  keeping  themselves  free 

of 

*  All  those  places  He  in  Greece. 


.-t 


*  I 


29 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


of  debt,  or  making  their  debts  very  easy,  by  two 
means ;  the  one,  during  the  whole  time  of  my 
government,  I  have  not  put  them,  and  I  speak 
without  a  figure,  to  one  farthing  of  expence,  I 
repeat  it,  not  to  a  single  farthing.  It  is  incredi- 
ble how  many  cities  have  discharged  their  debt 
from  this  single  circumstance.  Tlie  other  mean 
I  gave  them  was  as  follows;  it  is  not  easy  to 
conceive  how  the  cities  were  purloined.  This  I 
learnt  from  those,  who  had  for  ten  years  past 
been  magistrates,  and  who  did  not  scruple  to  ac- 
knowledge  the  fact;  and  therefore,  to  prevent  a 
public  censure,  they  returned  with  their  own 
hands  the  money  to  the  people.  By  this  mean 
the  people,  without  any  difficulty,  paid  to  our 
farmers  of  the  revenue  all  the  land  tax  for  this 
term\  of  which,  till  then,  they  had  not  paid  a 
farthing,  and  all  their  arrears  of  the  last.  This 
has  endeared  me  to  the  farmers  ;  **  and  they  will 
be  sure,  you  say,  to  remember  the  obligation." 
Of  this  I  am  sensible. 

In  all  the  other  departments  of  my  jurisdiction, 
1  proceeded  with  no  small  address,  and  my  cle- 
mency has  been  joined  to  wonderful  aftkbility. 
In  giving  my  audiences,  I  lay  aside  the  state 
of  the  governor  of  a  province.  I  suffer  no  ap- 
plications to  be  made  to  the  gentlemen  of  my 
bedchamber.      Before  day-break,  I  walk  about 

*  Orig.  Lustro.    Viz.  Five  years. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


29 


in  my  house,  as  I  used  formerly  to  do,  when  I 
stood  for  public  offices.  This  behaviour  secures 
me  popularity  and  influence,  and,  I  was  formerly 
so  accustomed  to  it,  that  it  gives  me  as  yet  no 
pain. 

I  think  of  setting  out  for  Cilicia  on  the  7th  of 
May,  where  I  intend  to  spend  the  month  of  June. 
I  wish  I  may  do  it  in  peace,  for  we  are  threat- 
ened with  a  dreadful  war  from  the  Parthians, 
and  I  set  out  in  July  on  my  return;  for  the  year 
of  my  labour  ends  upon  the  30th,  and  I  am  in 
great  hopes  that  it  will  receive  no  prolongation. 
I  have  the  minutes  of  all  that  passed  in  the  se- 
nate to  the  7th  of  March,  by  which  I  learn  that 
our  friend  Curio  ^  is  resolved  to  hazard  every 
thing,  rather  than  that  any  final  resolution 
should  be  taken  with  regard  to  the  province. 
But  I  hope  to  see  you  very  soon. 

I  now  come  to  your  friend  Brutus  and  also 
mine,  since  you  will  have  it  so.  Believe  me,  I 
have  done  every  thing  that  1  could  effect  in  my 
province,  or  in  Cappadocia.  I  have  dealt,  and 
daily  deal,  with  the  king,  in  all  shapes,  I  mean 
by  letters.  I  had  him  at  my  own  house  for 
three  or  four  days,  during  some  political  troubles 

into 


*  The  senate  had  passed  a  resolution  the  year  before,  that  in 
the  month  of  March,  this  year  the  consuls  should  bring  in  a 
bill  for  settling  the  governments  of  the  provinces,  particularly 
those  of  the  two  Gauls.  But  Curio,  who  was  a  tribune,  and 
some  of  his  colleagues  put  a  negative  upon  it. 


30 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


into  which  he  fell,  and  from  which  I  delivered 
him.  At  that  time,  and  upon  all  occasions  af- 
terwards,  1  did  not  fail  to  beg  and  entreat  him 
upon  my  own  account,  and  to  admonish  and 
exhort  him  upon  his.  I  know  I  made  a  consi- 
derable  impression,  but  his  distance  from  me  pre- 
vents my  learning  precisely  what  effects  my  in- 
terference has  produced. 

With   regard   to   the   Salaminians,    though  I 
might  compel  them,    I  persuaded  them  to  offer 
Scaptius  the  payment  of  his  whole  debt,    at  the 
rate  of  twelve  in  the  hundred,   from  the  date  of 
the  last  bond,   the  interest  being  added  to  the 
principal  for  every  year  and  no  longer.     A  ten- 
der was  made  of  the  money,   but  it  was  refused 
by  Scaptius.     ''  So  you   say,   you  wanted   that 
Brutus  should  lose  somewhat  of  his  due,   for  his 
security  bore  forty-eight  in  the  hundred."     But 
this  could  not  be  paid,  nor,    if  the  payment  of  it 
were  possible,   could  I,  in  honour,   suffer  it.     I 
hear  that  Scaptius  repents  his  not  accepting  the 
ofier.     He  has  some  reason ;  for  that  which  he 
called  a  decree  of  the  senate  for  suffering  an  ac- 
tion  to  be  brought  on  this  bond  in  a  court  of 
law,   passed  only  because  the   Salaminians  had 
contracted  the  debt,  in  express  contradiction  to 
the     Gabinian    law,    which    makes    all    bonds 
for  money,  borrowed  in  that  manner,  to  be  le- 
gaily  void.     The  decree  of  the  senate,  therefore, 
only  <^ave  this  bond  that  degree  of  validity,  which 
"  ^  any 


TO  ATTICUS. 


31 


any  other  bond  possesses  in  a  court  of  law.     But 
nothing  was  done  with  regard  to  the  interest 

Thus  you  have  a  regular  detail  of  what  I  have 
done  in  this  matter ;  I  believe  that  Brutus  will 
approve  of  it;  1  doubt  whether  you  will,  but  I 
am  certain  of  Cato's  approbation.  And  now  to 
advert  to  yourself:  and  will  you,  my  Atticus,  the 
panegyrist  of  my  accomplishments  and  integrity, 
will  you,  asEnnius^  says,  with  your  own  lips 
desire  me  to  restore  to  Scaptius  his  squadrons  of 
horse,  to  enforce  the  payment  of  this  money? 
Were  you  who,  as  you  write  me,  are  sometimes 
pained  that  you  are  not  with  me,  were  you,  I  say, 
with  me,  woi»ld  you  suffer  me,  were  I  willing  to 
comply  with  such  a  request?  Give  him,  you  say, 
but  fifty  horse.  I  tell  you,  Spartachus  had  not 
so  many  when  he  began  his  rebellion.  What  mis- 
chief 


^  The  quotation  from  Ennius  is  ausus  es  hoc  ex  ore  tuo, 
which  will  appear  to  have  much  propriety,  if  we  apply  to  it  a 
remark  made  by  A.  Gellius  Lib.  i.  15.  thatfrivohus  words 
arc  conceived  in  the  mouth,  hut  words  of  truth  and  wisdom  in 
the  breast.  For  this  reason,  observes  the  same  critic.  Homer 
represents  the  sage  Ulysses,  as  sending  forth  his  deep  voice  ew 
rvBtosfrom  the  breast.  To  words  thus  hatched,  as  it  were,  in 
the  mouth,  and,  destitute  of  the  gravity  of  wisdom  and  truth, 
uttered  without  thought,  Cicero  alludes  when  he  says  ex  ore  tuo. 
is  worthy  to  be  added,  that,  accv)rding  to  the  ancients  one  use  of 
the  teeth  was  to  serve  as  a  wall  or  hedge  in  restraining  the  pet- 
ulance of  the  tongue.  Hence  such  expression  as  this  applied  to 
a  rash  sj)eaker  in  Homer,  voiov  ct  ntos  (pvytv  trxot  o^otruv  how 
could  such  a  speech  escape  the  hedge  of  thy  teeth. — E. 


32 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


33 


chief  then  might  not  such  a  wicked  band  commifr 
upon  so  open  an  island  ?    Have   they  not  com^ 
mitted  it  ?  Reflect  on  what  they  did,  before  1  en- 
tered upon  this  government,  when  they  shut  up 
the  senators  so  long,  in  the  very  place  in  which 
they   deliberated,    that   some   of  them  perished 
throucrh    hunger*     For     you    must    know   that 
Scaptius  had  a  lieutenancy  from  Appius,   which 
gave  him  the  command  of  some  troops.     Will 
you  then,  whose  idea  presents  itself  to  my  eyes, 
^s  soon  as  I  begin  to   form  any  virtuous,   any 
noble  design,  \nll  you,  I  say,  desire  me  to  make 
Scaptius  a  lieutenant?    Besides,    we  came  to  a 
resolution,  and  I  convinced  Brutus  of  its  expe- 
diency,   not  to   give  any    such    commission   to 
money-broker. 

What  ?  entrust  a  troop  of  horse  to  Scaptius  ? 
Why  not  a  corp  of  infantry?  He  is  then  become 
liberal  of  his  money|^  "  But  you  say,  the  chief 
men  of  the  island  agree  to  it."  I  know  the  con- 
trary ;  they  came  to  me  as  far  as  Ephesus,  and 
with  tears  in  their  eyes,  laid  before  me  the  wick- 
edness of  those  troops,  and  the  greatness  of  their 
own  misery.  Upon  this,  I  immediately  issued 
out  orders  for  the  squadron  to  evacuate  the 
island  by  a  certain  day,  which  was  one  of  the 

reason^ 

1  Orig.  Sumpti  jam  nepos  evadit  Scaptius.  Scaptius  it 
seems  had  oflfered  to  maintain  those  horse,  which  was  very  ex- 
pensive, upon  which  Cic«ro  rallies  him. 


reasons  why  the  Salaminians  in  their  public  acts, 
have  so  highly  extolled  my  conduct.  But  what 
occasion  is  there  now  for  this  troop,  for  the  Sa- 
laminians tender  the  money,  unless  you  mean 
that  I  should  compel  them  by  force  of  arms  to 
pay  interest,  at  the  rate  of  forty-eight  in  the  hun- 
dred. If  I  did,  shall  I  ever  dare  to  read,  nay, 
to  touch,  the  works  of  your  favourite  authors  ? 
Give  me  leave  to  say,  my  dearest  Atticus,  that 
in  this  matter  you  are  too  partial  for  Brutus, 
and  I  am  afraid,  too  unmindful  of  me.  I  have 
acquainted  Brutus  in  what  manner  you  have 
written  to  me  on  this  subject.  Now,  as  to  what 
remains,  I  will  cordially  oblige  Appius,  ^  but 
only  so  far  as  is  consistent  with  my  honour;  for 
him  I  bear  no  personal  grudge.  I  love  Brutus; 
PompeyMs  wonderfully  zealous  to  serve  him, 
whom  indeed  I  regard  more  and  more  every  day. 
You  have  heard  that  Caius  Ceelius"^  comes  hither 
as  questor.  I  know  nothing  of  the  matter,  but  I 
cannot  help  having  my  own  thoughts.     I  am  not 

pleased 

^  He  was  accused  of  mal-administration  by  Dolabella,  but 
his  great  friends  interposed  with  Cicero  to  favour  him,  which 
was  very  much  in  his  power,  because  the  proofs  against  him 
were  to  be  collected  in  our  author's  government. 

2  His  eldest  son  had  married  the  daughter  of  Appius. 

3  This  was  Caius  Caelius,  surnamed  Caldus,  of  a  consular  fa- 
mily, whom,  though  our  author  does  not  choose  to  brand  ex« 
pressly,  yet  he  makes  a  shrewd  insinuation  against  him. 

Vol.  II.  D 


't 


,'itU..uiuaLi>L 


34 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


pleased  with  the  conduct  ofPamanes*.  I  hope 
to  be  at  Athens  in  the  montli  of  September,  and 
I  should  be  extremely  glad  to  know  the  whole 
of  your  rout. 

Your  letter  from  Corcyra  acquainted  me  with 
the  egregious  folly  of  Sempronius  Ilufus".  I 
have  only  to  add,  that  I  envy  the  influence  of 
Vestorius.  I  would  have  scribbled  more,  but 
the  day  now  dawns,  the  ^rowd  breaks  in,  and 
Philogenes  is  in  haste.  Farewel  then;  make  my 
compliments  to  Pilia  and  my  dear  Caecilia^ 
when  you  write  to  them  ;  my  boy  Cicero  sends 
you  his. 


EPISTLE  III. 

JL  HOUGH  nothing  remarkable  has  happened, 
since  the  letter  I  sent  you  by  your  freedman  Phi- 
logenes, yet  I  think  proper  to  write  to  you  by 
Philotimus,  whom  I  am  sending  back  to  Rome. 
In  the  first  place  then,  the  thing  that  gives  me  the 
greatest  concern,  is  a  matter  in  which  you,  as  se- 
parated 


^  See  vol.  i.  page  354. 

c  See  vol.  i.  page  303. 

^  She  was  daughter  to  Atticus,  and  so  called  from  her  fa- 
ther's being  adopted  into  the  family  of  the  Caecilii.  See  vol.  i. 
page  210. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


35 


parated  from  me  by  a  wide  sea  ^  can  give  me  no 
assistance ;  for  it  must  be  instantly  determined. 
You  perceive  that  the  term  of  my  government 
draws  to  a  conclusion  (for  I  must  leave  it  on  the 
30th  of  July),  and  my  successor  is  not  yet  appoint- 
ed. Whom  am  I  to  leave  as  my  lieutenant  in 
the  government?  My  brother  is  indeed  the  most 
proper,  as  well  as  most  popular,  man  for  this 
employment;  first,  because  nobody  better  de- 
serves the  honour  with  which  it  is  attended ;  in  the 
next  place,  he  is  the  only  man  I  have  with  me, 
who  has  served  the  office  of  prsetor.  For  Pon- 
tinius,  according  to  the  condition  and  contract 
upon  which  he  attended  me  hither,  has  left  me 
for  some  time ;  and  nobody  thinks  my  questor 
deserves  it;  for  he  is  frivolous,  profligate,  and 
rapacious  *. 

As  to  my  brother,  I  must  let  you  know,  in  the 
first  place,  that  I  believe  it  will  be  impossible  for 
me  to  prevail  with  him  to  accept  of  the  lieute- 
nancy. For  he  hates  this  province,  and  to  say 
the  truth,  nothing  can  be  more  hateful,  nothing 

more 

^   Ono".— — rioXAa  5iv /A8Ta/;^/« 

"Soros  KvXiv^ii  KviAoir  iv^tivs  a.'Kos, 
This  is  a  proverbial  expression,  literally  thus,   the  south  wind 
rolls  letween  us  many  waves  of  the  wide  5ea.— E. 

2  Orig.  Tagax.  This  word,  though  obsolete,  is  appropriate, 
and  is  applicable  to  a  thief,  as  one  who  wishes  to  lay  his  hand 
and  touch  whatever  he  comes  at.  The  original  verb  is  rEvx,u, 
hence  tago  or  tango  of  the  Latins,  3tid  our  /owcA,— E. 

D  2 


36 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


more  troublesome.     In  the  next  place,  supposing 
him  to  yield  to  my  solicitations,    how  can  I  urge 
it  consistently  with  fraternal  affection  ?  A  dread- 
ful war  is   ready  to  break  out  upon  Syria,    and 
threatens  this  province,    where,    supposing   the 
yearly  funds   to  be  settled,    there  is  nothing  in 
readiness  to  oppose  the  enemy.     Will  it,    I  say, 
be  acting  as  one  brother  should  do  by  another,  for 
me  to  leave  him  in  such  circumstances,   or  can  I 
discharge  my  duty  to  my  country,   by  appointing 
an  insignificant  person  for  my  substitute  ?    You 
see  therefore  how  great  my  difficulties^  are,   and 
how  much  I  am  at  a  loss  for  counsel.    What  shall 
I  say?  I  ought  to  have  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
affairs  of  this  government.     How  much  more  de- 
sirable is  your  province ;    you  leave  it,   if  you 
have  not  left  it  already,  when  you  will,  and  you 
never  are  at  a  loss  whom  to  make  your  deputy 
over  Thesprotia  and  Chaonia^. 

I  have  not  yet  met  with  my  brother,  so  that  I 
know  not  whether  this  commission  will  be  agree- 
able to  him,  or  whether  I  can  prevail  upon  him 
to  accept  of  it,  and  if  I  should,  yet  still  I  must 
feel  some  uneasiness.  So  much  for  the  mea- 
sure 

1  It  is  easy  to  perceive,  how  very  studied  are  all  the  diffi- 
culties our  author  speaks  of  here.  The  truth  is,  his  brother 
had  behaved  so  very  ill  in  his  own  government,  that  it  was  no 
wonder,  if  Cicero  was  afraid  he  might  be  thought  a  very  im- 
proper man  for  having  a  fresh  command  conferred  upon  him. 

*  These  were  two  estates  belonging  to  Atticus  in  Epirus^ 


^^ 


Ml 


TO  ATTICUS. 


37 


sure  that  gives  me  pain.  All  the  rest  of  my 
conduct  hitherto  has  been  full  of  virtuous  glory, 
and  virtuous  popularity,  and  such  as  docs 
honour  to  the  author  of  the  books  which  you  so 
much  commend.  The  cities  own  me  as  their 
preserver,  the  farmers  of  the  revenue  are  more 
than  satisfied.  No  man  complains  of  being  in- 
sulted, and  few  have  even  felt  the  severity  of 
a  just  decree,  nor  have  they,  who  do,  been 
heard  to  murmur.  My  actions  have  deserved 
a  triumph,  but  I  will  discover  no  symptoms  of 
ambition  for  that;  nay,  not  the  smallest  thought 
of  it,  unless  you,  at  least  advise  me.  This 
finishing  stroke  in  delivering  over  my  province, 
puts  me  to  a  little  trouble  ;  but  Providence  will 
conduct  every  thing  for  the  best. 

As  to  the  affairs  of  Rome,  you  surely  know 
them  more  fully,  more  frequently,  and  more  cer- 
tainly than  I  can ;  and  indeed  it  gives  me  con- 
cern, that  I  did  not  learn  the  true  state  of  them 
from  you.  For  here  we  have  had  many  disa- 
greeable accounts  concerning  Curio  and  Paulus^; 
not  that  I  see  any  great  danger,  while  Pompey  is 
in  power,  or  even  though  he  should  be  out  of 
power,  provided  he  has  his  health ;  but  I  am 
indeed  concerned  at  the  fate  of  my  friends  Curio 
and   Paulus.     I   therefore   beg    that   you    w^ill 

transmit 


1  They  began  at  this   time   to  be  suspected  of  leaning  to 
Caesar's  interest. 


3S 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


39 


transmit  to  me  a  complete  account  of  the  re- 
public, as  soon  as  you  go  to  Rome,  if  you  are 
not  there  already,  so  that  I  may  get  it  time 
enough  to  direct  and  determine  me  with  what 
sentiments  I  am  to  approach  the  city;  for  it  is 
no  small  advantage  for  one  who  comes  to  Rome, 
not  to  be  a  stranger  or  a  novice  as  to  what  is 
passing  there.  I  had  almost  forgotten  to  inform 
you  that  I  have  done  every  thing,  as  I  have 
often  told  you,  that  could  be  done,  for  your 
friend  Brutus.  Those  of  Cyprus  made  a  tender 
of  the  money  to  Scaptius,  who  refused  it,  thougli 
he  was  offered  it  with  twelve  in  the  hundred^ 
and  the  accumulated  interest  at  the  end  of  every 
year.  As  to  Ariobarzanes,  he  has  not  shown 
more  readiness  to  Pompey  on  his  account,  than 
he  has  shewn  to  Brutus  upon  mine,  and  yet  I 
cannot  entirely  succeed  for  him  ;  for  he  is  a 
very  needy  prince,  and  my  distance  from  him 
was  so  great  that  I  could  treat  with  him  only  by 
letters,  with  which  I  incessantly  attacked  him. 
I  have  thus  far  succeeded  with  regard  to  money 
matters.  Brutus  is  on  a  better  footing  than 
Pompey  himself ;  for  the  former  has  this  year  re- 
ceived either  payment  or  security  for  a  hundred 
talents,  and  Pompey  has  only  received  promises 
of  two  hundred  in  six  months.  The  pains  I 
have  taken  in  the  affair  of  Appius,    to  oblige 

Brutus,  is  inconceivable. 

What 


What  farther  remains  for  me  to  do?  The 
friends  of  Brutus  are  w^orthless.  Such  are  Ma- 
tinius  and  Scaptius,  who  perhaps  is  my  enemy, 
because  I  did  not  grant  him  liberty  to  harass 
the  Cyprians,  as  he  did  before  my  arrival,  at  the 
head  of  a  squadron  of  horse ;  or  because  I  did 
not  grant  him  a  lieutenancy,  which  I  have  never 
done  to  any  money-broker,  not  to  my  friend 
Caius  Venonius,  nor  to  your  friend  Marcus 
Leenius.  This  was  a  measure  I  concerted  with 
you  at  Rome,  and  I  have  adhered  to  it  ever 
since,  but  what  can  a  man  complain  of,  who  re- 
fused to  take  his  money  when  offered  to  him  ? 

I  believe  that  Scaptius  of  Cappadocia  is  well 
affected  towards  me.  When  I  gave  him  the  tri- 
buneship,  which  I  reserved  for  him  at  the  recom- 
mendation of  Brutus,  he  wrote  me  a  letter,  that 
he  did  not  choose  to  act  under  that  commission. 
One  Gavius,  a  hound  in  the  train  of  P.  Clodius, 
whom  I  made  lieutenant,  at  the  request  of 
Brutus,  spoke  and  behaved  very  disrespectfully 
towards  me.  This  fellow  neither  attended  me 
when  I  went  to  Apemea,  and  upon  his  coming 
to  the  camp,  and  leaving  it,  he  never  asked  me 
for  my  commands.  In  short,  he  manifested,  I 
know  not  for  what  reason,  a  rancour  against 
me.  Had  I  continued  such  a  man  in  the  number 
of  my  lieutenants  what  a  mean  opinion  must  you 
have  had  of  me.  I  who  you  know,  never  bore 
the   insolence    of    the    greatest  Roman,    could 

hardly 


40 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


hardly  stoop  to  that  of  such  a  varlet ;  much  less 
promoted  him  to  honour  and  profit  ?  The  same 
Gavius  therefore,  when  he  lately  saw  me  at 
Apemea,  on  his  return  to  Rome  accosted  me  in 
a  manner  that  I  would  not  have  ventured  to 
address  the  meanest  citizen.  Where,  says  he, 
do  you  direct  me  to  receive  my  salary  as  prae- 
fect  ?  Those  who  were  by,  thought  my  answer 
too  mild  for  my  provocation.  I  told  him,  that  I 
never  had  proposed  to  give  any  salary  to  those, 
whom  I  had  never  employed  in  any  business, 
and,  upon  this,  he  went  oft'  in  a  passion.  If 
Brutus  suffer  himself  to  participate  in  the  anger 
of  such  a  scoundrel;  I  will  relinquish  my  claim 
to  his  friendship,  and  will  not  envy  you  his  af- 
fection. But  I  am  persuaded,  he  will  behave  as 
becomes  him  for  the  future  ;  I  was  willing,  how- 
ever, that  you  should  be  acquainted  with  the 
whole  matter,  and  I  have  written  a  minute  ac- 
count of  it  to  himself  He  has  given  me  no 
reply  at  all ;  this  however  you  are  not  to  di- 
vulge; nor  has  he  adverted  to  it  in  his  late  letter 
to  me  respecting  Appius,  which  has  the  appear- 
ance of  reserve  and  arrogance.  This  puts  me  in 
mind  of  what  you  often  used  to  repeat. 

Granius  did  not  extend  to  himself  the  contempt 
and  hatred^  xvhich  he  professed  to  cherish  toitards 
Jiaughty  tyrants^. 


^  This  seems  to  have  been  a  verse  of  Lucilius. 


TO  AtTtCUS. 


41 


But  this  manner  of  Brutus  raises  my  mirth, 
rather  than  my  indignation,  though,  to  say  the 
truth,  he  is  too  regardless  of  what  he  writes,  and 
to  whom  he  writes. 

My  nephew  Cicero,  I  more  than  conjecture, 
read  some  letter  or  other,  directed  to  his  father ; 
because  he  uses  to  open  his  fathers  letters,  and 
that  by  permission,  lest  there  should  be  some- 
what in  them  proper  for  us  to  know.  Now  in 
that  letter  there  must  have  been  somewhat  con- 
cerning his  mother  that  agreed  with  what  you 
wrote  to  me.  He  was  wonderfully  affected,  and 
complained  to  me  with  tears  in  his  eyes.  In 
short,  I  discovered  in  him  great  natural  affection, 
tenderness  and  goodness  of  heart,  from  which 
I  conceive  great  hopes,  that  he  will  turn  out  ac- 
cording to  all  our  wishes  ;  and  this  I  was  willing 
you  should  know. 

There  is  another  thing  I  must  not  omit.  The 
younger  Hortensius^  made  a  very  disgraceful  ap- 
pearance at  Laodicea  during  the  shows  of  o^la- 
diators.  I  once  invited  him  to  supper  on  his 
father's  account,  and,  on  account  of  his  father  I 
invited  him  only  once.  lie  told  me  that  he 
would  wait  for  me  at  Athens,  and  go  from 
thence,    in  my  company  to  Rome.     I  answered, 

''  Very 


^  His  father  was  at  this  time  thinking  of  disinheriting  him  for 
his  dissolute  way  of  hfe.  Our  author's  sentiments  on  this  head 
are  extremely  delicate. 


42 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


43 


f-f% 


**  Very  well,"  and  indeed  it  was  all  I  could  say ; 
I  believe  in  my  conscience  that  he  had  no  mean- 
in^  in  what  he  proposed,  and  I  shall  be  glad  of 
it,  for  fear  of  giving  offence  to  his  father,  for 
whom  indeed,  1  have  a  great  regard.  But  if  he 
should  travel  in  my  company,  I  will  take  care 
to  behave  so  as  to  give  him  no  offence,  for  I  am 
sure  it  is  far  from  my  thoughts. 

Having  said  this,  I  must  not  forget  to  put  you 
in  mind  to  send  me  the  oration  of  Quintus  Celer 
against  Marcus  Servilius.  AVrite  to  me  as  soon 
as  possible ;  if  nothing  is  passing,  let  me  know 
so  much,  though  it  were  by  your  secretary. 
Make  my  complimeats  to  your  wife  and  daugh- 
ter, and  farewel. 


EPISTLE  VI. 

On  the  5th  of  June  I  arrived  at  Tarsus,  where 
I  was  greatly  embarrassed ;  Syria  ^  threatened  with 
war !  Cilicia  overrun  with  robbers  !  my  govern- 
ment almost  expired,  and  therefore  the  measures 
of  my  administration  the  more  difficult  to  be  en- 

forced  ! 


*  Orig.  Magnum  in  Syria  helium.  Though  I  have  translated 
this  passage  in  the  same  sen^e  as  Monsieur  Mongault  has,  who 
observes,  that  there  was  no  war  actually  at  that  time  in  Syria ; 
yet  I  am  not  satisfied  that  this  was  our  autlior's  meaning,  and 
that  he  w^as  not  imposed  upon  in  his  intelligence. 


forced!  but,  above  all,  I  felt  the  difficulty  of 
substituting  a  proper  deputy  according  to  the 
resolution. of  the  senate.  I  had  heard  nothing 
of  Caelius,  and  my  questor  Mescinius  was  the 
most  unfit  man  in  the  world  for  such  a  charge. 
The  most  proper  measure  I  could  pursue,  was 
the  leaving  my  brother  in  command,  and  yet 
with  what  unsurmountable  difficulties  is  that 
measure  attended,  my  departure,  a  threatening 
war,  and  a  mutinous  army,  and  numerous  other 
vexations.  Wretched  situation !  But  these 
things  I  will  abandon  to  chance,  since  I  have 
no  time  for  deliberation. 

I  expect  you  are  now  got  safe  to  Rome,  and  if 
you  are,  I  hope  you  will  continue  your  goodness 
in  looking  after  all  my  concerns,  especially  my 
daughter.  When  you  were  in  Greece,  I  wrote  to 
my  wife  my  sentiments  respecting  her  nuptials  \ 
In  the  next  place,  I  beg  you  to  have  some  regard 
to  the  public  honours '  that  ought  to  be  decreed 
to  me  ;  for  I  am  afraid  my  letters  have  been  but 
slightly  adverted  to  in  the  senate,  because  of 
your  absence  from  Rome. 

I  shall  but  enigmatically  hint  the  last  thing  I 
have  to  recommend  to  you.  Your  sagacity  will 
enable  you  to  understand  me.     My  wife's  freed- 

man, 


^  Orlg.  Conditione. 

*  Vi%.  Prayers  and  thanksgivings  in  public^  for  the  advanta- 
ges he  had  gained  in  the  Parthian  war. 


44 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


45 


man,  you  know  whom  I  mean,  from  some  in- 
cautious expressions  he  let  fall,  seems  to  have 
frustrated  the  advantages  we  hoped  to  have 
gained  from  the  sale  of  IMilo's '  goods.  I  am 
afraid  you  do  not  understand  me ;  reflect  upon 
it,  and  do  not  communicate  it  to  any  other. 
You  shall  hereafter  more  fully  decypher  the 
sequeP.  I  dare  not  at  present  to  be  so  particu- 
lar as  I  could  be.  Do  not  you,  however,  fail  to 
write  me  as  soon  as  possible,  that  your  letters 
may  meet  me.  I  write  this  in  the  midst  of  my 
army  in  a  rapid  march.  My  compliments  to 
Pilia,  and  your  charming  daughter  Ceecilia. 


EPISTLE  V. 

1.  AM  very  glad  of  your  safe  arrival  at  Rome,  if 
indeed  you  be  there,  before  this  comes  to  your 
hand.  For  while  you  were  in  Epirus,  you  seemed 
to  me,  to  be  at  a  greater  distance  than  if  you  had 
been  at  Rome;  because  I  was  kept  more  ignorant 
of  what  was  doing  both  in  my  own  affairs,   and* 

those 

1  Viz.  Milo,  who  killed  Clodius,  and  was  of  the  same  name 
with  the  famous  wrestler,  Miloof  Crotona. 

2  There  is  something  very  particular  in  Cicero,  writing  all 
this  not  only  in  Greek,  but  in  so  mysterious  a  manner.  It  is 
true  his  letters  were  often  liable  to  be  intercepted  or  miscarried, 
but  the  reader  will  see  a  fuller  explanation  of  the  matter  in 
note  2.  vol.  i.  [page  314. 


those  of  the  public.  I  hope  indeed  that  before 
this  reaches  you,  1  shall  be  a  good  way  on  my 
road  to  Rome;  but,  notwithstanding  that,  send  me 
frequent  and  full  accounts  of  all  my  affairs,  espe- 
cially of  what  1  wrote  to  you  before,  namely,  that 
I  have  for  some  time  suspected,  from  the  confused 
inconsistent  talk  of  my  wife's  freedman,  in  seve- 
ral companies,  that  he  has  disappointed  our 
calculations  respecting  Milo's  effects.  Do  you 
search  into  that  with  your  usual  sagacity,  and 
the  more  for  the  following  reason.  According 
to  the  account  which  he  gave  Camillus  in  the  city, 
on  the  seven  hills,  he  owed  me  seventy-two  minae, 
twenty-four  of  the  goods  of  Milo,  and  forty- 
eight  of  those  from  Chersonesus ;  and  though 
he  has  drawn  upon  the  estate  in  two  different 
payments,  twelve  hundred  and  eighty  minse,  yet 
he  has  not  paid  a  farthing  of  my  debt,  though  the 
whole  of  it  has  been  now  due  since  the  1st  of  Fe- 
bruary ;  as  to  his  freedman,  of  the  same  name  with 
Conon's  father,  he  gives  himself  no  trouble  about 
the  matter.  In  the  first  place,  therefore,  I 
beg  that  all  this  principal  may  be  recovered,  and 
that  you  likewise  will  take  care  of  the  interest 
from  the  day  it  becomes  due.  While  I  suffered 
him  to  be  here,  I  was  greatly  upon  my  guard, 
for  he  came  to  sound  me  with  the  expectation 
of  succeeding.  But  being  disappointed,  he 
abruptly  departed  saying,  ''  1  am  going.  It  would 
be  mean  to  stay  longer  here."  He  then  upbrai- 
ded 


4(5 


CICr.ROS  EPISTLES 


ded  nic  with  reclaiming  what  he  compelled  me 
to  accept\ 

Let  us  now  see  w  hat  measures  we  ought  to 
take  in  other  matters.  Though  according  to  my 
calculation,  the  year  of  my  government  is  ex- 
pired all  but  thirty-three  days;  yet  the  trouble- 
some business  of  it  grows  upon  my  hands.  For 
while  Syria  seemed  to  be  on  the  eve  of  a  war", 
and  Bibulus,  oppressed  as  he  was,  with  his  own 
gi'ievances\  was  making  the  necessary  prepara- 
tions to  repel  it, ;  his  deputies,  and  his  other 
friends,  requested  me  by  letters,  to  come  to  his 
assistance.  Now,  though  my  army  was  at  that 
time  weak,  I  was  indeed  pretty  strong  in  auxilia- 
ries, though  the  flower  of  them  were  drawn  from 
Galatia,  Pisidia  and  Lycia;  yet  I  thought  it  my 
duty,  while  I  continued  governor  of  this  province, 
to  march  my  army,   as  near  as  possible^   to  the 

enemy. 

But  what  gave  me  the  greatest  pleasure  was, 

that 


*  The  original  of  this  seems  to  have  been  a  proverb,  part  of 
which  only  is  quoted  by  Cicero.  It  is  found  at  full  length  in 
the  Gorgias  of  Plato,  rx  ynit  ^i^o^Dtx  avxyx-n  h^saOxi,  things 
given  are  necessarily  received, 

2  Orig.  Cum  enim  arderet  Syria  hello.  Bellum  must  here 
signify  military  preparations,  because  there  was  then  actually 
no  war  in  Syria. 

3  He  had  lately  his  two  sons,  who  were  killed  by  the  Roman 
soldiejs,  lefrby  Gabinius  in  Egypt,  after  he  had  restored  the 
crown  to  Ptolemy. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


47 


that  Bibulus^  did  not  trouble  me,  but  rather 
chose  to  write  to  me  on  other  subjects,  and  thus 
the  day  of  my  departure  insensibly  steals  upon 
me.  When  it  comes,  I  have  another  difficulty 
to  discuss.  Whom  shall  I  leave  as  my  deputy  ? 
for  I  hear  nothing  certain  as  yet  of  the  arrival 
of  the  questor  Caelius.  I  thought  to  have  made 
this  letter  longer,  but  I  am  destitute  of  matter 
to  fill  it  up,  and  I  am  too  busy  to  indulge  in  hu- 
mour. Farewel  then,  and  make  my  compliments 
to  your  little  Athenian"  and  my  dear  Pilia. 


EPISTLE  VL 

^V  HiLE  in  this  province,  I  do  all  the  service 
in  my  power  to  Appius.  I  am  all  of  a  sudden 
become  father-in-law  to  his  impeacher  ^  "  I 
''wish,  you  will  say,  that  Providence  may  bless 
the  match."  I  wish  so  too,  and  I  know  you  are 
in  earnest  in  what  you  pray  for.  But  believe 
me,  that  match  was  so  little  in  my  mind,  that  I 
sent  expresses  to  the  ladies  concerning  Tiberius 

Nero, 


^  Cicero  was  at  this  time  ignorant  that  he  was  so  much 
hated  by  Bibulus,  that  the  latter  declared  he  would  risk  all  ex- 
tremities rather  than  be  obliged  to  our  author  for  his  deliverance. 

*  Meaning  the  young  daughter  of  Atticus. 

'Viz.  Dolabella,  who  was  married  to  Cicero's  daughter, 
thougli  not  much  to  the  approbation  of  Atticus. 


48  CICEROS  EPISTLES 

Nero  \  M  ho  had  made  some  proposals  to  me ; 
but  the  messengers  did  not  reach  Rome  till  after 
my  daughter's  marriage  with  Dolabella,  who,  I 
believe  is  the  better  match ;  at  least,  according 
to  my  intelligence,  the  ladies  are  wonderfully 
delighted  by  the  polite  obliging  behaviour  of  the 
young  man.  As  to  his  other  qualities,  you 
must  not  be  too  particular^ 

But,  have  you  presented  some  corn  to  the 
people  of  Athens  ?  Is  this  your  intention  ?  As 
that  present  was  not  made  as  a  bribe  to  citizens, 
but  as  an  acknowledgment  to  your  entertainers, 
my  treatises  do  not  condemn  it.  You  still 
desire  me  to  think  of  the  portico  of  the  acade- 
my,  though  Appius  has  given  over  all  thoughts 
of  raising  one  at  Eleusis.  I  am  persuaded  you 
are  greatly  affected  with  the  death  of  Horten- 
sius.  My  concern,  I  assure  you,  is  excessive, 
for  I  intended  henceforth  to  have  lived  with  him 
upon  the  most  amicable  terms. 

I  have  made  Cselius  my  deputy  over  this  go- 
vernment. You  will  tell  me,  he  is  young,  per^ 
haps,  foolish,  giddy  and  intemperate.  Be  it  so  ; 
but  how  could  I  do  odierwise?    I  had  received 

many 

1  He  was  afterwards  married  to  the  famous  Livia,  and  be- 
came father  to  the  emperor  Tiberius. 

2  CcBtera  a^aK«v0-?H.v,  noli  literally,  le  not  desirous  to  era. 
dicate  his  thorns,  meaning,  you  must  not  nicely  scrutmize  his 
vices,  which,  like  thorns,  should  be  eradicated  from  his  chara(> 
ter.— E. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


49 


many  letters  from  you,  in  which  you  owned 
yourself  to  be  puzzled  in  giving  me  youf  advice 
concerning  the  deputy  I  w^as  to  leave ;  and  this 
increased  my  perplexities.  I  saw  your  difficul- 
ties which  were  the  same  with  my  own,  with 
regard  to  leaving  the  government  in  the  hands 
of  a  boy;  but  still  it  was  unreasonable  forme 
to  load  my  brother  with  it.  For  I  could  with 
no  decency  prefer  any  one  to  my  questor  (espe* 
cially  as  he  is  a  man  of  quality)  excepting  my 
brother.  Notwithstanding  this,  while  the  empire 
was  threatened  by  the  Parthians,  I  was  deter- 
mined to  substitute  my  brother,  or  even  to  act, 
for  the  good  of  my  country,  contrary  to  the  re- 
solution of  the  senate,  by  continuing  my  com- 
mand here.  But  their  subsequent  seasonable 
retreat  put  an  end  to  all  my  doubts. 

I  foresaw  what  the  public   talk  would   have 
been.     What !  He  has  substituted  his  brother ! 
Is  this  divesting  himself  of  his  government  at  the 
end  of  the  year?    What?    Was  it  not  the  inten- 
tion of  the  senate,     that  no    former  governor, 
should  act  as  governor  of  a  province,   in  time  to 
come ;  yet  this  Cicero   was  a  governor  for  three 
years The  reasons  I  give  the  world  are  ge- 
neral,   but  with  you  I.will  be  more  particular. 
Consider  under  what    perpetual    uneasiness  I 
must   have  lived,   lest  my  brother  should  have 
in  any  other  respect  shewn  himself  passionate, 
arrogant,    or  indolent.     You  know  to  what  we 
Vol.  II.  E  ali 


u 


50 


CICERO^  EPISTLES 


all  are  subject  Then  we  are  to  consider  that 
his  son  is  little  better  than  a  boy,  and  a  boy 
who  presumes  not  a  little  upon  his  own  abili- 
ties. How  grievous  this  must  have  been  to  me, 
especially  as  his  father  would  not  part  with  him, 
and  took  it  amiss  that  you  were  of  opinion  he 
should.  I  shall  not  pretend  to  say  how  Caelius 
will  turn  out ;  but  I  am  sure  I  am  at  present 
under  much  less  concern. 

You  are  likewise  to  consider  that  Pompey, 
flourishing  as  he  is  in  public  power,  and  rooted 
in  the  public  esteem,  made  choice  of  Quintus 
Cassius,  as  Caesar  did  of  Antony,  and  that 
too  without  having  recourse  to  lots,  and  shall 
I  affront  the  man  that  has  been  assigned  me  by 
lots  and  even  provoke  him  to  impeach  the  con- 
duct of  any  other  person,  whom  I  shall  leave  a& 
my  substitute  ?  What  I  have  done  is  more  ad- 
visable, and  more  guarded  by  precedents,  and, 
at  the  same  time,  more  suited  to  the  repose  of 
my  old  age.  But  good  God  !  into  what  favour 
have  I  brought  you  witli  Caelius?  I  have  read  to 
him  letters,    as  coming   from    you,   though  in 

reality 


1  Quintus  Cassius  and  Antony  were  both  of  them  young 
men,  as  well  as  Caelius  was.  Cicero  therefore  had  the  advan- 
tage over  their  principals,  that  Caelius  had  fallen  by  lot  to  be 
his  substitute,  for  though  the  principal  might  have  rejected  the 
substitute,  notwishstanding  the  lot  falling  upon  him,  yet  still 
tlaere  was  less  appearance  of  partiality,  than  if  he  had  heea 
chosen  through  affection  or  interest. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


51 


reality  they  were  dictated  by  me  to  your  secre- 
tary ^  here.  The  letters  of  my  friends  invite  me 
to  a  triumph,  a  thing,  in  my  opinion  which  I 
ought  not  to  neglect,  now  that  I  am  entering 
upon  a  new  life.  Therefore,  my  dearest  friend, 
do  you  begin  to  second,  and  thereby  realize, 
my  desire  of  that  honour. 


EPISTLE  VII. 


X  HE  younger  Quintus,  with  great  affection  has 
brought  about  a  good  understanding  between 
his  father  and  your  sister;  I  urged  him  indeed 
strongly  to  do  his  endeavours ;  but  he  was,  of 
himself,  sufficiently  forward ;  and  your  letters 
greatly  encouraged  him.  In  short,  I  am  in 
hopes  that  the  affair  will  be  settled  to  our  wishes. 
I  wrote  you  two  Greek  enigmatical  letters  before, 
concerning  my  private  affairs ;  and  I  wish  they 
may  have  come  to  your  hand.  We  must  not 
indeed  agitate  the  business ;  but  yet  by  asking 
him,  as  it  were,  without  any  design,    concerning 

Milo's 

*  This  was  no  unusual  thing  amongst  the  Romans,  and  the 
imposition  was  very  practicable,  as  they  did  not  sign  their 
names  to  their  letters,  Cicero  had  with  him,  perhaps,  one  of 
his  friend's  secretaries,  whose  hands  Caelius  knew,  and  there* 
fore  believed  the  letter  to  have  come  from  Atticuy. 

£  s 


52 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


Milo's  effects,  and  by  encouraging  him'  to  pro^ 
ceed,  according  to  the  promise  he  made  me,  you 
may  gain  some  advantage. 

I  have  ordered  my  questor  Meschinius  to  wait 
at  Laodicea,  in  order  to  leave  two  copies  of  my 
accounts  after  they  are  made  up,  at  two  cities  in 
my  government,  as  the  Julian  law  prescribes.     I 
intend  to  go  to  Rhodes,  on  account  of  our  boys ; 
and  thence  to  make  the  best  of  my  way  to  Athens, 
though  the  wind  ^  which  blows  at  this  season,  is 
quite  contrary.     But  the  truth  is,    I  am  deter- 
mined to  be  at  Rome,  while  the  present  magis- 
trates are  in  office,   for   they  have  greatly  be- 
friended me  in  respect  to  the  general  thanks- 
giving \     But  I  beg  you  will  write  me  beforehand 
whetlier  I  ought,    upon  any  public  account,  to 
delay  my  journey.     Tyro  would   have   written 
letters  to  you,    had  I  not  left  him,    very   ill  at 
Issus;  though  I  am  told  he  is  much  better  now. 
1  am,  however,    anxious  about  him ;  for  surely 
never  was  there  a  more  virtuous,  or  a  more  in- 
dustrious youth. 

EPISTLE 

1  Meaning  Philotimus,  Cicero's  freedman.    See  epist.  iv.  and 

V.  of  this  book. 

2  Orig  EtesicR,  These  were  a  kind  of  trade  winds  or  mon- 
soons, according  to  some  authors  5  bat  I  do  not  find  that  they 
aU-ays  blew  from  one  quarter,  and  we  have  many  express  au- 
thorities  that  they  did  not.  I  have  therefore  kept  to  a  general 
term  in  translating  this  word. 

«  Meaning  the  public  thanksgivings  should  be  put  up  for  hi» 
iucc?ess,  which  was  a  kind  of  a  prelude  to  a  triumph. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


53 


EPISTLE  VIII. 


W  HEN  I  had  proposed  to  write  to  you,  and 
had  my  pen  in  my  hand  for  that  purpose,  Bat- 
tonius  came  directly  from  his  ship  to  my  house 
at  Ephesus,  and  gave  me  your  letter  on  the  last 
of  September.  I  was  greatly  pleased  with  the 
agreeableness  of  your  voyage,  of  your  fortunate 
rencounter  with  Pilia,  and  to  say  the  truth,  with 
her  discourse  of  my  charming  Tullia's  marriage. 
As  to  Battonius,  his  accounts  concerning  Caesar 
were  alarming  and  dreadful;  he  said  more  in 
company  with  Lepta ;  but  his  representation,  as 
being  horrible,  is,  I  hope,  exaggerated.  He  said 
that  Caesar  refused,  by  any  means,  to  disband  his 
army ;  that  he  was  backed  by  the  praetors  elect, 
by  Cassius,  a  tribune  of  the  commons,  and  by 
the  consul  Lentulus,  and  that  Pompey  had 
thoughts  of  leaving  Rome\  But,  my  friend,  are 
you  not  sensibly  concerned  for  the  disappoint- 
ment of  the  man,  who  used  to  prefer  himself,  to 
the  uncle  of  your  sister's  son  ^  ? — By  what  men 
has  he  been  baffled ! 

But  as  to  my  own  concerns,   I  have  been  long 

detained  by  the  Etesian  winds ;  and  the  flatbot- 

»  tomed 


^  Part  of  those  accounts  were  true,  and  part  false,  as  we  shall 
see  in  the  sequel  of  these  epistles.      ,  - 

*  See  vol.  i.  page  34^,  note  3. 


54 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


tomed  Rhodian  boats,  have  retarded  me  at  least 
twenty  days.  On  the  1st  of  October,  as  I  was 
going  on  board  at  Ephesua,  I  gave  this  letter  to 
Lucius  Tarquitius,  who  was  sailing  out  of  the 
harbour  with  me  at  the  same  time,  but  was  car- 
ried by  a  swifter  vessel,  while  I,  in  a  Rhodian 
craft,  with  other  narrow  vessels,  was  obliged  to 
wait  for  fairer  weather,  and  yet  I  make  as  much 
haste  as  is  possible  with  such  conveyances.  I 
feel  obliged  for  your  attention  to  the  small  debt 
due  to  me  at  Puzzoli. 

Advert  now  to  the  affairs  of  Rome.  Let  me 
know  what  is  your  opinion  concerning  the  right 
I  have  to  a  triumph,  which  I  am  importuned  by 
my  friends  to  demand.  For  my  own  part,  I 
should  be  rather  indifferent  about  it,  did  not 
Bibulus  claim  that  honour,  though  he  lived  in 
Syria,  as  if  he  were  a  stranger  in  that  country, 
and  kept  as  close  at  home,  as  he  did  when  he 
was  consul.  If  he  seek  a  triumph,  surely  I 
might  with  propriety  urge  my  claim  |  and  now 
my  silence  would  be  dishonourable^  But  weigh 
the  whole  matter,  that,  when  we  meet,  we  may 
be  able  to  come  to  some  resolution.  I  need  say 
no  more,  since  I  myself  am  making  all  the  haste 
I  can  to  see  yoq,  and  even  the  bearer   of  this 

cannot 


Orig. 


ata-x^^*  <Ttu%*f.  Turpe  silere.  See  De  Oratore, 
book  3^  chap.  23,  page  36 1  of  the  translation,  where  Cicero 
himself  explains  the  allusion  mentioned  here. 


To  ATTICUS. 


55 


ft 

cannot  be  long,  if  at  all,  with  you  before  me^ 
My  son  sends  you  many  compliments,  and  both 
of  us  desire  to  be  remembered  to  your  wife 
and  daughter. 


EPISTLE  IX. 


Just  as  I  landed  at  Pirseeus  on  the  6th  of  Oc* 
tober,  your  letter  was  put  into  my  hand  by  my 
slave  Acastus.  As  I  had  been  long  anxious  to 
hear  from  you,  I  was  surprised  to  find  no  more 
than  a  note  sealed  up  in  the  form  of  a  letter,  but 
w  hen  1  opened  it,  I  was  more  surprised  to  find 
your  elegant,  distinct  writing,  changed  into  a 
blotted  confused  scrawl.  Your  brief  account  in- 
timated to  me,  that  you  had  come  to  Rome  with 
a  fever  upon  you  the  19th  of  September.  I  was, 
as  well  I  might,  dreadfully  alarmed ;  I  in- 
stantly inquired  of  Acastus,  who  told  me,  that 
both  he  and  you  thought  you  in  no  danger,  and 
that  he  was  confirmed  in  this  opinion  by  yout 
domestics.  This  seemed  to  accord  with  what 
you  write  in  the  close  of  your  letter,  that  your 
fever  had  not  then  quite  left  you.  But  how  en- 
dearing, how  wonderful  was  it  to  me,  that  not- 
withstanding your  indisposition,  you  wrote  to  me 
with  your  own  hand!  But  no  more  of  this;  for 
by  what  I  gathered  from  Acastus,  I  am  in  hopes, 

nay 


56 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


nay  I  am  persuaded,  considering  your  caution 
and  temperance,  that  you  are  now  fully  reco- 
vered. 

I  am  glad  you  received  the  letter  I  sent  you  by 
Turannius.  Keep  a  close  eye,  as  you  love  me, 
upon  that  fellow,  whose  name  well  expresses  his 
qualities'.  Take  care  he  does  not  touch  the 
effects  bequeathed  to  me,  however,  little  their 
value,  by  Praecius,  whose  death  gives  me  great 
concern,  because  I  much  este^ned  him  when  li-^ 
ving.  You  may  tell  him,  I  shall  have  occasion  for 
the  money  to  defray  the  expence  of  my  triumph, 
and  that  you  know  I  will  follow  your  advice  in 
neither  being  too  vain  in  courting,  nor  too  indo^ 
lent  in  rejecting,  that  honour.  I  understand  by 
your  letters,  that  Turannius  acquainted  you  I 
had  delivered  up  my  province  to  my  brother, 
Have  I  then  been  so  blind  to  the  caution  expres- 
sed in  your  letters  ?  You  write  that  you  hesita^ 
ted.  What  could  give  you  a  moment's  hesitation, 
had  there  been  any  reason  for  resigning  the 
government  to  my  brother,  and  such  a  bro- 
ther too— Your  hesitation,  therefore,  I  regarded 
as  a  disappointment,  You  hint  concerning  the 
younger  Cicero,  that  I  should  by  no  means  leave 
him  behind  me,  which  is  the  very  thought  that 
came  into  my  own  mind.     In  eyery  thing  else 

we 


1  Orig.  mv  Ts  (pv^am  ^tKori(i.i»v  avrorxrx.    Meaning  Philoti- 
mus,  whose  name  signified  covetous  or  ambitious  in  Greek. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


57 


we  agree  in  our  sentiments,  as  exactly  as  if  we 
bad  previously  concerted  them.  I  had  no  other 
course  to  pursue,  and  your  doubts  aoon  put  an 
end  to  mine,  because  yours  were  of  much  lon- 
ger continuance.  But  I  suppose  you  have  re- 
ceived a  more  particular  letter  upon  this  subject 
To-morrow  I  will  send  couriers  to  you,  who 
I  think  will  reach  you  before  our  friend  Saufeius 
can,  whom  I  have  charged  with  a  letter,  only  be- 
cause I  tliought  it  did  not  look  well  for  him  not 
to  carry  one  from  me,  when  he  was  to  see  you. 
Write  me,  as  you  promise,  concerning  my  belo- 
ved daughter,  I  mean  concerning  her  husband ; 
concerning  the  government,  which  I  perceive  to 
be  in  great  danger ;  concerning  the  censors,  par- 
ticularly whether  there  be  any  truth  in  the  re- 
port of  bringing  in  a  bill  about  statues  and  pic- 
tures \  I  write  this  letter  on  the  15th  of  Octo- 
ber, on  which  day  you  tell  me  that  Caesar  is  to 

enter 


*  This  was  a  measure  of  Appius,  who  was  censor,  and  affec- 
ted a  great  severity  in  that  office.  But  it  came  too  late,  and 
did  Caesar  rather  service  than  otherwise.  The  original  is  ei- 
ther referaturne  or  referanturne,  I  have  translated  it  according 
to  the  first  sense ;  if  it  is  to  be  taken  in  the  latter,  Cicero  must 
be  understood  to  want  to  know  whether  the  statues  and  paint- 
ings which  the  magistrates  of  Rome  used  to  borrow  for  em- 
bellishing the  public  places  of  Rome  during  their  offices,  were 
returned  to  their  proper  owners,  because  it  had  of  late  been 
usual  for  the  magistrates  not  to  restore  those  ornaments,  but  to 
appropriate  them  to  themselves,  after  the  terms  of  their  offices 
were  expired. 


58 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


enter  Placentia,  at  the  head  of  four  legions  \  If 
so,  what  will  become  of  us?  I  now  think  my- 
self safe  in  being  lodged  in  the  citadel  of 
Athens. 


*  This  news  proved  to  be  false. 


CICKROS 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


\ 


TO 


ATTICUS. 


1 


BOOK  VII. 


EPISTLE  I. 


JL  T  is  true  I  charged  Lucius  Saufeius  with  a  let- 
ter to  you,  and  to  you  alone,  only  because 
(though  I  had  not  leisure  to  write  you  fuUy)  I 
was  unwilling  that  your  good  friend  should  come 
to  you  without  a  letter  from  me.  But  when  I 
think  of  a  philosopher's  pace,  I  believe  this  will 
come  first  to  your  hands.  But  if  you  have  got 
that  which  I  sent  by  Saufeius,  you  will  thereby 
learn  that  I  came  to  Athens,  the  4th  of  October; 
that  just  as  I  landed  at  Pyraeeum,  I  received 
your  letters  from  my  slave  Acastus;  that  I  was 
alarmed  at  your  coming  to  Rome  with  a  fever 
upon  you,    but  was   somewhat  relieved  by  the 

agreeable 


60 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


agreeable  news  Acastus  gave  me  of  your  being 
on  the  recovery ;  that  I  was  filled  with  horror  at 
what  you  write  me  concerning  Caesar  s  legions, 
and  that  I  recommended  to  you  to  take  care  that 
the  ambition  of  my  freedman,  whom  I  mention- 
ed to  you  before,  and  to  whom  you  are  no 
stranger,  should  not  injure  me.  I  learned,  from 
the  letter  which  I  received  from  the  excellent 
Zeno,  that  Turannius  had  given  you  a  false  in- 
formation at  Brundusium,  and  I  have  already 
stated  to  you  some  of  my  reasons  for  not  resign- 
ing the  government  to  my  brother.  This  is  the 
substance  of  that  letter.  Now  as  to  what  re- 
mains. 

I  conjure  you,  by  your  fortune,  by  all  that  af- 
fection you  bear  me,  and  by  your  wisdom,  which 
indeed  I  judge  to  be  matchless  in  every  respect, 
that  you  will  attend  to  my  affairs  with  all  possi- 
ble diligence.  1  think  I  can  foresee  a  convul- 
sion greater  than  ever  we  underwent,  unless  the 
same  providence  which  delivered  us  from  the 
Parthian  war,  in  a  manner  we  had  not  the  pre- 
sumption to  hope  for,  should  again  interpose  for 
our  country.  Well !  I  am  not  single  in  this  ca- 
lamity, and  it  is  fruitless  for  you  to  think  upon 
what  you  cannot  remedy.  But  that  question,  in 
which  I  am  personally  interested  1  beg  you  to 
determine.  You  are  sensible,  that  by  your  ad- 
vice, 1  kept  well  with  both  parties.     I  wish  I  had 

from 


TO  ATTICUS. 


61 


from  the  beginning,  obeyed  your  friendly  admo- 
nition. 

But  never  could  I  think  there  was  a  Joy 
Beyond  my  Country's  Love — \ 

At  length,  however,  you  succeeded  in  persuading 
me  to  keep  well  with  the  one,  because  he  had 
done  me  important  services,  and  with  the  other, 
because  he  possessed  great  power.  I  followed 
your  advice  so  very  punctually,  that  neither  of 
them  had  a  favourite  beyond  myself.  My  way  of 
reasoning  with  myself  was,  (so  great  at  that  time 
was  their  intimacy)  that  while  I  was  attached  to 
Pompey,  I  never  could  be  under  the  necessity  of 
acting  against  my  country,  and  if  I  followed 
Caesar  I  never  could  difter  with  Pompey. 

The  crisis  is  now  come,  and,  from  what  you 
write  me,  I  foresee  dreadful  will  be  the  contest 
between  them.  Each  calculates  upon  my  friend- 
ship, unless  indeed  I  am  mistaken  in  Caesar; 
for  Pompey  judges  very  rightly,  that  the  public 
measures,  he  is  now  pursuing,  are  quite  agree- 
able to  my  sentiments.  Now  at  the  very  time  I 
received  your  letter,  I  received  letters  from  them 
both,   in  which  they  signified  that  they  esteemed 

me 


riaTf/^of. 
This  verse  is  taken  from  Horaer's  Odysiey. 


62 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


me  more  than  all  other  meii.  How  shall  I  act? 
I  do  not  mean  when  matters  come  to  extremities^ 
(for  should  the  appeal  be  made  to  the  sword, 
defeat,  will  be  more  eligible  with  the  one,  than 
victory  with  the  other,)  but  I  mean  with  regard 
to  the  great  point  that  will  be  agitated  when  I 
arrive  at  Rome,  whether  Caesar  shall  stand  for 
the  consulate,  and  disband  his  army  in  person  ? 
When  the  question  is  called  for,  when  it  is  put 
to  me,  what  shall  I  say?  Shall  I  conjure  them 
to  wait  till  I  have  consulted  my  Atticus  ?— No 
Sir  this  is  not  a  time  for  evasion. — Well  then, 
shalll  declare  against  Caesar  ?  If  so,  what  be- 
comes of  the  solemn  promise  I  made  to  him  ? 
For  I  assisted  him  in  obtaining  his  former  indul- 
gence ;  when  he  solicited  me  for  my  vote  at  Ra- 
venna' at  his  request,  I  brought  over  Caelius  to 
his  party.  But  what  do  I  say  of  Caesar,  I  Avas 
solicited  to  the  same  purpose  by  our  favourite 
Pompey,  in  his  third  immortal  consulate.  Well 
supposing  I  declare  for  Caesar.  I  shall  then 
have  reason  to  dread  not  Pompey  only,  but  the 
Trojans,  men  and  women.  Polydamas  will  be 
the  first  to  impeach  me.  What  Polydamas? 
You  my  friend,  because  you  approved  of  the 
principles  upon  which  I  have  hitherto  acted  and 
written.  This  cruel  embarrassment  I  escaped 
under  the  consulates  of  the  two  Marcelli,  when 
the  question,  about  Caesar's  government,  was 
debated.  But  I  am  now  fallen  to  the  same  per- 
plexity. 


TO  ATTICUS, 


6$ 


plexity.  In  my  opinion,  which  in  wisdom  I  do 
not  compare  with  your  own,  my  chief  concern  ^ 
should  at  present  consist  in  preparing  for  my  tri- 
umph, while  there  is  a  very  plausible  reason  for 
me  to  continue  without  the  walls  of  the  city* 
But  alas,  they  will  find  the  means  to  make  me 
deliver  my  opinion  \ — You  will  laugh  at  my 
perplexities. — I  wish  I  had  remained  in  my 
government.  It  was  the  only  wise  measure  I 
could  pursue  (though  a  wretched  one  it  was)  had 
I  known  what  evils  awaited  me. 

For,  by  the  way,  you  must  know,  that  all  the 
maxims,  which  you  extolled  in  your  letters,  are 
vanished.  W^hat  a  difficult  task  is  the  practice 
of  virtue,  but  to  assume  its  appearance,  for  a 
length  of  time,  is  next  to  impracticable.  For 
when  I  thought  it  a  right  and  a  noble  measure 
to  leave  to  my  questor  Ca&lius,  as  much  out  of 
my  annual  appointments  as  might  defray  the  ex- 
pence  of  his  lieutenancy,  and  to  pay  the  overplus 
which  amounted  to  a  million  of  serteces  into  the 
treasury,  my  officers  complained,  thinking  that 
the  whole  of  that  balance  ought  to  have  been 
paid  unto  them;  as  if,  I  owed  greater  obligation 

to 

»  Meaning  either  that  some  of  the  parties  would  find  means 
to  come  at  the  knowledge  of  his  sentiments,  or  that  Uiey  would 
hold  a  senate,  for  that  purpose,  without  the  walk  of  Rome,  be- 
cause no  general,  who  claimed  a  triumph,  could  enter 'that 
city,  and  the  compliment,  of  holding  a  senate  without  the 
walls,  had  been  twice  paid  to  Pompey,  when,  like  our  author^ 
he  was  soliciting  for  a  triumph. 


64 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


to  the  exchequers  of  Phrygia  and  Cilicia,  thart 
to  that  of  Rome.  But  their  complaint  had  no 
effect  upon  me,  having  an  unshaken  regard  to 
my  own  reputation.  And  yet  I  acted  toward* 
them  with  honour.  But  this,  as  Thucidides 
says,  is  no  useless  digression. 

I  next  solicit  your   attention   to  my  situation  ; 
and  in  the  first  place,  reflect  by  what  contrivan- 
ces  I  may  retain  the  good  graces  of  Caesar;    in 
the   next  place,    how   I  can   obtain  a  triumph, 
which  I  think  not  to  be  at  all  impracticable,  un- 
less prevented  by  the  public  disorders.     I  form 
this  opinion    from   the    representation    of   my 
friends,  and  from  the  public  thanksgiving  that 
has  been  decreed  me ;  while  the  man,   who  op- 
posed that  measure   did  me  more  honour  than 
triumphs  can  bestow  \     He  was   seconded  only 
by  Favonius,  who  loves  me,  and  by  Hirrus,  who 
hates  me.     Notwithstanding  this,    Cato  was  one 
of  the  committee  present  at  drawing  up  the  de- 
cree  in  my  favour,   and  he  wTOte  me  a  very 
handsome  letter  upon  what  he  had  said  hi  the 
senate-house.     Now  you  must  know,  that  in  the 

compliments 

I  This  is  a  fine  afld  a  true  sentiment ;  when  the  question 
concerning  the  thanksgiving  for  our  author^s  success,  came  to 
be  debated  in  the  senate-house,  Cato  was  of  opinion,  that  our 
author's  military  achievements  did  not  deserve  any  great  notice 
to  be  taken  of  them ;  but  his  disinterested  conduct  was  such  m 
government,  that  if  triumphs  were  to  be  decreed  to  virtues  as 
-well  as  to  victories,  Cicero  deserved  a  thousand. 


to  ATTICUS. 


65 


febmt)Kment  Caesar  pays  itie,  upon  this  thanks- 
giving that  has  been  decreed  me,  he  plumes  him- 
self upon  Cato's  opposing  it,  and,  without  meri- 
tioniilg  the  favourable  paf-t  of  Cato'g  speech,  he 
Only  tells  ihe,  that  he  had  not  voted  for  the 
thanksgiving. Now  as  to  Hirrus,  pray  com- 
plete his  reconciliation  with  me^  Hvhich  you  hdvef 
begun;  you  have  Scrofa  and  Silius  to  assist 
you./  I  wrote  to  them  some  time  ago,  and  to 
Hirrufe  himself,  after  he  had  been  talking  to  thenl 
as  a  friend,  and  saying,  that  when  he  could 
have  hindered  the  decree  from  passing,  he  did 
hot;  but  that  he  voted  with  Cato,  v^ho  was  one 
of  the  best  of  my  friends;  that,  when  he  g^ve 
his  vote,  he  prefaced  it  with  a  speech,  which  did 
me  the  greatest  honour ;  and  yet,  though  I  had 
sent  letters  to  every  body  else,  I  ^had  sent  none 
to  him.  He  was  in  the  right  as  to  the  last  cir- 
cumstance  ;  for  he  and  Crassipos  were  th6  only 
two  senators  to  whom  I  had  not  written* 

So  much  for  public,  now  for  domestic  affairs* 
I  desire  to  have  no  farther  connection  with  that 
man.  In  duplicity  and  fraud  he  is  another  Lar- 
tidius\     Yet  with  an  aching  heart,  I  must  put 

up 

^  Lartidius  was  some  noted  rogue  of  that  time.  From  the 
language  of  Cicero  in  a  preceding  letter,  it  has  been  inferred, 
that  the  affection  of  his  wife  was  alienated  from  him,  but  no 
mention  was  made  of  her  gallant.    Here  w^  discover  who  he 

probably 

Vot.  11.  E 


66 


CICERCrS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


67 


op  with  all  that  be  has  hitherto  done '.     Let  u^ 
however,   take  care  of  what  is  to  come,   especj.- 
ally  with  regard  to  that  which  has  added  to  my 
concern,  I  mean  the  death  (91^  i^aecius,  by  which 
a  legacy,  of  some  kind  has  come  to  me,   and 
which,  with  the  accounts  that  are  in  bis  hands,  I 
am  unwilling  Philotimus    should   embezzle,  .;,^ 
have  written  to  my  wife,  and  likewise  to  Philoti- 
mus himself,  tliat  I  am  to  pay  into  your  hands 
ftU  the  money  I  can  possibly  collect,   to  defray 
the  expences  of  my  expected  triumph.     This  is  a 
pretext  to   which  I  hope  no   objection  can  be 
made ;  but  they  may  take  it  as  they  will.     You 
are  likewise  to  turn  your  thoughts  upon  what 
will  be  the  most  cautious  manner*  to  proceed  in 

with 

probably  was.  Our  autl'.or  associates  his  freedman,  Philo- 
timus and  his  wife  together,  and  represents  them  as  jommg  m 
one  common  interest,  and  in  defrauding  him.  This  supposes 
that  she  now  preferred  the  interest  of  her  freedman,  from  what, 
ever  reason,  to  that  of  her  husband.  In  this  view  Uie  term 
♦«e.T,.,  which  he  applied  to  Philotimus,  is  appropriate  to  h.ro, 
rather  as  having  polluted  his  family  affections,  than  deranged 
his  family  coacerns.  Yet  be  connives  at  the  intriguer,  though 
fee  affects  to  do  it  with  an  aching  heart.  But  we  may  safely 
infer,  that  in  a  moral  or  political  view,  he  had  been  ^.Ity  of 
some  misconduct,  and  he  was  afraid  of  being  exposed  by  h.s 
wife  and  freedman. — ¥*» 

^  Jt  Ori^.  Queuuidmodum  experiamur.  Monsieur  Mongault 
teems  i^ot  to  have  amended  to  the  delicacy  of  this  expression, 
which  implies  "  that  he  wanted  to  sound  the  senate/'  and  it  is 


with  regard  to  my  triumph.  For  you  remem- 
ber your  own  expression,  "  and  in  that  too  I  will 
assist  you,"  in  the  letters  you  sent  me  either  from 
Epinis  or  Athens. 


EPISTLE   II. 

On  the  14th  of  November  I  came  to  Brundu- 
sium,  having  had  a  voyage  equally  prosperous 
with  your  own.  For  from  Epirus  thither  was  I 
wafted  by  favourable  gales  ^ — There  is  a  spondaic 
verse  ^  which  I  wish  you  to  ascribe  to  one  of  the 
young  men.  I  am  greatly  affected  by  your  in- 
disposition, which  your  letters  intimate  to  be 
rather  severe.     For  my  own  part,  as  I  know  the 

good 

not  likely  that  it  could  have  been  about  any  thing  else  but  his 
triumph,  of  which  he  was  excessively  fond,  though  he  ap- 
peared to  be  otherwise. 

^  Orig.  ,Lennissimus  Onchesmites,  It  was  no  uncommon 
thing  for  the  ancients  to  give  to  winds  the  names  of  the  places 
from  whence  they  blew.  Onchesmus  was  a  sea  port  in  Epirus | 
in  like  manner  they  called  a  north  wind  Gaureus  from  Gauris^ 
an  island  from  whence  it  blew,-  and  thus  Saron,  Japy«,  aiod 
many  others. 

*  Orig.  atsrovhta^ovroi,  Cicero,  in  composing  a  Greek  verse, 
inadvertently  committed  an  error  by  making  the  fifth  foot  spofi' 
date.  For  this  he  appears  to  have  been  derided,  and  to  avoid 
this  derision,  he  desires  Atticus  to  fether  it  upon  some  one  of 
his  young  associates. — E. 

F  2 


68 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


good  spirits  you  are  possessed  of,  I  am  afraid 
that  something  very  extraordinary  must  be  the 
matter  with  you,  that  could  thus  force  you  into 
despondency.  Your  slave  Pamphilius,  however, 
told  me,  that  you  had  got  rid  of  one  quartan 
fever,  but  that  it  had  been  succeeded  by  another 
not  so  violent  But  my  wife,  who  came  by  land 
to  Brundusium  at  the  same  time  I  reached  it  by 
sea,  and  whom  I  met  in  the  forum,  told  me,  that 
she  had  heard  from  Lucius  Pontius  at  Tribuli, 
that  even  your  lesser  fever  was  abated;  I  most 
earnestly  hope  this  account  may  be  true,  and, 
the  rather,  because  I  am  no  stranger  to  your 
experience  and  temperance. 

Now  as  to  your  letters,  of  which  I  received 
thousands  at  one  time,  of  which  each  gave  me 
greater  pleasure  than  the  other,  I  mean  each  of 
those  which  were  all  written  in  your  own  hand. 
It  is  true,  I  was  fond  of  the  writing  of  Alexis, 
because  it  had  so  great  a  resemblance  to  yours; 
but  I  hated  it  because  it  intimated  that  you 
was  indisposed.  But  now  that  I  speak  of  Alexis, 
I  have  left  my  Tyro  sick  at  Patrae.  You  know 
the  youth,  and  the  least  that  can  be  said  of  him 
is,  that  he  is  honest  and  faithful  to  a  degree 
which  I  never  knew  exceeded.  His  absence  is 
therefore  extremely  inconvenient  for  me,  and 
though  he  thinks  himself  in  no  danger,  yet  I 
cani^ot  help  being  in  great  concern  for  him  ;  and 
my  chief  hope  of  his  recovery  arises  from  the 

great 


to  ATTICUS. 


69 


great  care  which  Manius  Curius  has  of  him,  and 
of  which  I  have  been  informed  both  from  Tyro 
himself  and  from  others.  With  regard  to  Curius 
he  has  been  made  sensible  how  glad  you  are  that 
he  is  become  a  favourite  with  me ;  the  truth  is,  I 
think  him  a  very  agreeable  companion,  and  in- 
deed he  possesses  a  native^  humour,  which  is  ex- 
tremely 

*  Orig.  AuTo^Quv.  (nativa  et  indigena)  in  homine  urlanitas. 
The  men  of  wit  amongst  the  Romans  piqued  themselves  upon 
a  species  of  it,  which  was  peculiar  to  themselves,  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  English  boast  that  humour  is  the  talent  only  of 
Englishmen.  We  have  in  oiir  author's  works  two  passages 
(not  to  mention  many  more)  that  explain  and  defend  the  man- 
ner in  which  I  have  translated  this  passage.  Moriax  (says  he 
epist.  fam.  1.  g,  ep.  IS.)  d  pr/sier  te  quemquam  reliquum  hou- 
Leo  in  quo  possim  imaginationem  antiquce  et  verjiaculcefestivU 
tatis  Qgnoscere.  "  I  know  not  a  man  besides  yourself  in  whom 
I  can  discern  a  true  representation  of  ancient  native  Roman 
humour."  And  again  accedunt  non  Aitici,  sed  salsiores 
quam  illi  atticorum,  Romani  veteres  atque  urlani  sales,  "  To 
these  are  added  a  more  than  attic  wit,  that  of  the  old  native 
Romans."  Tijese  are  our  author's  words  to  Paetns,  and  then  in 
the  same  epistle  be  goes  on  to  give  the  dAfioition  of  that  species 
of  wit  in  which  the  Granii,  the  i^ucilii^  the  Crassi,  ^nd  ihe 
Laelii  were  so  eminent,  .and  which  he  se^ms  to  .confine  to  the 
walls  of  Rome,  or  its  original  territory.  J^go  auiem^  says  he^ 
(existimes  licet  quodluletj  mirijice  capiorfacetiis,  maximenos- 
tratibus,  prcesertim  cum  eas  videam  primum  oblUas  Latio,  turn 
cum  in  urlem  nostram  est  infusa  peregrinitas,  nunc  vera  etiam 
Iraccatis  t^  transalpinis  nationilms,  ut  nullum  veteris  leporis 
ijestigium  appareat.  *'  For  my  own  part  (you  may  think  of 
me  what  you  please)  I  am  wonderfully  taken  with  humour, 
;and  a})oye  all,  with  Ron^an  humour,  especially,  as  I  see  it  now 

quite 


70 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


tremely  engaging.  I  have  got  his  will\  sealed 
with  the  signets  of  our  family,  and  of  all  my 
body  guards^  He  made  it  in  public,  and  left 
you  his  principal  heir  and  me  to  a  fourth  part.^^ 
I  was  nobly  entertained  by  Alexion,  at  Actium 
in  Corcyra.  My  nephew  pleaded  with  me  so 
hard,  that  I  was  forced  to  suffer  him  to  visit  the 
river  Thyamis  \  I  am  glad,  that  you  have  such 
pleasure  in  your  little  daughter*,  and  that  you 

know 

quite  daubed  over,  first  from  the  country  of  Latium,  when 
strangers  were  suffered  to  pour  into  our  city ;  but  now  from 
trousered,  transalpine  nations,  so  that  now  we  cannot  discern 
the  smallest  vestige  of  ancient  wit  and  humour.*' 

1  This  seems  to  be  a  species  of  the  humoui  so  much  valued 
by  our  author,  and  though  the  whole  of  the  passage  is  greatly 
corrupted  in  the  original,  yet  we  know  enough  of  it,  that  these 
mock  wills  were  often  made  by  the  Roman  humourists  and  the 
English  are  not  without  some  specimens  of  the  san^e  kind  of 
humour. 

*  Orig.  Cohortis  prcetoridB.  I  have  not  ventured  with  Mon- 
sieur Mongault  to  restrict  this  expression  only  to  the  civil  offi^ 
cers  of  our  author's  retinue.  It  is  true  he  several  times  distin- 
guishes them  by  the  words  Cohors  prtBtoriut  which  I  take  to  he 
more  of  a  military  than  a  civil  appellation.  It  was  properly 
the  governor's  body  guard,  and  was  made  up  of  two  sorts  of 
people,  the  one  of  enlisted  soldiers,  the  other  of  young  noble- 
men,  who  served  under  the  governor  by  way  of  aides  de  camp, 
quarter  masters  general,  secretaries,  treasurers,  and  in  other 
civil  employments  as  well  as  military. 

^  Atticus  probably  had  an  estate  near  this  river. 
*  This  is  a  beautiful  digression  from  our  author's  epistolary 
familiarity.    Atticus,  who  was  good  nature  and  affection  itself, 
coulcj  not  help  being  fond  of  his  little  daughter,  and  owning 

f^thongh 


TO  ATTICUS. 


71 


know  from  experience  how  stron^y  paternal  a^ 
fection  operates.  Men  could  otherwise  have  no 
call  from  nature  for  those  social  intercourses, 
without  which  the  ties  of  life  cannot  subsist. 
Carneades  says,  that  he  is  a  friend  to  sensual  in- 
dulgence as  the  chief  end  of  man '.     This  is  talk- 


ing 


(though  he  was  an  Epicurean)  that  it  was  planted  in  h.m  by  na- 
ture a  principle  which  those  of  his  sect  combated,  and  which 
Cice'ro  encouraged,  and  had  lent  him  several  books  to  read  on 

that  subject.  .         .  •  u  .u     .- 

1  There  is  a  passage  in  our  author's  Academics,  which  throws 
-rreat  li-ht  upon  this  expression,  which  is  in  the  original  bene 
"eveniat.inquU  Carneades,  spurcl    The  passage  I  mean  m  the 
Academics  is  as  foUows.    Honeste  autem  vivere.fruentem  rebus 
iis  quas  primas  homini  naturatonciliet.  fSf  veius  academia  cat- 
suit ut  indicant  scripta  PoUmorAs,  quem  AnHochus  probat  max- 
ime  ig  Aristoteles;  ejusque  amici  nunc  proxime  videntur  acce- 
dere     Introducebat  etiam  Carneades,  non  quo  probaret,  sed  ut 
opponeret  stoicis,  ^ummum  bonum  esse,  frui  iis  rebus,  quas  pn- 
las  natura  conciliavisset.  "  But  we  learn  from  Poletmo,  whom 
Antiochus  chiefly  followed;  that  the  old  academy  too  held 
moral  honesty,  with  the  enjoynjent  of  the  primary  gifts  of  na- 
ture to  be  the  end  of  good  things;  though  Aristotle  with  his 
friends  came  very  near  up  to  this  doctrine.    Carneades  too, 
not  that  he  liked  it,  but,  that  he  might  turn  it  against  the  stoics, 
adopted  the  enjoyment  of  the  primary  gifts  of  nature,  as  the 
supreme  good."     Had  Monsieur  Mongault  and  the  commen- 
tators recoUccted^liis  passage,  it  might  have  saved  them  a  great 
deal  of  laborious  reading  and  writing.     It  is  plain  that  Camea- 
.des  here  approached  pretty  near  to  the  Epicurean  system,  and 
the  religious  expression  of  bene  veniat  is  no  other  than  a  sn^r, 
•which  he  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  philosopher  upon  public 
.ceremonies,  for  which  he  and  aU  h«»  sect  had  a  hearty  con- 
tempt. 


72 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


ing  too  licentiously.  But  still  there  is  more 
sense  in  it,  than  in  the  tenets  of  our  friends  I^ucius 
and  Patro*;  for,  as  tjiey  suppose  every  thing  tp 
relate  to  themselves,  how  can  thpy  imagine  any 
thing  to  be  made  for  others  ?  And  when  they 
jneqtjoi)  t\\e  duty  inci^mbent  pi)  a  man  to  be  vir- 
lupus,  they  mean  only,  lest  l)e  should  suffer 
some  inconvenience  in  being  otherwise;  and  that 
there  is  in  the  nature  of  things  no  njoral  rectir 
tude;  such  men,  do  not  reflect  that  they  are  tal- 
king of  an  artful  debauchee,  and  not  of  an  ho- 
nest man.  But  these  matters,  I  conceive,  are 
handled  in  those  books,  which  by  ypur  commen- 
ding so  much,  have  encouraged  me  to  write  in 
this  manner. 

But  I  now  come  to  business.  I  was  impatient 
for  the  letter  you  had  given  to  Philoxemus,  (be- 
cause you  wrote  me  that  it  contained  an  account 
of  your  conversation  with  Pompey  at  Naples) 
when  I  received  it  from  Patro  at  Brundusium, 
an4  it  fell  into  his  hands  at  Corcyra,  as  I  sup- 
pose. Nothing  could  give  me  greater  pleasure 
than  its  contents  did ;  for  they  relate  to  public 
affairs ;  to  the  opinion  that  great  man  has  of  my 
integrity,  and  to  his  sentiments,  which  were  so 
friendly  on  the  subject  of  my  triumph.  But 
what  gave  me  greater  pleasure  than  all  was,  your 
paying  him  the  visit,   that  you  might  le^rn  how  I 

stpoc} 

f  These  were  Epicureans. 


I 


TO  ATTICUS. 


73 


etood  in  his  affections;  this  I  repeat  afforded  me 
jnore  pleasure  than  all  thp  rest.     With  regard  to 
i^y  triumph,  I  never  desired  it,  till  Bibulus  wrot^ 
those  impudent  letters,   upon  which,   a  thanks- 
giving was  decreed  hiqi  in  the  most  honourable 
manner.     Had  he  performed  the  actions  his  let- 
ters mentioned,  they  would  have  given  me  plea- 
sure,  and  my  suffrage  should  have  been  for  his 
triumph.   But  for  him  who  never,  after  the  enemy 
had  passed  the  Euphrates,  once  set  his  foot  over 
his  own  threshold,  for  him,  I  say,  to  be  dignified 
with  that  honour ;  and  for  me,  in  whose  army, 
the  only  hope  of  his  army  rested,  to  be  left  witl^- 
out  it,  would  disgrace  us,   I  say  us,   for  1  join 
you  to  myself.     I  will  therefore  try  all  means, 
and  I  hope  to  succeed.     Had  you  been  well,  I 
should,   by  this  time,  have  made  some  progress; 
but  your  indisposition  will,   I  hope,  soon  be  at 
an  end. 

I  am  obliged  to  you  for  what  you  have  done 
in  that  sn^all  debt  of  Numerius.  I  am  impa- 
tient to  receive  spme  .news  respecting  Cato; 
who,  I  think,  has  betrayed  much  malice  against 
me.  He  ran  out  in  praise  of  my  integrity,  jus- 
tice, clemency  and  honour;  a  favour  I  did  not 
want ;  but  the  favpur  I  did  want,  he  has  denied. 
Well,  therefore,  may  Caesar  seek  to  avail  him- 
self, as  he  does,  of  Cato's  most  ungenerous,  un- 
grateful treatment  of  me,  in  the  complimentary 
letter  which  he  wrote  me,  and  in  which  he  offers 

me 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


75 


me  my  own  terms.  And  yet — forgive  me,  for  1 
neither  can  nor  will  bear  it, — this  very  Cato 
voted  for  a  thanksgiving  of  twenty  days  to  Bibu- 

lus. 

I  should  gladly  answer  the  whole  of  your  let- 
ters; but  there  is  no  necessity  for  it,  as  I  am  to 
set  you  so  soon.  I  must,  however,  speak  to  you 
concerning  Chrysippus,  for  I  was  the  less  surpri- 
sed at  the  fellow  who  is  a  mere  mechanic,  and  a 
worthless  scoundrel.  But  was  it  possible  for 
Chrysippus,  whom,  as  possessing  some  degree 
of  learning,  I  held  in  esteem  to  leave  my  son 
without  my  knowledge !  I  shall  say  nothing  of 
many  other  reports  concerning  him,  nor  of  his 
embezzlements,  but  I  cannot  forgive  his  running 
away,  which,  I  think,  is  the  most  wicked  thing  I 
ever  knew.  I  have  therefore  adopted  the  old 
maxim,  which  is  ascribed  to  the  praetor  Drusus\ 
with  regard  to  a  fellow,  who,  when  made  free, 
swerved  from  the  fidelity  he  owed  to  his  master 
when  a  slave;  for  I  will  deny,  that  I  set  him 
free^;  especially  as  nobody  was  present  before 

whom 


»  This  probably  is  he  who  was  praetor  in  the  year  of  Rorae 

637. 

2  Cicero  is  extremdy  delicate,  but,  at  the  same  time,  ex- 
tremely free  with  regard  to  Atticus.  In  all  tlie  openings  of  his 
soul  to  him,  he  still  wants  to  represent  his  failings  as  the  ami- 
able weaknesses  of  ^lature.  I  do  not  know  whether  Cicero,  ia 
this  Tespect,  did  not  impose  even  upon  himself,  and  whether  he 

had 


whom  he  could  be  regularly  emancipated. 
You  may  therefore  make  what  use  you  please  of 
this  hint,  I  will  stand  by  what  you  do.  There  is 
one  most  elegant  letter  of  yours,  in  which  you 
treat,  of  the  public  calamities,  and  to  which  I 
have  returned  uo  answer,  and  indeed  what  an* 
swer  can  I  return,  but  that  I  was  greatly  concer- 
ned ?  But  nothing  can  greatly  alarm  us,  as  the 
Parthians  have  suddenly  retired  and  left  Bibulus 
half  dead  with  fear. 

EPISTLE 

had  not  a  greater  share,  than  he  was  willing  to  believe  be  had, 
of  revenge,  vanity,  pride,  and  envy  5  nor  do  I  think  any  man 
ever  owed  more  virtues  to  reading  and  study,  than  he  did.    Np- 
thing  is  more  plain  to  me  than  that  he  made  his  own  person  the 
standard  of  all  human  merit  and  demerit  j  for  every  man  with 
him  possessed  either  the  one  or  the  other,  in" proportion,  as  he 
flattered  his  vanity,  or  served  his  interest.     The  rank  envy  he 
discovers  in  this  epistle,  at  the  public  honours  decreed  to  Bibu- 
lus, was  perhaps  very  unjust,  because  Bibulus  was  entitled  to 
all  the  honours  due  to  the  services  of  Cassius,  who  acted  only 
as  one  of  his  officers  {^suh  ejus  auspiciis)  and  whose  successes 
were  so  great  as  to  check  tlie  progress  of  the  Parthians,  who» 
after  the  arrival  of  Bibulus,  were  obhged  to  repass  the  Eu- 
phrates, a  step  which  our  author,  from  his  spleen  to  Bibulus., 
seems  to  impute  to  tlieir  unaccountable  madness  in  foregoing 
so  many  advantages  as  the  juncture  presented  to  them.     As 
to  this  Chrysippus,  he  hnd  been  governor  to  our  author's  son, 
and  had  been  made  free  by  him.     Notwithstanding  this,  he 
no  sooner  leaves  his  service,  than  we  find  him  furnishing  At- 
ticus with  a  hint  which  he  might  improve,  for  denying  that 
Cicero  had  ever  given  him  his  liberty.     In  short,  Pompey, 
Caesar,  Brutus,  Hortensius,  and  all  his  great  contemporaries, 
rise  or  fall,  according  to  the  weather-glass  of  our  author's  pri- 
vate passions.     (See  vol.  i.  note  1.  p.  l^^J 


76 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  III. 

\Jn  the  6th  of  December,  I  came  to  Hercula- 
Hum',  where  I  read  your  letters  which  I  received 
from  Philotimus,  and,  upon  the  face  of  them, 
I  first  bad  the  pleasure  of  seeing  that  they  were 
written  by  your  own  hand ;  and,  in  the  next 
place,  I  was  charmed  with  their  great  elegance 
and  accuracy.  That  I  may  begin  with  what  you 
dislike,  and  in  which  you  differ  from  -  Dicsear- 
chus.  Although,  by  your  approbation,  I  was 
extremely  desirous  of  not  being  above  a  year  in 
my  government,  yet  it  was  a  thing  that  happened 
of  course,  without  my  taking  any  pains  about  it 
For  be  it  known  to  you,  there  was  no  hints  given 

in 


*  This  is  the  same  town  which  was  afterwards  swallowed  up 
with  an  earthquake^  and  which  has  been  so  lately  discovered. 
It  lay  near  the  foot  of  Mount  Vesuvius,  and  the  King  of  the 
two  Sidlies  has  got,  out  of  its  ruins,  an  immense  conection  of 
l>eautiful  antiquities. 

2  It  is  a  standing  reproach  to  the  character  of  Atticus,  that 
he  laid  it  down  as  a  maxim,  to  preserve  a  neutrality  durincr  all 
his  country^s  troubles.  Dicaearchus  thought  this  maxim  to  be 
scandalous.  Atticus  had,  it  seems,  thought,  Uiat  our  author 
would  have  done  better,  had  he  not  shown  such  an  extreme 
impatience  to  return  to  Rome,  because  had  he  kept  by  the 
government  of  his  province,  he  would  not  have  been  copcerne4 
in  the  ensuing  troubles  of  his  country. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


77 


in  the  senate,  that  any  of  us  governors  of  pro- 
vinces, should  continue  in  them  beyond  the  time 
marked  by  the  resolution  of  the  house.     It  is 
therefore  not  my  fault,  if  I  have  not  continued 
in  my  government  as  long  as,  perhaps  it  might 
have  been  convenient  for  me.     But,  "what  if 
this  has  fallen  out  for  the  best  ?"  to  make  use  of 
a  common  saying,  and,  as  appears  in  the  pre- 
sent case,  a  true  one.     For  whether  matters  be 
compromised,  or  whether  the  cause  of  public 
liberty  shall  prevail,  I  would  willingly  have  the 
glory  of  contributing  to  either  of  these  events 
or  have  the   happiness    of  profiting  by  them. 
But  if  that  cause  should  fall,  I  must  fall  along 
with  it,  wherever  I  may  be.     I  have,  therefore, 
no   reason  to  regret  the   quickness  of  my  re- 
turn. 

Had  it  not  been  for  that  hankering  after  a  tri- 
umph, which  I  cherish,  and  which  you  too  en- 
couraged, you  would  have  seen  in  me  a  model 
of  the  patriot,  I  have  drawn  in  the  sixth  book 
of  my  treatises  upon  government  I  need  not 
be  more  particular  with  you,  who  are  so  much 
master  of  all  their  contents.  But  I  could,  with- 
out the  least  hesitation,  fling  from  me  the 
thoughts  even  of  that  honour,  were  such  a  self- 
denial  more  laudable.  Well,  be  it  so, — since 
the  favour  of  ^  triumph,  and  the  freedom  of  my 
country,    are,    at   this   juncture,    incompatible. 

You 


78 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  AtTICUS. 


79 


You  are  not,  therefore,  to  entertain  the  smallest 
mistrust  of  my  preferring  honour  to  glory. «  A» 
to  what  you  think,  with  regard  to  its  being  more 
advantageous  and  safe  for  me,  as  well  as  more 
serviceable  to  the  public,  that  I  should  still  conr 
tinue  in  authority,  we  will  discuss  that  point 
when  we  meet  together.  For,  though  I  am  more 
than  inclined  to  be  of  your  opinion,  yet  the  thing 
requires  consideration. 

You  do  me  no  more  than  justice  in  belieying, 
that  my  heart  and  soul  are  for  my  country ;  and 
you  form  a  right  judgment  that  Caesar  has  not 
shown  sufficient  respect  for  me,  whether  we  re- 
gard the  greatness  of  my  services  to  him,  or  the 
profusion  of  his  favours  to  others.  You  have 
touched  upon  tlie  true  cause  of  ^11  this,  and 
what  you  write  me,  concerning  Fabius  and  Cani- 
nius,  is  all  of  a  piece.  Supposing  these  things 
not  to  be  so,  and  that  he  had  lavished  all  his 
friendship  upon  me,  yet,  as  you  mention  in  your 
letter  ^  the  guardian  of  Rome  would  have  forced 
me  to  remember  the  glorious  inscription  upon 
her  statue.  Never  would  she  have  suffered  me 
to  have  imitated  the  patterns  you  propose  in 
the  conduct  of  Volcatius,  or  Servius" ;  no,  she 

would 

1  Meaning  Minerva,  whose  statue,  Cicero,  before  his  leav- 
mcr  Rome,  placed  in  the  capitol  with  the  inscription.  Gustos 
UrhUy  the  Guardian  of  Rome. 

2  Those  two  Consulars,  like  Atticus,  kept  a  neutrality  be- 
tween Caesar  and  Pompey. 


P?9 


VV'ould  have  prompted  me  to  think  and  act  like 

myself. 

In  this  resolution  I  could  be  soon  determined, 
was  there  any  dispute  but  between  two  men, 
who,  at  the  expence  of  their  country,  are  now 
drawing  their  swords  each  for  power  to  himself. 
If  they  draw  them  for  their  country,  why  was 
^he  abandoned  under  the  consulship  of  this  very 
Caesar  ?  Why  was  I,  whose  interest  was  insepa- 
rably connected  with  the  safety  of  my  country, 
abandoned  the  year  following  ?  Why  was  Caessar's 
command  prolonged,   and  why  by  constitutional 
means?  Why  did  the  struggle  become  so  vio- 
lent,   that  tlie    ten   tribunes   of    the    commons 
brought  in  a  bill  for  dispensing  with  his  personal 
attendance  ?  These  were  the  measures  by  which 
Cffisar  grew  so  strong,  that  all  hopes  of  oppo- 
sing him  now  rests  upon  one  Roman.     I  wish 
that  so  much  power  had  never  been  giveq  him, 
rather  than  that  he  should  be  now  opposed  in 
the   possession   of  it.      But  since   matters   are 
come  to  this  pass,  I   will  not  give  myself  the 
trouble,  which  you  advise,  to  inquire,   '*  which 
is  the  safest  ships/."     I  know  of  one  vessel  in 
which  i  shall  embark,  and  that  vessel  shall  be 
steered  by  Pompey. 

But,  say  you,  what  will  be  your  declaration, 

when 

1  Orig.  ntou  <rKct(pos  to  ruv  Atj^hSo'k.     Literally,  which  is  the 
ship  of  the  Atridx.— E. 


so 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


when  the  crisis  arrived  fcrr  delivering  your  serf-** 
timents  in  the  senate  ?  To  answer  you  in  orirf 
word,  I  will  speak  for  Pompey,  and  yet,  when 
we  are  by  ourselves,  I  will  advise  him  to  ail 
accommodation ;  for  my  real  opinion  is,  that 
the  public  is  in  extreme  danger.  You,  who  arc 
in  the  city,  no  doubt  know  more.  But  I  can 
see  t)ne  thing,  that  we  have  to  do  with  one  of 
the  boldest,  and  the  most  resolute  of  mankind  J 
that  he  will  be  joined  by  all  who  have  under- 
gone, and  by  all  who  have  deserved,  either 
condemnation  or  infamy,  by  almost  all  our  young 
men,  by  all  the  well-known  desperate  mob  of 
the  city,  by  the  tribunes,  whose  power  will  be 
joined  with  that  of  Cassius,  and  by  all  our  bank- 
rupts, who  are  more  numerous  than  is  imagined. 
His  cause  alone  is  a  bad  one^;  in  all  other 
respects,  the  means  of  success  are  on  his  side. 
It  is  the  general  interest,  therefore,  to  prevent 
by  every  possible  method  a  decision  by  the 
sword.  The  fate  of  Avar  is  always  uncertain, 
but,  on  this  occasion,  the  probability  of  success 
lies  against  us. 

Bibulus  has  left  the  command  of  his  province 
to  Vejento,  and  I  hear  he  will  be  a  great  while 
on  his  journey.  Cato,  in  favouring  his  demand, 
has  made  it  appear,  that  the  only  persons,  who 
escape  his  jealousy,  are   those   to  whom  public 

distinctions 


Orlg.  Causum  solum  ilia  cau^a  non  halct. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


81 


distinctions  can  give  little  or  no  accessions  of 
personal  dignity  \  Now  to  advert  to  private 
matters,  for  I  have  almost  answered  your  poli- 
tical letters,  as  well  those  you  wrote  from  the 
suburb,  as  those  of  a  later  date.  But  I  must 
say  one  word  with  regard  to  Caelius.  So  far  is 
his  conduct  from  altering  my  sentiments,  that  I 
am  convinced  he  will  bitterly  repent  changing 
his  party^  But  is  it  true,  that  the  houses  of 
Lucceius  were  adjudged  to  him  ;  I  am  surprised 
you  omitted  sending  me  that  intelligence.  As 
to  Philotimus,  I  will  do  by  him  as  you  advise. 
But  I  did  not,  at  this  juncture,  expect  fhe  ac- 
counts which  he  has  exhibited  to  you.  He  has 
however  omitted  an  article,  which,  at  his  desire 
I  entered  at  Tusculanum,  in  my  pocket-book, 
with  my  own  hand,  and  for  which  he  gave  me 
his  note  of  hand  while  I  was  in  Asia,  Should 
he  discharge  that,  the  balance  of  the  account, 

as 


1  Quilus  nihil,  aut  non  multum,  ad  dignitatem  non  p$ssit 
accedere.  Monsieur  Mongault  thinks  Cicero*s  meaning  to  be, 
that  the  high  offices  Bibulus  already  held  made  all  future  addi- 
tions of  honour  unnecessary  to  add  to  this  dignity.  But  in  my 
translation  it  implies  likewise,  a  sarcasm  upon  the  person  of 
Bibulus,  which  I  think  the  words  will  bear,  and  is  extremely 
agreeable  to  the  sentiments  our  author  throws  out  about  that 
great  man's  character  and  conduct. 

2  He  had  lately  declared  for  Caesar,  which,  as  our  author 
prophecies  in  this  place,  he  afterwards  repented  of,  and  suf- 
fered for. 

Vol.  II.  G 


li 


82 


CICERaS  EPISTLES 


as  he  states  it  himself,  between  him  and  me, 
will  be  in  my  favour.  But  if  tlie  troubles  of  the 
public  will  give  nie  leave,  you  shall  have  no 
reason,  in  time  to  come,  to  find  fault  with  my 
want  of  regularity  in  my  accounts ;  and  indeed, 
all  the  irregularity  with  which  I  am  chargeable 
in  this  respect,  has  been  occasioned  by  the  great 
number  of  people  whom  I  have  served.  I  will, 
therefore,  accept  of  the  kind  offer  of  your  ad- 
vice and  assistance  in  settling  my  affairs,  and  I 
hope  you  shall  have  no  cause  to  think  I  abuse 
your  kindness. 

You  have  not  the  least  reason  to  be  alarmed 
with  regard  to  the  officers^  of  my  guards;  for 
the  deep  sense  they  had  of  my  integrity,  has 
brought  them  back  to  their  duty.  But  the 
behaviour  of  none  amongst  them  pleased  me  so 
much,  as  his  whom  you  hold  in  no  estimation. 
He  has  ever  behaved  well,  and  especially  on 
this  occasion.  Though,  even  at  his  departure 
he  intimated,    that  he  expected  an   additional 

payment  ; 

^  Orig.  Serperastris  cokortis  mece.  The  Serperastra  were 
a  kind  of  ligatures  which  went  about  the  legs  of  young  children 
to  prevent  their  being  crooked  or  distorted.  In  like  manner 
the  officers,  viz.  the  legates,  questors,  tribunes  and  othws, 
were  to  provide  against  all  distortions  and  crookedness  in  the 
actions  and  marches  of  the  soldiers  under  them.  It  appears 
that  Cicero's  field  officers  had  fallen  into  a  kind  of  a  mutiny, 
as  he  hints  before.  I  do  not  know  whether  the  aocount  hr, 
gives  here  of  the  manner,  in  which  it  was  quelled^  was  very 
•atisfactory  to  Atticus,  or  will  be  so  to  the  reader. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


83 


payment ;  and  though  he  was  somewhat  warped 
by  resentment,  yet  he  did  not  hold  it  long,  for 
he  soon  returned  to  his  duty;  and  unable  to 
stand  out  against  the  very  distinguishing  marks 
I  have  given  him  of  my  kindness,  he  declared, 
that  he  valued  it  more  than  all  the  money  he 
expected.  I  have  received  the  testament  from 
Curius,  and  am  bringing  it  along  with  me.  I 
have  perused  the  legacies  of  Hortensius.  Now 
I  should  be  glad  to  know  what  kind  of  a  man 
his  son  is,  and  what  he  intends  to  dispose  of. 
For  I  see  no  reason  since  Caelius  has  laid  hold  of 
the  Flumentine  gate,  why  I  should  not  make  my- 
self master  of  PuzzoU\ 

I  now  come  to  your  criticism  upon  the  word 
Pyreeeum,  in  which  I  am  more  reprehensible  as 
being  a  Roman,  in  having  written  it  Pyroea,  and 
not  Pyrageum.  (for  so  we  Romans  pronounce  it,) 
than  in  adding  the  preposition  in.  For  I  did 
not  annex  this  to  it  as  speaking  of  a  town,  but 
of  a  country ^     And  yet  our  friend  Dionysius, 

who 


*  The  elder  Hortensius  had  a  country-seat  there,  and  Mar- 
cus Ceelius  being  a  native  of  Puzzoli,  had  bought  the  house  df 
Hortensius,  at  one  of  the  gates  of  Rome,  which  gives  rise  to 
our  author's  pleasantry. 

2  Orig.  Non  enim  hoc  ut  oppido  prceposui,  sed  ut  loco. 
Locus  here  signifies  a  village,  or  perhaps  more  properly  a 
quarter,  or  a  ward.  Our  author  has  been  foolishly  blamed  by 
Sanctius,  or  Schioppius,  and  other  grammarians  for  his  criti- 
cism here,  as  if  they  understood  Latin  better  than  he  did. 

G  2 


84 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


who  is  here,  and  Nicias  the  Coan,  did  not  look 
upon  Pyraeeum  to  be  a  town.  But  I  will  inquire 
farther  about  it  My  error,  if  indeed  I  be  erro- 
neous, consists  in  not  speaking  of  it  as  a  town, 
but  a*s  a  district  I  can,  however,  defend  myself 
by  a  better  authority  than  that  of  Cecilius,  (who 
was  far  from  being  a  pure  letter  writer,  and  who 
says  mave  ut  ex  portu  in  Pyrceeiim^)  but  of  Te- 
rence himself,  the  language  of  whose  plays  is  so 
correct,  that  they  were  thought  to  be  written 
by  Laelius.  Heri  aliquot  adelescentuH  coimus  in 
Pt/rceeum ;  and  again  meixator  hoc  addebat,  cap- 
turn  a  Sunio.  Now  if  we  allow  districts  to  be 
towns,  Sunium  is  as  much  of  a  town  as  Pirae- 
eiim  is. 

But  knowing  you  to  be  a  grammarian,  if  you 
can  resolve  one  difficulty,  you  will  ease  me  of 
much  trouble.  The  great  man,  you  know  who,  * 
sends  me  very  civil  letters,  as  does  Balbus,  in 
his  name.  With  regard  to  myself,  I  have  laid  it 
down  as  my  fixed  resolution,  never  to  swerve 
from  the  most  glorious  of  all  causes  ;  but  you 
know  how  much  I  still  owe  him.  Are  vou  not 
therefore,  apprehensive,  if  I  should  act  coldly, 
I  shall  be  charged  with  ingratitude ;  or  that  he 
may  call  upon  me  for  payment,  should  I  act 
with  vigour.  How  will  you  solve  this  difficulty? 
"  Pay  him,"  you  will  say.     Be   it  so,    we  w^ill 

borrow. 


^  MeaDiDg  Csesao 


TO  ATTICUS. 


85 


borrow  the  money  of  the  banker  Caelius.  I 
would  have  you,  however,  think  of  this.  For, 
should  I  happen  to  distinguish  myself  in  my 
country's  cause,  in  the  senate-house,  I  make  no 
doubt  but  your  Spanish  friend  \  as  I  am  leaving 
the  house,  will  tell  me,  ''  Remit,  Sir,  the  money 

you  owe  us." 

It  remains  only  to  assure  you,  that  my  son-in- 
law  has  endeared  himself  to  me,  my  wife  and  my 
daughter,  by  his  fine  understanding  and  his  good 
nature.  These  are  qualities  sufficient  to  make 
amends  for  his  other  imperfections,  to  which  you 
are  no  stranger.  For  you  know  what  kind  of 
men  I  found  all  the  other  spitors  to  be,  excepting 
the  person  whom  I  treated  with,  through  you, 
and  who  hoped  to  gain  my  consent  by  telling  me, 
that  they  were  not  in  debt  This  might  be  true, 
for  a  very  good  reason,  because  nobody  would 
lend  them.  But  on  this  subject,  which  already 
is  much  talked  of,  we  will  converse  with  free- 
donxwhen  we  meet.  I  am  in  hopes  of  Tyro's 
recovering,  through  the  care  of  Manius  Curio, 
whom  I  have  acquainted  in  writing  that  you 
would  take  his  cares  kindly.  Dated  the  9th  of 
December,  from  the  house  of  Pontius  at  Trebuli. 

J 


EPISTLE 


Meaning  Balbus,  who  waa  a  native  of  Spain. 


86 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


87 


EPISTLE  IV. 


A  HAVE  sent  off  Dionysius  to  you,  not  without 
doing  violence  to  myself;  but  his  impatience  to 
see  you  was  such,  that  I  was  forced  to  yield.  To 
say  that  he  is  learned,  is  saying  no  more  than  I 
have  known  of  him  a  long  while ;  but  I  have 
found  him  blameless  in  his  morals,  full  of  affec- 
tion and  good  manners,  zealous  for  my  glory,  an 
excellent  manager,  and  (that  I  may  not  seem  to 
speak  of  him  as  a  freedman,)  he  is  in  all  respects 
a  gentleman.  On  the  10th  of  December  I  saw 
Pompey,  and  we  ^vere  in  company  together 
about  two  hours.  He  seemed  to  be  overjoyed 
at  my  return  :  he  encouraged  me  to  solicit  a 
triumph,  and  to  declare  myself  of  his  party ;  he 
cautioned  me  not  to  appear  in  the  senate,  until 
I  had  secured  my  point,  lest  in  the  debates  I 
might  give  offence  to  some  one  or  other  of  the 
tribunes.  In  short,  so  far  as  good  words  went, 
no  man  could  be  more  obliging. 

With  regard  to  public  affairs,  he  talks  as  if  he 
had  no  doubt  of  a  w^ar  ensuing.  He  did  not 
drop  a  syllable  that  gave  hopes  of  an  accommo- 
dation, and  said  that  he  had  received  a  fresh 
proof  of  what  he  had  been  before  convinced  of, 
that  Cffisar  had  totally  broken  with  him,  for  that 

Ilirtius, 


HirtiusS   though  amongst  the  most  intimate  of 
his  friends,    had   come  to  Rome  from  Caesar, 
without  coming  near  him ;  that  he  arrived  in 
the  evening  of  the  6th  of  December,   and  that 
after  settling  the  whole  of  his  business  with  Bal- 
bus,   the  lauer  had  agreed  to  see  Scipio  before 
the  day-break  on  the  7th ;    that  in  the  dead  of 
the   night  he   set  out  for  Ciesar,    and  this   he 
looked  upon  as  a  sure  proof  of  his  hostile  inten- 
lions.     Upon  the  whole,  I  have  only  this  to  hope 
for,   that  the  man  whose  very  enemies  offer  him 
a  second  consulate,    and  whom  fortune  has  al- 
ready  raised  to  supreme  power,  will  not  be  so 
mad  as  to  expose  all  he  has  gained  to  the  chance 
of  war.     But  should  his  ambition  be  powerful 
enough  to  push  him  on  to  this ;    what  calami- 
ties d^I)  I   foresee  ?    Calamities  that  I   dare  not 
describe.     But  as  matters  are  now  situated,   I 
think  of  reaching  the  suburbs  of  Rome  by  the 
3d  of  January. 


EPISTLE 


*  This  was  the  ssme  Hirtins  who  wrote  the  commentaries, 
and  who,  upon  Caesar's  death,  was  chosen  Consul.  By  all 
that  appears  of  Pompey  from  our  author,  a  civil  war  was  at 
this  time  unavoidable,  and  was  as  necessary  for  bringing  about 
the  views  of  Pompey,  as  those  of  Caesar.  But  what  the  views 
of  Pompey  were,  is  not  so  clear  from  history.  I  cannot,  how- 
ever,  believe  tliat  he  intended  to  subvert  the  constitution. 


88 


CICBRO^  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


89 


EPISTLE  V. 

1  RECEIVED  a  number  of  your  letters  at  the 
same  time,  and  though  I  received  more  recent 
intelligence  than  they  brought  me,  yet  they  gave 
me  pleasure,  because  they  were  so  many  proofs 
of  your  zeal  and  affection  for  me.  I  am  con- 
cerned that  your  indisposition  still  continues,  and 
that  your  trouble  will  be  increased  by  your  wife 
falling  into  the  same  complaint  Both  of  you 
therefore  ought  to  use  all  means  of  recovery.  I 
see  you  are  anxious  about  Tyro.  I  own  the 
young  man,  when  in  health,  is  wonderfully  use- 
ful  to  me  in  my  business,  as  well  as  studies,  of 
all  kinds;  but  still  I  wish  his  recovery,  not  so 
much  on  account  of  my  interest,  as  of  his  sweet- 
ness of  temper,  and  modesty  of  behaviour. 

Philogenes  has  never  spoken  to  me  concerning 
Luscienus,  but  you  have  Dionysius  to  consult 
with  in  regard  to  other  matters.  I  am  surprised 
that  your  sister  has  not  yet  arrived  at  Arce.  It 
gives  me  pleasure  to  understand  that  you  concur 
with  my  sentiments  with  regard  to  Chryssipus. 
I  have  absolutely  laid  aside  all  thoughts  of  my 
house  at  Tusculanum  on  this  occasion.  It  is 
too  far  out  of  the  way  for  those  who  come  to 
wait  upon  me,  and  inconvenient  in  other  re- 
spects.    But  on  the  last  of  December  I  will  go 

to 


to  Terracina,  and  from  thence,  keeping  by  the 
Pontin  marsh,  I  will  reach  Pompeys  house  at 
Alba,  so  as  to  be  in  the  suburbs  of  Rome  by  the 
3rd  of  January,   which  is  my  birth-day. 

I  am  daily  more  apprehensive  of  public  com- 
motions, for  even  our  patriots  are  not  so  unani- 
mous as  they  are  thought  to  be.  How  many 
knights,  how  many  senators,  of  Rome  have  I 
seen,  who  have  bitterly  inveighed  against  the 
whole  of  Pompey's  conduct,  and  especially  the 
unseasonable  journey  he  has  undertaken  \  We 
stand  in  need  of  peace.  Victory  among  other  nu- 
merous calamities,  would  be  attended,  with  giving 
to  Rome  a  tvrant.  But  I  expect  soon  to  talk  over 
these  matters  with  yourself. 

I  am  quite  at  a  loss  what  to  write  yoji  farther. 
We  are  equally  informed  in  respect  to  public  af- 
fairs ; 

^  Pompey  was  one  of  those  characters  that  refine  too  much 
upon  the  plainest  matter,  as  we  have  often  observed  from  our 
author's  words.  He  pretended  two  reasons  for  this  journey, 
which  indeed  was  very  ruinous  to  his  party,  and  both  those 
reasons,  in  the  end,  turned  against  himself.  In  the  first 
place,  he  said,  it  was  improper  that  Caesar  should  suspect  he 
had  any  hand  in  the  cabals  against  him  at  Rome,  or  in  oppo- 
sing what  he  demanded.  In  the  next  place,  he  publicly  gave 
out  that  a  journey  into  the  country  was  necessary  to  establish 
his  health.  But  his  true  design  was  to  see  how  the  people 
of  Italy  stood  affected  towards  him.  In  tact,  they  receivetl 
him  witli  the  most  extravagant  honours,  which  disgusted  the 
wisest  part  of  his  friends,  and  made  him  presume  too  much 
upon  his  own  popularity,  which  presumption  was  afterwards 
the  chief  cause  of  all  his  miscarriages  and  ruin. 


so 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


fairs;  with  regard  to  private,  neither  of  us  needs 
information,  and  the  power  of  Caesar  renders 
our  situation  too  serious  for  trifling.  Nay,  I 
am  one  of  those  who  think  it  better  to  yield  to 
his  terms,  than  to  decide  by  the  sword.  It  is  too 
late  now  to  oppose  him,  having  for  ten  years 
fostered  his  power  against  ourselves.  **  In 
what  manner  then,  say  you,  do  you  intend  to 
speak  in  the  senate? '  I  will  say  nothing  but 
what  YOU  shall  advise  me  to  do,  aud  even  that 
shall  not  be  before  I  have  either  obtained  or 
laid  aside  the  thoughts  of  what  I  am  now  solicit- 
ing. Take  care  therefore  of  your  own  recovery, 
and  to  banish  your  ague  by  the  observance  of 
that  regimen,  in  which  you  are  so  skilful. 


EPISTLE  VL 


I  POSITIVELY  have  nothing  to  write  to  you. 
You  know  all  that  I  know,  and  I  know  of  no- 
thing; in  which  you  can  inform  me.  I  have  ob- 
served it,  however,  as  a  sacred  rule,  to  write  you 
by  every  opportunity.  I  am  in  great  concern 
about  the  public;  nor  have  I  hitherto  found  a 
man  who  did  not  think  it  better  to  yield  to  Ca3- 
sar  all  he  demands,  than  plunge  in  a  civil  war. 
Ilis  terms,  it  is  true,  extend  farther  than  they 
were  generally  thought  to  do.     But  why  are  wo 

to 


TO  ATTICUS. 


91 


to  oppose  him  when  the  day  of  his  power  is  so 
far  advanced?     Even  by  yielding  to  him  now, 
we  do  no  more  than  we  did  when  we  prolonged 
his  government  for  five  years,  or  when  we  passed 
the  "vote    that    dispensed   with    his  coming    to 
Rome.     All  the  ditierence  is,   that  at  that  time 
we  put  arms  into  his  hands,  and  we  are  now  to 
encounter  him  when  he  has  learned  how  to  use 
them.     You  will  ask  me'  then  what  are  my  real 
sentiments?     They  are  not  indeed  the  same  with 
those  I  avow  in  words.     My  real  sentiments  are, 
that  any  concession  is  preferable  to  a  civil  war. 
But  I  will  talk,    and   that  too   from  no  servile 
motive,  in   the    same   strain   as  Pompey  does. 
For,   indeed,  it  would  be  of  the   worst  conse- 
quence to  the  public,  and  particularly  unbecom- 
ino-  in  me,  should  I  differ  from  Pompey  at  this 
important  juncture. 

EPISTLE 


1  Orig.  Dices,  quod  tu  igittir  sensnrus  es  9  Non  idem,  quod 
dicturus.    Sentiam  cnim  ovinia facienda,  ne  armis  decerteretur  : 
dicam  idem,  quod  Pompeius.    Monsieur  Mongault  has,  I  think, 
entirely  mistaken   this  passage.      He  translates  it,  Vous  vie 
demanderez  ce  que  je  dirai  dans  le  senat  9  peiiietre  autre  chose 
que  ce  queje  pense.     Je  pcnserai  toujours  qu'll  ny  a  rein  quon 
V€  doive  tenter  plutot  que  d'en  venir  a   la  guerre,    mais  je  ne 
dirai  quecequediraPompte.      Now  nothing  is    more  plain, 
than  that  sensurus  here,  in  the  original  refei-s  to  our  author's 
private  sentiments  as  well  as  sejitiam  ;  and  that  dicturus  alludes 
►  tQ  the  form  of  demanding  and  delivering  an  opinion  in  the 
senate^  Fix.  Die  Marce  TulFu 


9£ 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  VII. 


JLIiONYSius,  who  has  approved  himself  to  me, 
is  also  a  person  of  the  greatest  worth  and  learn- 
ing, and  one  who  has  a  most  sincere  affection 
for  you,  came  to  Rome  the  1 8th  of  December, 
and  delivered  to  me  a  letter  from  you."  These 
are  the  very  words  you  use  when  speaking  of 
Dionysius  in  your  letter.  I  observed,  however, 
you  do  not  add,  *'and  he  is  extremely  obliged 
toyo'i,"  though  it  is  no  more  tlian  he  ought  to 
own,  and  had  he  owned  it,  a  man  of  your  good- 
breeding  would  never  have  omitted  mentioning 
his  acknowledgments.  However,  I  will  not 
retract  the  character  I  gave  you  of  him,  after 
speaking  so  fully,  as  I  have  done  in  ray  for- 
mer letter,  in  his  commendation  ;  but  con- 
tinue to  hope  that  he  is  a  very  good  man.  In 
one  particular  he  has  done  right,  in  giving  me 
full  opportunities  of  knowing  him  thoroughly. 

Your  information  from  Philogenes  was  very 
true;  for  he  has  paid  what  he  owed.  I  gave 
him  the  use  of  that  money  till  I  should  have  oc- 
casion for  it,  and  he  lias  had  it  thirteen  months. 
1  wish  Pontinius  well,  but  I  am  apprehensive  of 
fho  consequences   of  his    having,    as  you  write 

me-. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


9tJ 


me,  entered  the  city\  He  never  would  have 
taken  that  step  without  some  weighty  reason. 
As  the  2d  of  January  is  the  competitial  day*, 
for  that  reason,  I  will  not  then  go  to  Pompey's 
house  at  Alba,  lest  I  should  disturb  his  domes- 
tics, but  wait  until  next  day,  and,  the  day  after 
that,  I  will  go  to  Rome.  I  do  not  know  on 
what  day  your  disorder  periodically  returns; 
but  I  positively  would  not  have  you  stir  abroad 
to  the  prejudice  of  your  health. 

Every  thing,  with  regard  to  my  triumph,  seems 
to  promise  success,  unless  Caesar  is  practising 
underhand  by  his  tribunes  of  the  people.  For 
my  own  part,  my  mind  is  entirely  at  ease,  so  that 
I  can  meet  with  no  disappointment,  and  the  ra- 
ther, because  I  hear  Pompey  and  his  council 
have  come  to  a  resolution  of  sending  me  to 
Sicily,  as  I  have  now  the  title  of  Imperator. 
This,  you  say,  will  be  to  act  the  part  of  an  Ab- 
deritel  For  neither  the  resolutions  of  the 
senate,  nor  the  orders  of  the  people,  have  given 
me  a  command  in  Sicily.  But  supposing  the 
public  has  vested  the  management  of  this  af- 
fair 


*  Cicero  had  some  reason  for  this  apprehension,  because 
Pontinius  was  one  of  his  lieutenants,  and  when  the  general  was 
fiure  of  a  triumph,  his  principal  officers  commonly  attended 
upon  him  when  be  waked  without  the  walls  of  the  city. 

*  This  was  a  kind  of  holiday  amongst  the  slaves. 

3  Orig,  AQi7^ixo^.  The  Abderites  were  looked  upon  to  be 
the  most  stupid  of  all  people. 


i". 


94 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


fair  in  Pompey,  why  should  he  pitch  upon  me 
rather  than  upan  any  private  person,  for  that 
command?  If,  therefore,  I  should  find  any  trou- 
ble on  account  of  my  title,  I  will  lay  it  aside, 
when  I  first  come  to  the  gates  of  Rome\ 

As  to  what  you  write  ^,  that  the  attention  of 
the  public  is  impatiently  directed  towards  the 
part  I  shall  act,  and  that  there  is  not  a  pa- 
triot, real  or  pretended,  who  has  the  least  doubt 
of  the  party  I  shall  espouse,  for  my  own  part, 
I  do  not  understand  whom  you  call  patriots.  I 
know  of  none,  1  mean  I  know  of  no  class  in  our 
government,  deserving  that  appellation.  Take 
them  man  by  man,  they  are,  indeed,  very  worthy 
men ;  but,  in  civil  dissentions,  we  are  to  look 
for  patriotism  in  the  constituent  members  of  the 
body  politic.  Do  you  look  for  it  in  the  senate? 
Let  me  ask  you  by  whom  were  the  provinces 
left  without  governors?     Never  would   Curio ^ 

have 


1  When  a  Roman  entered  Rome,  he  immediately  lost  the  ti- 
de of  imperator. 

«  The  whole  c*  what  follows  in  this  epistle  is  wonderfully  *" 
firie  and  judicious,   and  shews  how  wisely  our  author  could 
reason  upon  public  matters  when  he  was  cool. 

3  We  have  already  seen  that  he  had,  as  tribune  of  the  people 
opposed  the  resolution  of  the  senate  for  appointing  governors  to 
the  several  provinces,  which  opposition  carried  a  great  point  for 
Caesar.  Marcus  Marcellus,  the  first  senator,  whose  opinion 
was  asked,  voted  that  all  the  tribunes  should  be  obliged  to  drop 
the  opposition.     But  the  seriate  did  not  chuse  to  do  this.     This 


IS 


TO  ATTICUS. 


95 


have  prevailed,  had  the  senate  gone  into  the 
motion  that  was  mad€,  to  make  him  person- 
ally liable  for  his  opposition,  and  the  conse- 
quence of  not  doing  it  was,  that  no  successor , 
was  appointed  to  Caesar.  Do  you  look  for  pa- 
triotism amongst  the  farmers  of  the  revenue  ? 
Alas !  they  never  were  steady;  and  now  they  are 
entirely  devoted  to  Caesar.  Do  you  look  for  it 
in  our  trading,  or  in  our  landed,  interests?  They 
are  the  fondest  of  peace.  Can  you  imagine  that 
tlrey,  to  whom  all  forms  of  government  are  in- 
different, provided  they  enjoy  their  ease,  have 
any  objections  to  live  under  a  monarchy? 

Well  then  !  Do  you  approve  of  indulging 
C«sar  in  the  command  of  his  army,  after  his 
commission  was  expired?  For  my  own  part, 
I  was  against  even  dispensing  with  his  absence; 
but  when  we  granted  the  one,  he  could  command 
the  other.  Do  you  think  that  the  authority 
vested  in  him,  to  preside  over  the  government 
for  ten  years,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  was 
obtained  were  right  measures  ?  Was  it  a  right 
measure  to  drive  me  from  my  country,  to  rob 
the  revenue  of  the   Campanian  estates,    that   a 

commoner 


is  a  very  remarkable  part  of  the  history  of  that  time.  The  tri- 
bunes had  an  undoubted  right  to  put  a  negative  upon  this  ques- 
tion, and  if  so,  I  cannot  sea  how  they  could  be  legally  forced  to 
withdraw  it.  It  is  true,  such  a  force,  if  applied,  might  have 
produced  great  consequences,  but  would  it  not  have  been  un- 
constitutional,  from  whatever  party  it  proci^eded  ? 


9S 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


commoner  should  adopt  a  Patrician^,  and  a 
Mitylenean,  a  Spaniard"?  Do  you  approve  that 
Labienus  and  Mainurra^  should  amass  immense 
riches,  and  that  Balbus  should  have  his  gardens 
and  his  Tusculanuii?  But  all  these  calamities 
spring  from  the  same  source.  When  the  stream 
of  his  power  was  weak,  it  might  have  easily  been 
stopt.  But  now  he  is  master  of  eleven  legions, 
and  as  much  cavalry  as*  he  pleases  to  draw  into 
the  field.  Think  upon  the  towns  beyond  the 
Po,  upon  the  mob  of  Rome,  upon  so  great  a 
majority  of  the  tribunes,  upon  a  profligate  rising 
generation,  upon  a  general  with  such  sagacity 
to  contrive,  and  such  boldness  to  exiecute.  Yet 
such  is  the  general  we  are  either  to  encounter,  or 
we  are  to  gratify  him  in  what  he  can  already 
claim  by  law.  We  will,  say  you,  defend  our 
liberties  with  the  loss  of  our  blood. — But,  con- 
sider my  friend,  if  you  are  conquered,  you  are 
prescribed ;  if  you  conquer,  yet  still  you  are  a  slave. 
Then,  say  you,  how  are  you  to  act?  I  answer, 
like  cattle,  which,  when  dispersed  follow  their 
flocks.     The  ox  follows  his  drove;  and  thus  will 

I  follow 


^  Viz.  Clodius. 

*  Viz.  Cornelius  Balbus,  who  was  adopted  by  Theophanes, 
a  Mitylenean.  The  first  was  the  favourite  of  Caesar,  the  latter 
of  Pompey. 

3  Both  these  gentlemen  rose  to  immense  riches  under  Caesar, 
for  which  they  were  lashed  by  some  of  their  contemporary  wits, 

*  The  Gauls,  of  whom  Caesar  was  master,  were  very  strong 
intravalry. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


97 


I  follow  our  patriots,  or  those  who  are  called 
such,  even  should  they  run  into  destruction.  It 
is  easy  for  me  to  see  what  is  our  most  eligible  mea- 
sure in  this  desperate  crisis,  since  no  man  can 
anticipate  the  event,  should  the  appeal  be  made 
to  the  sword.  But  we  may  all  easily  conclude, 
that  if  the  cause  of  liberty  should  fall,  our  ty- 
rant will  regard,  no  more  than  Cinna  did,  tlie 
best  blood  of  Rome,  and  will  be  as  rapacious, 
as  ever  Sulla  was,  of  the  properties  of  Romans. 

Enough  of  politics,  yet  I  have  more  to.  say,  did 
not  my  lamp  fail  me.  In  a  word,  when  summoned 
to  give  my  sentiments,  I  will  vote  with  Cnasus 
Pompeius,  or  more  properly  with  Titus  Pompo- 
nius.  My  compliments  to  your  boy  Alexis, 
unless  he  is  grown,  in  my  absence,  a  young  man, 
wiiich  he  bade  fair  td  do. 


EPISTLE  VIIL 


W  HY  such  repeated  and  strong  apologies  for 
Dionysius?  The  least  hint  from  you  was  suffi- 
cient to  convince  me.  The  truth  is,  knowing 
how  fond  you  are  of  cementing  friendships  by 
your  kind  testimonies,  your  saying  nothing  at  all 
of  him,  made  me  the  more  liable  to  suspicion, 
especially  as  I  heard  very  different  things  which 
Vol.  II.       ^  H  M 


98 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


he  said  of  me  to  other  people.  But  I  am 
now  entirely  satisfied  of  the  truth  of  what  you 
write,  and  I  entertain  as  favourable  sentiments 
of  Dionysius  as  you  could  wish.  According  to 
my  calculation  of  the  days  on  which  your  ague 
returns,  and  which  I  farmed  upon  a  letter  you 
wrote  me  in  the  beginning  of  your  illness,  I 
reckoned  that,  on  the  third  of  January,  you  may, 
without  any  danger,  meet  me,  upon  business  at 
Alba.  But  I  supplicate  you  by  all  that  is  dear  to 
me  to  do  nothing  that  may  retard  your  recovery. 
A  day  or  two  does  not  much  signify.  I  perceive 
that  Livia,  by  her  last  will,  has  left  Dolabella 
heir  to  the  ninth  part  of  her  estate,  with  two  co- 
heirs for  two  ninths  more,  but  on  condition  that 
he  changes  his  name.  It  is  now  become  a  poli- 
tical  question  whether  it  be  right  in  a  youth  of 
quality,  to  change  his  name,  in  compliance  with 
the  will  of  a  woman.  But  we  can  discuss  this 
question  with  more  accuracy,  wlien  we  know  tlie 
amount  of  the  legacy  left  him. 

It  happened,  as  you  supposed  it  would,  that  I 
saw  Pompey  before  I  came  to  Rome ;  for  on  the 
27th  of  December,  he  overtook  me  at  Laverni- 
um.  We  came  then  to  Formia;,  and  we  together 
had  a  private  conference,  which  lasted  from  two  in 
the  afternoon  till  it  was  almost  dark.  In  answer 
to  your  question,  whether  there  are  any  hopes  of  a 
reconciliation  ?  I  must  tell  you  that,  as  far  as  I 
could  gather  from  Pompey's  fuH  and  particular 

detail, 


TO  ATTICUS. 


99 


detail,  no  disposition  of  that  kind  can  be  expec- 
ted.   For  thus  he  reasons.     "  If  Caasar  should  be 
made  consul  even  upon  resigning  the  command 
of  his  army,    public  confusion  will  be  unavoida- 
ble."    He  is  farther  of  opinion,  that  when  Caesar 
shall  hear  of  the  earnest,    mighty,   preparations 
that  are  making  against  him,    he  will  wave  his 
claims  to  the  consulate  for  this  year,  and  adhere 
to  his  army  and  government.     But,   though  he 
were  to  go  to  the  extreme  of  rage  and  ambition, 
Pompey  would  still  shew  a  hearty  contempt  for 
all  he  could  do,    and  a  complete  confidence  in 
his  own  forces,    and  those  of  the  republic.     In 
short,  though  the  horrors  of  a  civil  war  often  re- 
curred to  my  imagination,   yet  still  I  was  made 
the  more   easy,    when  I  heard  a   general  of  such 
courage,    such  experience,    and  authority,    dis- 
coursing, like  a  statesman,  upon  the  dangers  that 
mieht  attend  an  insincere  accommodation \ 
^  ^  We 

1  This  conversation,  between  our  author  and  Pompey,  gives 
US  a  truer  idea  of  the  views  of  Pompey,  than  any  thing 
we  meet  with  in  history.  The  friendship  of  Cicero  was  ex- 
tremely material  to  him  on  this  occasion,  and  as  we  cannot 
imagine  that  he  would  omit  any  argument  that  he  thought 
could  influence  him,  so  we  can  have  no  doubt  tliat  our  author 
is  very  sincere  in  his  representation  of  this  important  conference 
to  his  friend  Atticus.  Upon  the  whole,  it  is  plain,  that  Caesar, 
had  he  been  willing,  could  not,  with  any  manner  of  safety,  have 
avoided  coming  to  extremities,  and  tliat  nothing  less  than 
his  ruin  coul4  satisfy  Pompey. 

H  S 


100 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


101 


We  are  now  perusing  the  speech  which  Antony 
made  to  the  people  on  the  23rd  of  December,  in 
which  he  reflects  on  Pompey  from  his  first  enter- 
ing upon  life;  and  complains  ofhis  cruelty  towards 
some  Roman  citizens  he  has  tried  and  condemned, 
and  of  the  terrors  with  which  his  arms  menace  the 
republic  ^  Upon  this,  says  Pompey  to  me, 
"  What  will  not  the  commander  in  chief  at- 
tempt to  do,  should  he  become  master  of  the  go- 
vernment, when  a  despicable  inferior  oflicer^ 
under  him  presumes  to  throw  out  such  expres- 
sions." In  short,  Pompey  seemed  rather  to 
dread,  than  to  desire,  an  accommodation,  and  it 
is  my  opinion,  that  he  came  to  the  resolution  of 
leaving  Rome,  with  a  design  to  render  all  pros- 
pects of  peace  hopeless  \     For  my  own  part,  it 

gives 

^  Orig.  Terror  armorum.  It  is  not  quite  clear  to  me  whe- 
ther this  expression  is  to  be  meant  as  I  have  translated,  orof  tlie 
troops  with  which  Pompey  overawed  Rome,  especially  during 
the  trials  here  mentioned. 

*  Antony  was  questor  to  Caesar. 

3  Orig,  Ex  ilia  autem  senientia  ira  relinquendce  urlis  movet 
hominem,  ut  puto.  I  cannot  think  this  passage  to  be  so  despe- 
rate as  Monsieur  Mongault  and  the  commentators,  have  affir- 
med it  to  be.  The  former  translates  it  Cest  pent  etreparce 
quilfaudroit  alors  quil  s'en  alldt  en  Espagne.  But  this  con- 
struction is  warranted  neither  by  the  w  ords  themselves,  nor 
by  facts  j  for  we  have  nothing  to  induce  us  to  believe  that 
Pompey  could  be  so  weak,  as  well  as  wicked,  as  to  plunge  his 
country  into  a  civil  war,  merely  because,  in  case  of  an  accom- 
modation, he  must  have  gone  to  his  government  of  Spain ; 

though. 


gives  me  no  small  uneasiness  to  think  that  I  must 
pay,  to  Caesar,  the  money  which  was  to  defray 
the  expences  of  my  triumph  ;  for  you  know  it  is 
not  becoming,  that  I  should  be  under  obligations 
to  oiie  ]f  hose  interest  I  shall  oppose.  But  we 
will  talk  over  these,  and  many  other  particulars, 
when  we  meet 

EPISTLE  IX. 


e 


u 


W  HAT  say  you,  am  I  to  have  a  letter  from 
you  every  day  ?  Yes,  every  day,  if  I  can  find  a 
sure  hand  to  carry  it,  ''  But  you  are  now  present 
in  person."  But  I  promise  you,  when  we  meet, 
to  leave  off  writing.  I  perceive  that  one  of  your 
letters  to  me  has  not  been  delivered,  for,  as  my 
friend  Lucius  Quintus  was  bringing  it,  he  was 
wounded  and  robbed  near  the  monument  of  Ba- 
silus  \     You  are  therefore  to  recollect  whether 

there 

though,  in  this  last  case,  his  antagonist  must  have  resigned  the 
command  ofhis  army.  The  truth  is,  Pompey  knew  Caesar  ex- 
tremely well,  and  had  a  thousand  reasons  both  of  ambitioa 
and  policy,  for  not  patching  up  an  accommodation  at  this  time, 
and  which  he  knew  could  be  but  of  a  very  short  duration :  I  be- 
lieve the  reader,  therefore,  upon  consulting  the  original  of  this 
passage,  will  think  that  nothing  can  be  more  just  tlian  tiie  sense 
I  have  given  it,  since  Pompey's  leaving  Rome,  according  to  all 
accounts  and  according  to  what  our  author  has  hinted  before, 
-was  the  readiest  way.  be  could  possibly  have  thought  of,  to 
bring  on  a  civil  war. 

^  He  was  a  famous  robber  who  was  buried  upon  the  Aj/.  f 
way. 


102 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


103 


there  was  any  thing  in  that  letter  material  for 
me  to  know,  and  likewise  apply  yourself  to  dis- 
cuss  a  point,  which  will  require  all  your  abilities 
as  a  politician. 

The  affair  will  terminate  in  one  or  othtr  of  the 
following  cases.     When   Caesar  is  continued  in 
the  command  of  his  army   by  the  senate,    or  by 
means  of  the  tribunes  of  the  commons,  we  must 
either  oppose  his  coming  to  Rome  to  stand  for 
the  consulate,  or  persuade  him  to  resign  his  go- 
vernment and  his  army,  and  accept  of  that  office; 
or,  on  the  other  hand,  to  decline  the  consulship 
arid  remain  in  the  undisturbed  possession  of  the 
government     If,  however,  he  refuse  to  accede  to 
either  of  these  proposals,   the  consequence  will 
be,  that  he  will  either  negative  the  proceedings 
of  the  election  by  means  of  the  tribunes,    and 
thus  occasion   an  interregnum,    or   under    pre- 
tence of  not  being  received  as  a  candidate,  march 
his  army  against  us,  and  reduce  us  to  the  neces- 
sity of  fighting  him.     In  this  event,    he  will  ei- 
ther attack  us,  before  we  are  prepared,  or  in  the 
time  of  the  election,    when  he  is  refused  the  pri- 
vilege, solicited  by  his  friends,  of  being,  though 
absent,    a  candidate  for    the  consulship.     Now 
the   motive  for  taking  arms,     must   be   simply 
his   not    obtaining   such   a    dispensation;     un- 
less, perhaps,    a  collateral   pretext  should   oc- 

CUf 


cur  from  some  tribune  of  the  people\  who,  for 
puttincT  a  negative  upon  the  proceedings  of  the 
senate?  or  exciting  a  popular  commotion,  may 
be  censured  or  suspended  by  a  resolution  of  the 
senate ;  or  else,  being  overruled  and  expelled, 
may  under  pretence  of  such  expulsion,  throw 
himself  upon  the  protection  of  Caesar.  But  how- 
ever  this  may  be,  the  question  recurs,  What 
are  we  to  do  when  hostilities  commence  ?  Are 
we  to  keep  possession  of  Rome,  or  are  we  to 
march  out  of  it  to  intercept  his  provisions,  and 
cut  oft  his  communication  with  the  rest  of  his 

army  ?  ,      .  .       . 

Which  of  those  inevitable  calamities  do  you 

account  the  least?  I  know  you  will  tell  me,  you 
wish  he  could  be  persuaded  to  resign  his  army, 
and  to  be  made  consul.  If  he  were  to  follow  that 
measure,  I  can  see  no  opposition  he  could  meet 
with  •  and  I  should  not  be  at  all  surprised,  if  he 
should  fail  in  obtaining  the  dispensation  in  ques- 
tion    But  then  again  some  are  of  opinion,   that 

there 

.  I  have  taken  great  pains  to  be  as  explicit  as  possible  in  trans- 
lating the  whol.  of  this  paragrat*h.  which  does  so  much  honour 

o  our  authors  sagacity.  at>d  is  so  important  t" 'he  h.  ory  of 
that  period.  What  he  foresees  here  actually  happened.  For 
MonT  and  auintus  Cassias,  who  were  tj^en  tribunes  of  the 
tlTe  took  refuge  in  Caesar's  army,  upon  the  senate  s  at temp- 
Stofltethemto  withdraw  their  opposition  to  a  reso.ut.on 

w4h  the  house  had  passed,  obliging  Caesar  to  res.gn  h,s  go- 

vernment  by  a  certain  day. 


104 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


105 


there  cannot  be  a  more  dangerous  step  taken  than 
to  make  him  consul.  But,  say  you,  I  would  prefer 
that  he  would  become  consul  without,  rather  than 
with,  his  army.  Of  that  there  can  be  no  doubt 
But  it  may  be  thought,  that  even  this  alternative 
is  itself  a  calamity;  and  a  calamity  irremediable; 
for  we  must  live  in  subordination  ^  to  his  will. 
Behold  him  again  consul  and  reflect  upon  his 
first  consulship ;  even  then,  you  v>'ill  allow  me 
(though  weak  to  what  he  is  now)  he  was  too 
powerful  for  the  whole  system  of  our  constitu- 
tion ;  what  do  you  imagine  will  he  not  now  at- 
tempt ?  especially  as,  while  he  continues  consul, 
Pompey  must  certainly  reside  in  Spain.  To 
what  a  wretched  state  are  we  reduced  ?  If  indeed 
that  may  be  called  wretched,  to  which  we  are 
voluntarily  brought,  and  which,  if  he  consent  to 
bring  us,  would  render  him  highly  popular  with 
all  the  patriots  of  Rome. 

Let  us,  however,  suppose,  that,  as  the  world 
believes,  he  will  not  rest  satisfied  with  these 
terms ;  what  can  be  worse  than  the  other  alter- 
native? Shall  we  yiel^,  to  use  Pompey's  ex- 
pression, to  all  his  most  impudent  demands? 
For  surely  they  ar^  superlatively  so.     "  You 

have 


have  had,  for  ten  years,  a  government,  given  you 
not  by  the  senate,  but  by  yourself,    through  vio- 
lence and    faction.     The   time   limited,    not  by 
law    but  by    your    own  ambition,    is  elapsed; 
but  supposing  by  law ;    it  is  resolved  to  appoint 
you   a  successor ;  I  will  not  suffer  it,  say  you, 
and  you  must  dispense  with  my  absence.     No, 
Sir,  you  ought  to  dispense  with  our  compliance'. 
Are  you  to  keep  the  command  of  your  army  lon- 
ger than  the  senate  has  resolved,    or  the  people 
have  ordered  ?     You  shall  either  yield  or  figtit," 
and,  to  go  on  in  Pompey's  strain,    *' we  shall  at 
least  have  the  honest  satisfaction  of  either  con- 
quering,  or  dying,   in  the  cause  of  liberty." 

Now,  if  war  should  follow,  its  success  must  de- 
pend upon  chance,  and  its  justification  upon  its 
success^  I  shall  not  therefore  puzzle  you  with 
that  question.  Let  me  know  if  you  have  any 
thing  to  offer,  as  to  what  I  have  here  thrown  out 
For  my  own  part  I  am  upon  the  rack  day  and 
night 


EPISTLE 


^  The  original  as  I  read  it  is,  Sed  istuc  ipsum  sic,  0  magnum  ! 
malum,  putet  aliquis.  All  the  commentators  have  agreed,  that 
this  place  is  corrupted,  but  I  have  endeavoured  to  reduce  it  into 
sense  by  a  single  stop,   without  altering  the  common  reading. 


'    1   On(r.  Hale  mei  rationem,  Hale  in  nostrum. 

^  ,  .  <■ 

?  Orig.    Jam  si  pugnandum  est,  quo  tempore,  in  casu ;  quof 

consUio,    in  temporihus  situm  est. 


106 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  X. 

JL  CAME  all  at  once  to  a  resolution  to  leave  this 
place  before  daybreak,  to  avoid  being  seen  or 
talked  of^  especially  as  I  was  attended  by  laurel- 
led Lictors  \  As  to  what  I  am  doing  now,  and 
what  I  shall  do  hereafter,  I  am  at  a  loss  to 
know.  So  much  I  am  confounded  by  this  rash, 
inconsiderate  resolution.  But  how  can  I  pre- 
tend to  advise  you,  whose  counsel  I  stand  in 
need  of  myself?  What  steps  our  friend  Pompey 
has  taken,  or  may  take,  I  know  not ;  but  as  yet 
he  is  straitened  in  his  quarters,  by  being  shut  up 
in  towns,  and  looks  like  one  bewildered.  If  he 
makes  a  stand  in  Italy,  we.  will  all  of  us  join  him. 
But  if  he  retires  from  thence,  I  shall  be  at  a  loss 
how  to  determine  myself.  Either  I  am  insane^ 
or  he  acts  with  precipitance  and  insanity.  I 
beg  that  you  will  write  often  to  me,  though  it 
be  only  what  comes  first  in  your  mind. 

EPISTLE 


*  The  reader  is  here  to  understand,  that  Pompey  having 
abandoned  Rome  upon  the  approach  of  Caesar,  and  having  or* 
dered  all  the  magistrates  and  senators  to  follow  him,  under 
pain  of  being  declared  traitors  j  our  author,  who  it  seems  had 
not  yet  entered  into  Rome,  thought  proper  to  follow  him, 
though  he  disapproved  his  resolution.  By  his  not  having  en- 
tered Rome,  he  still  keeps  up  his  title  to  a  triumph  and  conse- 
quently his  lictors  carried  their  fasces  bound  about  with  laurel. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


107 


EPISTLE  XI. 

W^HAT  is  the  cause  of  your  silence  ?     What 
are  you  doing  ?  for  I  am  left  in  darkness.     We 
still  possess  Cingulum  \  say  you,— yes— but  we 
have  lost   Ancona.      Labienus  has  left   C^sar. 
Do  you  mean  Hannibal  or  the  Emperor  of  Rome? 
Mistaken,    wretched  man!    insensible   to  every 
idea  of  true  glory '1     He  pretends  that  all  he 
does  is  to  maintain  his  dignity.     But  can  dignity 
exist  without  virtue  ?     Is  it  compatible  with  vir- 
tue  to  continue  at  the  head  of  his  army,  without 
the  voice  of  the  people  to  authorize  him,  and 
to  seize   cities    inhabited  by    Romans,  that  he 
may  open  himself  a  more  easy  passage  to  the 
heart  of  his  country  r     Not  to  mention  the  can- 
celling of  the  national  debts,    the  recall  of  the 
banished ;  and  a  thousand   crimes  that  are  yet 
to  be  perpetrated  before  he  can  rear  the  temple 
of  tyrannic  power,  the  only  deity  he  worships. 
I  do  not  envy  his  greatness.     I  had  rather  spend 
one  day  with  you  in  the  sunny  walks  of  Lucre- 
turn 


*  This  was  a  town  in  Picenum. 

2  Oricr,  ra  )taX«.  Honesti.  I  need  not  point  out  the  beauty 
of  our  author's  sentiments  on  this  occasion,  or  how  much  Mr, 
Addison  has  been  obliged  to  him  for  all  the  fine  sentiments, 
which  he  puts  in  the  mouth  of  Cato. 


108 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


10& 


tum^  than  be  a  monarch  over  innumerable  king- 
doms acquired  by  guilt  like  hisL  I  had  rather 
die  a  thousand  deaths  than  harbour  such  an  idea 
at  the  expence  of  my  country.  You  think,  say 
you,  for  yourself.  And  is  there  a  wretch  who  is 
not  at  liberty  to  think?  But  I  repeat  it,  I  think 
the  man  who  acts  in  that  manner  is  more  mi- 
serable  than  the  wretch  who  lies  extended  on 
the  wheel.  There  is  but  one  misery  beyond  it, 
and  that  is,  succeeding  in  the  attempt.  But  of 
this  enough.  In  this  melancholy  situation,  it 
gives  me  some  relief  to  unbosom  myself  to  you. 
But  to  return  to  our  friend  Pompey. 
.  Tell  me,  I  conjure  you,  by  all  that  you  hold 
dear,  what  you  think  of  Pompey 's  conduct;  I 
mean  in  leaving  Rome?  For  my  part,  I  can 
only  say,  that  it  was  the  most  absurd  of  all 
measures.  Would  you  have  left  Rome;  you 
could  have  done  no  more  had  the  Gauls  been 
at  her  gates*  It  is  public  liberty,  he  may  say, 
and  private  happiness,  and  not  walls,  that  con- 
stitute our  country.  I  did  no  more  than  The- 
mistocles  before  me,  when  the  walls  of  his 
Athens  were  too  feeble  to  stand  the  shock  of  a 
barbarous  inundation.  But  Pericles,  almost 
fifty  years  after,   followed  another  course,  when 

he 

*  Orig.  Lucrelino  tuo  sole,  Lucretum  was  a  country  seat 
belonging  to  Atticus,  in  the  Sabines  country,  remarkable  for 
its  fine  air. 


V 

he  did  not  possess  a  foot  of  ground  that  belon- 
ged  to  Athens  without  her  walls.  And  our  fore^ 
fathers,  when  all  Rome  was  lost,  retired  to  and 
defended  her  citadel. 

Such  glorious  Actions  of  our  Sires  are  told^ 
How  rich  in  Virtue  were  the  times  of  old' ! 

On  the  other  hand,   if  I  may  judge,  from  the 
resentment  of  the  municipal   cities,    and  the  ge- 
neral talk,   he  will  be  able  to  extricate  himself 
from  the  consequences  of  this  measure.     I  do 
not  know  how  it  is  at  Rome,  and  I  beg  you  will 
inform  me ;  but  here,  every  body  complains  bit- 
terly,  that  the  city  was  abandoned  by  her  magis- 
trates and  senate,  and  the  flight  of  Pompey  him- 
self  made  a  wonderful  impression  upon  the  pub- 
lic.    In  short,  it  has  had  a  very  contrary  effect 
to  what  we  imagined;  for  now  it  is  the  general 
opinion  that  no  concession  ought  to  be  made  to 
Csesar.     Tell  me  what  is  likely  to  be  the  event. 
My  employment  here  is  not  very  troublesome, 
for  Pompey  has  appointed  me  to  be  an  inspector 
of  Campania  and  the  maritime  countries,  on  whom 
the  levying  of  the  armies,   and  the  direction  of 
affairs  devolve  there.     I  was  therefore  thinking 
to  have  no  fixed  abode.     I  make  no  doubt  that 

you 


*  bfig.  Ovru  TTtt  ru¥  fr^oirQtv  txst'.OofntQx  x\ex  otv^^u*.     I  have 
translated  this  verse  out  of  the  ninth  book  of  Homer's  Iliad, 


110 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


you  are  now  perfectly  aware  of  Caesar's  hostile 
designs  and\hat  you  know  the  sentiments  of  the 
people,  and  the  general  state  of  affairs.  I  wish 
you  would  write  to  me  upon  all  these  heads,  and 
that  too  very  often,  because  they  are  things  which 
constantly  change;  and  indeed  I  feel  repose 
when  writing  to  you,   or  reading  your  letters. 


EPISTLE    XII. 

UxLYone  letter  has  come  to  my  hand  from 
you,  dated  the  19th,  and  intimating  that  you  had 
written  me  another,  which  I  have  not  received. 
But  I  beg  you  will  write  me  very  often,  not  only 
what  you  know  or  hear,  but  what  you  suspect, 
and  above  all  your  sentiments  of  what  I  should 
do,  and  what  I  should  avoid.  As  to  my  infor- 
ming you,  as  you  desire,  how  Pompey  intends  ta 
proceed ;  I  do  not  believe  he  knows  it  himself, 
at  least  none  of  us  do.  T  saw  the  consul  Len- 
tulusat  Formiae  upon  tlie  21st,  and  I  have  like- 
wise seen  Libo^ ;  but  all  is  full  of  consternation 
and  confusion.  Pompey  himself  has  taken  the 
rout  of  Larinum,  in  which  place,  as  well  as  Lu- 
ceria,  Theanum,  and  in  other  cities,  of  Apulia, 
he  has  troops   quartered.     It  is  not  determined, 

whether 


1  His  daughter  was  married  to  Pompey 's  second  sou* 


TO  ATTICUS. 


Ill 


whether  he  will  make  a  stand  somewhere  in  Italy 
or  cross  the  sea.     Should  he  remain  in  Italy,   I 
am  afraid  bis  army  will  be  too  weak.     Should 
he  leave  it,  I  shall  be  entirely  at  a  loss  how, 
where,  or  when  to  act.     For  as  to  Caesar,  whose- 
usurpation'   you  so  much  dread,  I  think  he  will 
leave  nothing  bad  undone.     His  progress  is  not 
to  be  stopped  by  the  suspension   of  all  public 
business,  by  the  absence  of  our  senates-and  ma- 
gistrates, nor  by  shutting  up  the  treasury.     But 
as  you  write,   the  event  will  be  soon  known. 

Having  said  this  much,  1  ask  your  pardon  for 
writing  to  you  so  often,    and  so  fully.     But  by 
this  my  spirits  are  composed,    and  at  the  same 
time  I  am  willing  to  induce  you  to  answer  me,  and 
above  all  to  advise  me  how  I  am  to  act,  and  upon 
what  terms   to  proceed.      Am  I  thoroughly  to 
espouse  the  cause  of  Pompey?     I  am  not  deter- 
red, by  a  sense  of  danger  from  doing  this,  but 
by  '  resentment  that   all  things    are  conducted 
without  wisdom,  and  without  my  sanction ;  or 
should  I  hesitate  to  declare  in  Pompey's  favour, 
and  after  amusing  him  by  fair  professions,  side 
with  the  prevailing  party  ?     Alas!  what  would 
not  the   public  then   say !     My  character,    not 
only  as  a  Roman,  but  as  a  friend,  deters  me  from 
this.     Yet  I  am  frequently  overpowered  by  the 

anxiety 


i  Orig.  0.»x«?'(r^ov  literally;  whose    imitation  of  Phalam 
you  dread. 


112 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


anxiety  I  feel  for  the  interest  of  our  young 
men.  Distracted  as  I  thus  am,  though  perhaps 
you  are  not  less  so,  write  to  me  somewhat,  and 
above  all,  your  thoughts  in  what  manner  I  am 
to  proceed,  should  Pompey  leave  Italy.  Both 
Manius  Lepidus*,  for  I  have  been  with  him, 
and  Lucius  Torquatus,  are  resolved,  in  that  case 
to  abandon  his  interest  As  to  myself,  I  am  em- 
barrassed with  my  Lictors,  amidst  many  other 
things;  and  never  did  I  know  so  perplexed  a 
crisis.  For  this  reason  I  do  not  expect  from 
you  certain  conclusions,  but  conjectures,  nay, 
doubts  and  perplexities  respecting  the  state  of 
afi'airs. 

It  is  next  to  certain,  that  Labienus  has  left  Cae- 
sar. In  that  case,  if  he  had  gone  to  Rome,  while 
the  magistrates  and  the  senate  were  there,  he 
would  have  been  of  great  use  to  our  party.  It 
would  have  intimated,  that  the  best  of  his  friends 
had  condemned  him  as  a  traitor  to  his  country. 
The  fact  is  indeed  so,  but  at  the  present  junc- 
ture it  is  of  less  use,  because  our  party  cannot 
avail  itself  of  it,  and  I  believe  that  Labienus 
himself  repents  what  he  has  done.  Yet  after  all, 
it  is  possible  that  his  having  left  Caesar  is  false ; 
we,  however,  depend  upon  it  as  a  fact. 

You 


*  He  had  been  consul  in  the  year  of  Rome  63/,  as  Torqua- 
tus was  the  year  following,  and  tlierefore  both  of  them^  like 
our  author,  were  of  consular  rank. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


113 


You  write  me,  that  you  confine  yourself  to 
your  family ;  yet  still  you  may  acquaint  me  with 
the  sentiments  of  the  town,  whether  Pompey  is 
loved  or  Caesar  hated  in  it;  and  with  your 
thoughts  concerning  my  wife  and  daughter,  whe- 
ther they  ought  to  live  at  Rome,  or  with  me,  or 
in  some  place  of  safety?  Upon  all  these  sub- 
jects, and  upon  any  other  that  occurs,  I  beg  that 
you  will  write,  or  rather  that  you  will  scribble  to 
me. 


EPISTLE  XIIT. 

J.  AM  entirely  of  your  mind  with  regard  to  the 
affairs  of  Venonius  \  I  look  upon  Labienus  to 
be  a  hero.  We  have  not,  for  these  many  years, 
had  so  noble  an  instance  of  Roman  spirit ;  had  it 
no  other  effect,  it  has  that  of  galling  Caesar; 
but  I  am  in  hopes  of  seeing  it  productive  of 
more  solid  consequences.  I  am  in  love  with 
Piso  likewise,  and  I  can  foresee  that  the  dislike 
he   has   signified  of  his  son-in-law's^   conduct, 

will 

*  He  was  one  of  our  author*s  friends.  The  business  here 
spoken  of  was  of  a  private  nature,  and  of  no  consequence  to  us. 

2  Caesar  was  married  to  the  daughter  of  Piso,  who  was  the 
same  Piso  whom  our  author  has  so  bitterly  inveighed  against  in 
other  parts  of  his  works.  It  seems  he  had  left  Rome  upon  hii 
son-in-law's  approach,  as  not  choosing  to  join  with  him. 

Vol.  IL  I 


114 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


115 


will  make  a  great  impression  on  the  public^ 
You  may  now  form  a  judgment  of  the  nature  of 
this  war,  which  is  civil,  not  because  it  is  occa- 
sioned by  civil  differences,  but  because  one  des- 
perate bold  citizen  has  attempted  the  overthrow 
of  the  civil  constitution.  But  then  we  are  to  con- 
sider that  he  is  master  of  a  powerful  army,  and 
that  many  join  him  from  hopes  and  promises ; 
his  ambition  grasps  every  object.  Such  is  the 
man  to  whom  Rome,  deprived  of  the  means  of 
defence,  but  stored  with  riches,  has  been  surren- 
dered. What  have  we  not  to  apprehend  from  a 
man  who  looks  upon  Rome,  with  all  her  edifices 
public  and  private,  not  as  his  country,  but  his 
prey? 

But  what,  or  how,  he  will  do  without  a  senate 
or  magistracy,  I  am  at  a  loss  to  know,  since  he^ 
has  abolished,  not  only  the  spirit,  but  the  forms 
of  the  constitution^  But  where,  or  when,  are  we 
to  emerge,  headed,  as  we  are,  by  a  general  so 
uninformed,  that  he  was  a  stranger  to  the  impor- 
tant situation  of  Picenum^     His  misconduct  is  a 

sufficient 

^  Orig.  Ne  simulare  quidem  poterit  quicquam  voXinxcai  (se» 
£undum  statuta  reipuhlicce). 

^  Caesar  had  got  the  start  of  Pompey,  by  making  himself 
master  of  the  country  of  Picenum,  which  is  at  present  part  of 
the  marquisate  of  Tovoncono  and  Abrudso,  and  lies  between 
the  Adriatic  sea,  Umbriae,  and  the  country  of  the  Sabines  ;  it, 
in  a  manner,  covered  Rome  from  Caesar,  especially  as  it  was 
foil  Qi  strong  passes  and  towns. 


sufficient  proof  of  his  inability.     Not  to  mention 

the  faults  he  has  been  committing  for  these  ten 

long  years,  what  terms  were  not  preferable  to  his 
shameful  retreat  from  Rome  ?     Even  at  this  time 

I  am  ignorant  of  his  designs,  but  I  am  inces- 
santly endeavouring  to  be  informed  of  them  by 
letters.  Nothing  can  be  more  unmanly  or  un- 
meaning than  the  whole  of  his  management  I 
see  no  forces,  nor  any  place  where  forces  can  !>€ 
quartered  or  employed,  though  it  was  in  order 
to  raise  forces,  that  it  was  thought  proper  he 
should  remain  near  Rome,  while  all  our  hopes 
rest  upon  two  legions  that  have  been  decoyed 
into  our  service,  and  are  almost  hostile  to  our 
cause ;  for  our  levies  have  hitherto  been  of  men 
who  have  been  pressed  into  our  party,  and  dread 
nothing  so  much  as  they  do  fighting. 

With  regard  to  an  accommodation,  we  have 
lost  the  opportunity.  What  will  happen  here- 
after, I  cannot  foresee.  Either  we  have,  or  our 
general  has,  been  guilty  of  sailing  out  of  harbour 
without  a  rudder,  and  committing  ourselves  to 
the  mercy  of  the  storm.  I  am  therefore  at  a  loss 
how  to  dispose  of  the  two  young  men.  Sometimes 
I  am  for  sending  them  into  Greece,  that  they  may 
be  out  of  the  way.  At  the  same  time,  I  am  filled 
with  apprehensions  concerning  my  wife  and 
daughter,  when  I  reflect  upon  the  approach  of 
barbarians  ;^  but  I  am  somewhat  relieved  when  I 

*  C«8ar*s  army  was  full  of  G^uls. 
12 


/ 


116 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


remember  that  Dolabella  is  amongst  them.  I 
beg  you  would  consider  in  what  manner  I  am  to 
act  in  respect  to  them.  In  the  first  place,  I  am 
^o  provide  for  their  safety ;  for  I  must  take  care 
of  them  whatever  becomes  of  myself:  In  the 
next  place,  to  guard  against  being  censured  by 
the  public  for  leaving  them  at  Rome,  at  a  time 
when  she  was  abandoned  by  all  her  worthy  ci- 
tizens. 

The  same  consideration  occurs  with  regard  to 
yourself  and  Peduceus\  who  has  written  to  me  ; 
for  both  of  you  rank  so  high,  that  as  much  will 
be  required  of  you  as  of  our  most  illustrious  citi- 
zens. But  that  is  a  consideration  I  must  leave 
to  yourself,  as  I  am  now  applying  to  you  for 
advice  concerning  myself  and  my  family.  What 
I  have  farther  to  recommend  to  you  is,  that  you 
will  do  all  you  can  to  discover  and  inform  me  of 
what  is  passing,  and  of  what  you  apprehend  will 
come  to  pass,  which  I  cannot  dispense  with  in 
you.  Any  one  can  tell  me  what  is  doing ;  from 
you,  I  expect  to  learn  what  is  to  be  done.  He 
is  the  best  prophety  who  conjectures  weW.  Par- 
don my  loquacity,  which,  while  I  am  writing  to 
you,  sooths  my  anguish,  and  at  the  same  time, 
invites  you  to  give  me  an  answer. 

P.S. 

*  Sextus  Peduceus  was  a  common  friend  to  our  author  and 
Atticus. 

*  This  is  a  verse  of  Euripides.      Mtft»T<j  Vagi^os  l^n  tnui^v 
j^«x<,^f.— E. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


117 


P.  S.  I  did  not  for  some  time  comprehend 
the  riddle  of  the  Opii^  from  Velia,  for  it  is  more 
unintelligible  than  Plato's  Timaeus  ;  but  I  under- 
stand it  now  from  what  you  have  said  in  calling 
these  Opii  of  Velia,  Succones ;  this  word  gave 
me  trouble,  but  furnished  a  key  to  all  the  rest  of 
the  passage,  and  it  agrees  in  the  main  with  Te- 
rentia. 

I  saw  Lucius  Caesar  at  Minturne  upon  the 
25th  of  January,  in  the  morning.  This  cold  clod, 
for  I  cannot  call  him  a  man,  was  charged  with 
propositions  so  absurd,  that  I  imagined  Caesar 
designed  them  as  a  ridicule  upon  all  negociations, 
especially  as  he  gave  so  important  a  commission 
to  so  inconsiderable  a  creature.  I  can  account 
for  his  conduct  no  other  way,  unless  (which  may 
possibly  be  the  case)  the  fellow  has  seized  some 
random  expressions  of  Caesar,  and  interpreted 
them  into  a  commission  for  himself. 

Labienus,  whom  I  think  a  truly  great  man, 
upon  the  22d  instant  came  to  Theanum,  where  he 
had  a  conference  with  Pompey  and  the  consuls. 
What  the  import  was,  and  what  the  result,  I  will 
write  you  when  I  am  better  informed.  On  the 
23d  Pompey  set  out  from  Theanum,  for  Larenum, 
and  lay  that  night  at  Venafrum^  Labienus  seems 

to 


^  This  is  a  private  afPnir,  and  the  reading  in  the  original  is  so 
uncertain,  that  we  can  make  little  or  nothing  of  it. 

2  This  was  a  town  in  Campania,  situated  on  the  river  Vol- 
turno. 


118 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


to  have  inspired  us  with  some  hope.  But  as  yet 
I  have  nothing  remarkable  to  write  to  you  from 
this  place.  I  give  more  attention  to  news  from 
Rome;  in  what  manner  Caesar  carries  himself 
with  regard  to  Labienus\  what  Domitius  is  doing 
amongst  the  Marsi'^,  Thermus  at  Iguvium',  and 
Attius  at  Cingulum* ;  how  the  people  of  Rome 
stand  affected,  and  what  your  conjectures  are,  as 
to  the  final  event  I  beg  you  to  vTite  to  me  fre- 
quently respecting  these  things,  and  give  me  also 
your  opinion  how  I  ought  to  dispose  of  my  wife 
and  daughter,  and  what  resolutions  you  have 
adopted  in  regard  to  yourself  Had  I  written 
this  with  my  own  hand,  it  would  have  been  longer, 
but  the  humour  in  my  eyes  obliges  me  to  make 
use  of  an  amanuensis. 


EPISTLX 


*  He  carried  himself  like  a  wise  and  a  great  man.  He  ap- 
peared so  far  from  being  disconcerted  to  Labienus  leaving  him, 
that  he  sent  after  him  all  his  equipages,  baggage  and  attendants, 

*  Their  country  lay  towards  the  north  of  Campania  Diroma 
in  Italy. 

*  This  was  a  town  in  Umbria,  and  was  possessed  by  Curio 
for  Caesar,  the  troops  of  Thermus  having  disbamded  upon  Cu- 
rio's approach. 

*  Jt  lay  in  the  country  of  Piccnum. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


119 


EPISTLE   XIV. 


I  WRITE  this  on  the  27th  of  January,  (the  hu- 
mour in  my  eyes  being  abated, )  as  I  set  out  from 
Calvi^  to  Capua.  On  the  25th,  Lucius  Caesar 
delivered  Csesar's  proposals  to  Pompey,  while  he 
was  at  Theanum  with  the  Consuls.  The  terms 
were  approved  of,  on  condition,  that  he  should 
withdraw  his  troops  from  all  the  towns  seized  by 
him,  which  lay  beyond  his  own  government.  If 
he  would  do  that,  it  was  agreed  that  he  should 
return  to  Rome,  and  that  the  senate  should  ratify 
the  treaty.  At  present,  I  am  in  hopes  we  shall 
have  peace ;  because  Caesar  thinks  he  has  gone 
too  far,  and  Pompey  that  his  own  army  is  too 
weak.  It  was  Pompey's  pleasure  that  I  should 
go  to  Capua  to  forward  the  levies,  in  which  the 
Campanian  planters  are  not  a  little  backward^ 

I  was  misinformed   as  to  what  I  wrote  you 
upon  the  strength  of  Torquatus's  intelligence  with 
regard  to  Cesar's  gladiators  at  Capua.     It  must 
be  owned,  Pompey  has  quartered  them  very  ju- 
diciously, 

1  Orig.  Cales.  This  was  a  town  in  Campania  near  Capua. 

«  Caesar,  during  his  consulship,  had  established  a  colony  at 
Capua.  The  original  here  is,  Parum  prolixe  respondent,  and 
alludes  to  the  custom  of  enrolling  soldiers,  by  calling  over  the 
names  of  those  they  wanted  to  enlist,  to  which  the  latter  an- 
swered, when  they  entered  the  service. 


120 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


121 


diciously,  two  in  each  family.     There  were  five 
thousand  Secuti'  in  the  fencing  school,  and  they 
threatened  to  break  out.     This  was  a  measure 
very  serviceable  to  the  public.     As  to  our  ladies, 
of  whom  your  sister  is  one,   I  beg  you  to  take 
care  that  we  do  nothing  unbecoming  our  charac- 
ter in  keeping  them  at  Rome,  after  all  the  other 
ladies  of  quality  have  left  it     This  is  no  more 
than  I  wrote  both  to  them  and  to  you  before. 
I  entreat  you  to  give  them  your  advice  to  leave 
the  city  ;  especially,  as  they  can,  for  a  season,  be 
very  conveniently  lodged  upon  those  estates  by 
the  sea-side,  where  I  command.     As  to  any  of- 
fence my  son-in-law  may  take  at  this,  I  am  not  to 
answer  for  it     It  is  of  more  consequence  to  me  to 
consider  that  ours  are  the  only  ladies  who  have 
remained  at  Rome.     I  should  be  glad  to  know 
what  resolution  you,  and  Peduceus,  have  adopted 
in  regard  to  your  departure,  and  what  you  think 
of  the  present  situation  of  affairs.     For  my  part, 
I  incessantly  advise  for  peace,  however  unfavour- 
able the  terms,  as  more  advantageous  than  the 
most  justifiable  war.     But  this  must  depend  upon 
chance. 

EPISTLE 

*  The  Secuti  were  a  species  of  gladiators.  But  it  is  ridicu- 
lous to  think,  that  Caesar,  at  such  a  time  as  this,  would  hare 
kept  such  a  number  of  Gladiators  shut  up  in  a  fencing  school. 
We  learn,  however  from  concurring  passages  in  history,  that 
the  number  of  Gladiators^  he  had  at  Capua,  was  considerable. 


EPISTLE  XV. 

Ever  since  I  left  Rome,  I  have  not  omitted 
writing  you  a  letter  every  day,   not  that  I  have 
any  business  of  importance  to  write,  but  that  I 
may  converse  with  you  in  your  absence,  which, 
next  to  conversing  with  you  in  person,  gives  me 
the  greatest  pleasure  in  life.     Upon  my  arriving 
at  Capua  yesterday,  being  the  21st  of  January, 
I  had  a  meeting  with  the  consuls  and  many  others, 
of  our  house.     All  of  them  wished  that  Caesar 
would  draw  off  his  troops,  and  stand  to  the  terms 
he  had  proposed.     Favonius  was  the  only  man 
who  expressed  his  dislike  of  his  imposing  terms 
upon  us.     But  he  was  very  little  regarded  in  the 
meeting,  for  Cato  himself  preferred  submission 
to  civil  war'.     He  declares,  however,  that  he  in- 
tends to  be  present  in  the  senate,  when  the  terms 
of  the  accommodation  are  debated,  if  Caesar  can 
be  brought  to  draw  off  his  troops.     Thus,  he  dis- 
likes going  to  Sicily,  where  he  might  do  great 

service, 

^  Orig.  Cato  enim  ipse  jam  servire,  quam.  piignare  mavult. 
Monsieur  Mongault  translates  this,  Caton  meme  pnfera  la  ser- 
vitude  a  line  guerre  civile.  This  I  think  is  too  harsh  upon 
Cato's  character,  especially  as  the  words  will  admit  tlie  sense  I 
have  given  them.  Servire  (vw.  Tempori)  is  common  with 
Cicero. 


122 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


123 


service,  and  he  intends  to  be  present  in  the  senate, 
where,  I  am  afraid,  he  will  do  great  harm.  As  to 
Posthumus,  who,  according  to  the  senate's  express 
resolution,  was  to  have  gone  to  succeed  Fuffanus 
in  Sicily,  he  refuses  to  stir  without  Cato,  and  lays 
great  stress  on  the  service  he  can  do  in  the  senate, 
by  his  interest  and  abilities.  Thus  the  employ- 
ment has  devolved  upon  Fannius  \  who  is  sent 
to  command  in  Sicily. 

We  have  here  a  great  variety  of  opinions  as  to 
public  matters.     It  is  generally  imagined,    that 
Caesar  will  not  stand  to  his  proposals,  which  he 
is  thought  to  have  made  to  divert  us  from  ma- 
king  the  necessary  preparations  to  oppose  him 
in  the  field.     For  my  own  part,   I  am  of  opi- 
nion,   that  he   will  stand  to  them   so  far  as  to 
withdraw  his  troops  from  the  towns  not  in  his 
government.     For  he  will  have  gained  his  ends, 
if  he  should  be  made  consul,  and  the  conclusion 
of  his  career  will   be  less  guilty  than  its  com- 
mencement.     But  still  we  must  endure  his  at- 
tack.    For  we  are  shamefully  unprovided  both 
us  to  troops  and  money,  having  left  to  his  mercy 
not  only  the  private   property,  but  the   public 
treasury  of  Rome.     Pompey  is  set  out  to  take 
upon  him  the  command   of  the  legions^  under 

Attius 

^  Posthumos,  Fuffanus,  and  Fannius,  though  very  ordinary 
persons,  made  themselves  men  of  impoir^nce  about  this  time 
*  These  were  legions  in  Picenum. 


Attius,  attended  by  Labienus.  I  am  impatient 
for  your  opinion  in  respect  to  all  these  matters. 
I  am  now  thinking  of  departing  immediately  for 

Formiae. 


EPISTLE  XVI. 

I  BELIEVE  I  have  received  all  your  letters  ex- 
cepting the  first,  in  a  regular  order,   according 
to  their  dates  as  they  were  sent  by  my  wife. 
My  letters  dated  from   Capua  the  27th  instant, 
inform  you  of  Caesar  s  proposals,    the  arrival  of 
Labienus    and   the    answers    returned    by    the 
consuls  and  Pompey,  with  other  matters.     We 
are  now  in  great  suspense  concerning  two  points. 
The  one  is,    how  Caesar  will  proceed  upon  the 
answer  which  Lucius  C«sar  was  charged  with  to 
lay   before  him.      The  other  is  how   Pompey 
will  act,  who  writes  to  me,  that  in  a  few  days  he 
shall  be  at  the  head  of  an  effective  army,   and 
gives  me  hope,  that,    when  he  arrives  in  the  Pi- 
cenum,   we  shall  be  in  a  condition  to  return  to 
Rome.     He  has  with  him  Labienus,   who  takes 
it  for  granted,  that  Caesar's  army  is  but  weak, 
and  his  desertion  has  put  our  friend  Pompey  m 

high  spirits. 

Having  received  orders  from  the  consuls  to  be 
at  Capu^by  the  5th  of  February,  I  set  out  in  my 

way 


i'j 


M 


124 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


125 


way  thither  for  Formiae  on  the  30th  of  January, 
on  which  day  I  write  this  at  three  in  the  after- 
noon, immediately  upon  the  receipt  of  your  let- 
ters at  Calvi.  I  approve  of  your  measures  in 
respect  to  my  wife  and  daughter,  and  have  writ- 
ten to  them  to  follow  your  directions.  If  they 
are  not  yet  set  out  from  Rome,  there  is  no  hurry 
until  we  see  how   matters  are  situated. 


EPISTLE  XVIL 

Y  OUR  letter  was  to  me  both  kind  and  gratify- 
ing. I  thought  of  sending  the  boys  into  Greece 
at  that  time,  when  I  perceived  arrangements 
were  making  for  abandoning  Italy.  As  to  my- 
self I  should  have  gone  to  Spain,  though  that 
would  not  have  been  so  convenient  for  the 
young  men  as  for  me.  So  far  as  I  can  judge, 
both  you  and  Peduceus  may  now  remain  at 
Rome  without  molestation.  For  Caesar  has  no 
reason  to  suspect  you  to  be  attached  to  the  in- 
terests of  our  friend  Pompey,  who  has  left  the  city 
in  a  more  defenceless  state  than  was  ever  done 
by  any  other  general.  I  cannot  help  still  being 
sarcastic  \     Now  you  doubtless  know  the  answer 

which 

*  Videsne  me  etiamjocare?      Tlie  point  of  our  author's  joke 
m  this  place  has  been  little  felt  by  tlie  commentators,   what- 
ever 


vhich  Pompey  sent  to  Cjesar  by  Lucius  Caesar, 
and  the  letter  he  sent  him  by  the  same  hand, 
for  they  were  written  and  delivered  with  a  view 
of  making  them  public.     I  have  blamed  Pompey 
in  my  own  mind,  as  he  himself  has  a  very  per- 
spicuous stile,  for  employing  our  friend,  Sextms, 
in  drawing  up  a  writing  of  so  great  importance, 
especially  as  it  is  to  be  made  public ;  nor,  to 
say  the  truth,    did  I  ever  see  any  thing  more  ih 
the  stile  of  Sextius^     But  from  Pompey's  letter 
it  is  plain,  that  C^sar  has  been  denied  nothing, 
that  he  has  obtained  all,   and  more  than  he  de- 
roanded;  and,   as  he  has  obtained  his  demands, 
impudent  as  they  are,   he  would  be  the  worst  of 
madmen  should  he  break  off  the  accommodaUon. 
For  what  right  had  he  or  you,  or  any  man  to  say 
I  will  do  so  and  so,  if  Pompey  will  go  to  Spain 
and  if  he  will  withdraw  his  troops  from  Italy  ? 
Yet  even  this  has  been  complied  with,  though  1 

own 

ever  might  have  been  iu  effect  on  Atticus.  The  sarcasm  w« 
rp^tlu.  Pompey  behaved  so  ill  toall  his  Ben  J  .„  Rome 
by  leaving  them  in  so  defenceless  a  state,  ^^at  they  had  sv^ 

cLt  reafoa  to  abandon  f  >-«-' -^^^-^'Ce- 
thing  to  fear  from  his  nval  C«sar  Your  fnen  ^  ^^^ 
ting,  has  proved  your  enemy,  and  l«^serv-  o  ^^^ 

has  hitherto  been  an  enemy,  y""™**' ^  h«  still  the  friend 
the  more  bitter,  as  Cicero  knew  Att.cus  to  be  st  lUhe 

of  Pompey,  and  ^rhaps  of  his  ^^ ^J;  ^,^. 
and  feehlc'^B* 


^ 


f 


126 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS 


127 


own  the  compliance  does  now  come  with  so  good 
a  grace,  after  the  government  has  been  attacked, 
and  hostilities  commenced,  as  it  would  have 
done  before,  when  he  demanded  the  dispen- 
sation with  his  absence,  while  he  stood  for  the 
consulate.  After  all,  I  am  apprehensive,  that 
even  those  terms  will  not  satisfy  him.  It  was 
no  good  symptom  that  he  continued  his  opera- 
lions  during  the  discussion  of  the  treaty,  which 
he  committed  to  Lucius  Caesar,  and  before  he 
had  any  answer.  At  present,  he  is  said  to  pro- 
ceed  more  violently  than  ever. 

Trebatius  indeed  writes  me,  that,  on  the  22d 
of  January,  Caesar  charged  him  to  let  me  know 
by  a  letter,  that  he  would  take  it  as  the  highest 
favour  if  I  would  return  to  Rome,  for  such  is 
the  substance  of  his  letter,  which  is  very  long; 
I  understood,  by  what  I  could  learn  of  every 
day's  proceedings,  that,  from  the  moment  Csesar 
heard  of  our  departure  from  Rome,  he  began  to 
use  his  endeavours  to  induce  the  men  of  consular 
rank  to  return.  I  have  therefore  no  doubt  of 
his  having  written  to  Piso  and  to  Servius  \  I  am 
surprised  at  one  thing,  that  he  has  neither  writ- 
ten to  me  himself,  nor  employed  Dolabella  or 
Caelius  to  treat  with  me.  I  am  however  far  from 
disregarding  the  letter  of  Trebatius,  who  I  know 

to 

^  This  was  Semus  Sulpicius,  who  was  thought  to  be  ia 
Caesar  s  interest.  ** 


to  have  a  sincere  regard  for  me ;  for  I  returned 
him  an  answer  (as   I  had  no  mind  to  write 
to  CiBsar,  without  his  first  writing  to  me)  shew- 
ing him  that  what  he  requested  was  next  to  im- 
practical at  this  juncture,  but  that  I  lived  on  my 
own  farms,  and  concerned  myself  neither  with 
public  levies  nor  public  business.     The  truth  is, 
I  intend  to  continue   in  this  situation,   till   all 
hopes  of  peace  are  over.     But  should  the  war 
continue,  I  will  begin  by   conveying  our  boys 
to  Greece,   and  then  I  will  act  with  a  spirit  sui- 
table to  my  duty  and  dignity ;  for  I  hear  that  all 
Italy  will  soon  be  involved  in  the  flames  of  war ; 
Such  calamities  are  brought  upon  us  partly  by 
profligate,  and  partly  by  envious,  citizens !     But 
we  shall  know  what  turn  affairs   will  take  in  a 
few  days,   when  we  receive  Caesar  s  reply  to  our 
answer.      If  the  issue   should    be  war,   I  will 
write  you  more  fully,    and  if  a  cessation  of  arms, 
I  hope  to  see  you  in  person. 

On  the  2nd  of  February,  I  write  this  letter 
from  Formise,  having  come  hither  from  Capua  to 
meet  the  ladies.  It  is  true,  that  upon  the  strength 
of  your  information,  1  had  written  them  not  to 
leave  Rome :  But  I  understand  that  the  pannic 
is  increased  in  the  city.  On  the  5th  instant  I 
am  to  be  at  Capua,  by  order  of  the  consuls. 
Whatever  news  Pompey  shall  bring  us,  I  will 
instantly  impart  it  to  you  by  letter.     Meanwhile, 

lam 


' 


12S 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


I  am  impatient  to  know  your  sentiments  upon 
all  these  matters. 


EPISTLE   XVm. 

kJn  the  2nd  of  February  my  wife  and  daughter 
came  to  Formiae,  and  informed  me  of  all  your 
very  obliging  behaviour,*  and  good  offices  in 
their  behalf.  I  am  willing  they  should  continue 
at  Formia3,  togctlier  with  the  two  young  Ciceros, 
until  we  know  whether  we  are  to  embrace  a 
disgraceful  peace  or  a  destructive  war.  On  the 
5rd  of  February  (the  date  of  this  letter),  I  set 
out  with  my  brother  to  join  with  the  consuls  at 
Capua,  where  I  am  ordered  to  be  by  the  5th. 
We  hear  tliat  the  people  were  wonderfully  plea- 
sed with  Pompey's  answer,  and  that  it  was  ap- 
proved of  in  an  assembly.  I  always  thought  it 
would ;  and  that  Caesar  m  ould  lose  his  interest 
should  he  reject  it.  But  should  he  accept  it — 
Alas,  say  you,  which  is  the  lesser  evil?  This  is 
a  question  I  cannot  answer,  unless  I  know  in 
what  forwardness   our   preparations  are. 

It  was  reported  here  that  Cassius  was  driven 
from  Ancona*,  and  that  our  troops  were  in  pos- 
session of  the  city.  This  will  be  an  important 
service  if  a  war  should  follow.     It  is  certain, 

that 

^  This  news  war  false. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


129 


that  Csesar,  even  upon  dispatching  Lucius  Caesar 
with  his  proposals  for  an  accommodation,    has 
carried  on  his  operations  with   greater  vigour 
than  ever,  by  seizing  posts,  and  forming  a  strong 
line  of  garrisons.     What  a  ruffian,  what  a  robber 
he  is?  Can  any  peace  compensate  for  this  wound 
given  to  our  country's  honour  ?      But  let  us  leave 
off  railing,  I  must  temporize  and  go  with  Pompey 
to  Spain.     This  is  the  only  choice  that  is  left 
me,  amidsf  those  public  calamities  which  have  be- 
fallen us  for  not  guarding '  our  country,  while  it 
was  in  our  power  to  have  done  it,  against  the  se- 
cond consulship  of  Caesar.     But  of  this  enough. 
I  forgot  to  write  to  you  about  Dionysius ;  but 
my  scheme  was  to  wait  for  Caesar's  reply,  so  that 

Dionysius 


1  The  original  here  has  divided  some  of  the  greatest  critics. 

Hcec  opto  in  malts;  quoniam  illius  alterum  consulatum  arepuh- 

lica,  ne  data  quidem  occasione,  repulimus.    Manutius  and  Cor- 

radus  think  that  Cicero  here  blames  his  party  for  wantonly  op- 

posing  Caesar,  when  all  he  sought  was  to  be  consul  a  second 

time.    But  this,  though  it  agrees  with  the  original,   is  said  by 

Gronovius,  not  to  agree  with  Cicero's  expressions  in  the  ninth 

epistle  of  this  book,  and  with  the  political  principles  he  lays 

down  in  his  offices.     It  is,  however,  certain  that  our  author 

never  mentioned  Caesar's  being  a  consul  a  second  time,  in  any 

other  light,  but  that  of  a  lesser  evil  5  and  as  to  the  political 

principles  laid  down  in  his  philosophical  writings,  we  are  to 

look  upon  them  only  as  so  many  problems,  which  he  seldom 

or  never  carried  into  practice,  or  mentioned  when  writing  to  a 

friend  like  Atticus. 

Vol.  II.  K 


130 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


Dionysius  might  attend  me  at  Rome,  if  I  should 
return  to  that  city.  But  if  that  reply  should  be 
postponed  for  any  time,  I  was  to  have  invited 
him  hither.  I  leave  it  to  yourself  to  say  how  it 
becomes  a  man  of  learning  and  a  friend  to  be- 
have to  one  in  my  situation,  especially  when  I 
request  his  attendants, — But  this  perhaps  is  ex- 
pecting too  much  of  a  Greek.  If  I  should  be 
obliged  contrary  to  my  wishes  to  send  for  him, 
I  will  leave  you  to  sound  him,  for  I  do  not  choose 
to  trouble  him  against  his  inclination. 

My  brother  Quintus  does  all  he  can  to  get 
money  from  Egnatius  to  pay  you.  Egnatius 
wants  neither  will,  nor  abilities,  for  this ;  but  the 
circumstances  of  the  time  are  such,  that  Quintus 
Titinius,  who  is  frequently  in  my  company,  pro- 
tests, that  he  cannot  defray  the  expences  of  tra- 
velling, and  is  obliged  to  give  notice  to  his  deb- 
tors, that  the  interests  of  their  principals  shall 
run  on  at  the  same  rate  as  before.  Lucius  Ligus 
is  said  to  follow  the  same  course.  The  truth  is, 
my  brother  at  this  time  has  no  money  by  him ; 
he  can  get  none  from  Egnatius,  nor  can  he  bor- 
row any  elsewhere;  and  he  is  surprised^  that 
you  have  no  regard  to  his  distress,  which  is  in 
common  with  that  of  the  public.     For  my  own 

part^ 


^  This  confirms  what  we  have  observed  before  of  Atticus, 
that  he  knew  very  well  the  value  of  money,  which  he  thought 
the  first  instrument  of  pleasure. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


131 


part,  though,  (especially  when  you  are  concerned, 
whom  I  know  to  be  considerate  in  all  your  steps,) 
I  observe  the  maxim'  erroneously  ascribed  to 
Hesiod,  I  mean,  that  of  hearing  both  parties,  yet 
I  could  not  help  being  moved  with  his  com- 
plaints. I  thought  proper  to  lay  the  whole  of 
the  matter  before  yourself. 


EPISTLE.  XIX. 

I  REALLY  am  so  far  from  having  any  thing  to 
write,  that  I  have  withdrawn  a  letter  which  I  wad 
to  have  sent  you,  because  it  was  so  full  of  hopes 
for  the  best,  founded  upon  my  information  of 
the  dispositions  of  the  assembly  of  the  people 
at  Rome,   and  upon  my  own  suggestions,  that 
Cffisar  would  never  reject  the  terms  that  were 
granted  him,  especially  as  they  were  proposed 
by  himself.      Meanwhile,  on  the  morning  of  the 
4th  of  February,  I  received  letters  from  you  from 
Philotimus,  andFurmius,  with  one  to  the  latter 

from 

1  Orig.  urSt  J'xw.  Neque  causam  supple itt&ot»erw,  prius- 
quam  quid  uter que  dixerit,  audieris.  This  maxim  appears  to 
be  the  same  in  import  witli  one  in  use  among  the  Hebrews; 
which  on  one  occasion  was  used  by  our  Lord :  /*n  xf<»«Ti  k»t 
.4.,,,  axxa  r,.  S,x«,.,  xf  <^..  x{-..«.  Do  not  judge  from  partial 
appearances  but  let  your  deciskm  be  the  result  of  cool  unbiassed 
investigation, '•"^E* 


132 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


133 


from  Curio,  ridiculing  the  whole  of  Lucius 
Caesar's  negociation.  We  are  now  reduced  to 
a  desperate  pass.  What  to  resolve  upon  I  know 
not,  I  do  not  mean  with  regard  to  myself,  but  to 
the  boys.  I  am,  however,  now  setting  out  for 
Capua,  where  I  can  be  better  informed  of  Pom- 
pey's  situation. 


EPISTLE   XX. 

L  HE  occasion  requires  but  a  few  words.  I  de- 
spair of  peace.  We  are  unprovided  for  war. 
You  cannot  imagine  two  more  despicable  crea- 
tures than  ogr  consuls.  After  coming,  as  I  was 
ordefed,  to  Capua,  through  a  deluge  of  rain, 
upon  the  4th  instant,  in  hopes  of  hearing  and 
witnessing  our  preparations,  they  were  not  come 
here  ;  and  when  they  do  come,  they  will  come  un- 
provided and  unprepared.  As  to  Pompey,  he  is 
said  to  be  at  Luceria,  to  put  himself  at  the  head 
of  some  cohorts  of  Atticus's  legions,  who  are 
thought  to  be  wavering.  We  are  told,  that 
Caesar  proceeds  in  a  very  rapid  manner,  and  that 
he  is  advancing  apace,  not  with  an  intention  to 
tight  (for  he  has  no  body  to  fight  with)  but  to 
cut  off  oitr  retreat.  For  my  own  part,  I  am  de- 
termined (nor  will  I  consult  even  you  upon  that 
matter)  even  to  die  with  Pompey  in  Italy.     But 

should 


should  he  leave  it,  what  am  I  to  do  ?     The  ap- 
proaching winter,  the  incumbrance  of  my  lictors, 
the  indolence  and  oversights  of  our  generals,  are 
so  many  arguments  for  my  staying  behind.     My 
motives,  on  the  other  hand,   for  flying,  are,   my 
friendship  for  Pompey,  the  cause  of  my  country, 
and  the  shame  of  following  a  tyrant,  who  leaves 
us  at  a  loss  to  conclude  whether  he  will  propose 
Phalaris  or  Pisistratus'  as  the  model  of  his  con- 
duct    I  beg  you  to  extricate  me  by  your  advice 
out  of  this  labyrinth.     I  know,  you  are  at  a  loss 
how  to  proceed  yourself;  but  still  give  me  what 
x:ounsel  you  can.     If  to-day  I  hear  any  thing 
new,  you  shall  know  it,  for  the  consuls  will  surely 
be  here  by  the  fifth,  it  being  a  day  of  their  own 
appointment     You  will  write  me  an  answer  to 
this  when   it  is   coilvenient     I  have   left  the 
ladies  and  the  young  gentlemen  at  Formic. 


EPISTLE  XXI. 

Being  nearer  the  source  of  our  misfortunes 
than  I  am,  you  must  hear  of  them  first  lean  send 
you  nothing  from  this  to  comfort  you.  I  arrived 
at  Capua,  by  the  orders  of  the  consuls,  on  the 

5th 

1  Pisistratus  overthrew  the  liberty  of  Athens,  but  ruled  with 
great  justice  and  humanity.  Phalaris  was  a  Sicilian  usurper, 
and  ruled  with  great  inhumanity. 


Y|., 


J 


134 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


iu 


5th  of  February,  where  Lentulus  arrived  late  in 
the  evening  of  that  day.  The  other  consul  was 
not  come  on  the  7th,  on  which  day  I  left  Capua, 
and  lay  at  Calvi,  from  whence,  on  the  8th,  I 
write  this  letter  before  daybreak.  The  accounts 
I  picked  up  at  Capua  were,  that  we  are  to  have 
no  dependance  upon  our  consuls,  and  that  we 
have  nowhere  any  levies.  Our  recruiting  officers 
dare  not  shew  their  faces,  as  well  on  account  of 
Caesar's  being  near  them,  as  of  our  general  ap- 
pearing nowhere,  and  making  no  efforts.  No 
body  has  even  enlisted,  but  this  is  not  owing  to 
want  of  attachment  to  the  cause,  but  to  the  des- 
perate state  of  our  affairs. 

Our  friend  Pompey^  is  now  a  contemptible 
thing,  below  all  idea  of  wretchedness,  without 
spirit,  without  resolution,  without  interest,  and 
without  industry.  I  shall  not  dwell  on  his  dis- 
honourable flight  from  Rome,  his  abject  ap- 
plication to  the  towns  of  Italy,  his  ignorance, 
not  only  of  his  antagonist's  strength,  but  of  his 
own.  But  how  can  you  reconcile  to  common 
sense  what  I  am  going  to  tell  you  ?     On  the  7th 

of 

^  Our  author  has  his  cold  and  warm  fits  towards  this  great 
man,  and  he  becomes,  by  turns,  his  admiration  and  his  contempt. 
It  is,  however,  but  doing  Cicero  justice  to  distinguish  between 
the  person  and  the  character  of  Pompey.  All  the  littleness  he 
here  mentions  might  be  true  as  to  his  person,  but  still  as  he  ac- 
ted in  the  character  of  his  country's  general,  our  author's  at- 
tachment to  him  is  very  justifiable  and  \ery  reconcileable  to 
ihc  duty  of  a  wise  and  an  honest  great  man. 


of  February,  the  tribune  Caios  Cassius  came  to 
Capua,  with  Pompey  s  orders  to  the  consuls  to 
return  to  Rome,  which  they  were  immediately 
to  leave,  after  carrying  off  the  money  which  yas 
in  the  sacred  treasury*.  Ruturn  to  llomel- 
Under  whose  protection  ?  Return  from  Rome  ? 
—How  shall  they  obtain  leave?  One  ot  ih6 
consuls  wrote  back  word  to  Pompey,  that  he 
should  first  make  himself  master  of  Picenuiii. 

But 

1  There  was  somewhat  extremely  absurd  in  Pompey's  con- 
duct in  leaving  this  treasure  to  Caesar's  mercy  at  Rome.     U 
had  been  long  collecting  in  the  temple  of  Saturn    and  was  not 
to  be  employed  but  «pon  the  last  exigencies  of  tl>e  state,  such 
as  an  invasion  of  the  Gauls.    This  treasure  had  three  sources 
the  first  was  the  plunder  of  the  conquered  nations,  the  second 
was  the  twentieth  penny  which  was  paid  ad  valorem  for  every 
slave  that  was  manumitted,  and  the  third  was  the  ordmary  re- 
venues  of  the  public.    Though  Pompey,  as  I  have  obsen-ed 
before,  was  too  apt  to  refine  upon  his  conduct,  and  generally 
used  a  crooked  path  when  a  strait  one  lay  before  h,m,  yet  he 
seems  to  have  succeeded  beyond  his  expectation  in  h.s  measure 
of  abandoning   Rome,  which  strikes  our  author  wuh  such 
amazement.     For  it  awakened  the  public  to  a  sense  of  .ts  own 
danger,  and  the  Romans  were  struck  with    horror,  winch 
brought  them  into  action,  when  they  saw  the  first  man  of  a,e.r 
counlry  hunted  from  place  to  place.     His  refinement,  however, 
of  leaving  behind  him  his  sacred  treasure  was  not  so  happy. 
It  is  plain,  that,  either  he  thought  C«sar  would  not  touch  .t, 
or  if  he  did,  that  the  detestation  of  the  public  would  do  Inm 
more  prejudice  than  the  treasure  would  do  him  ser^■,ce.    But 
this  was  reasoning  very  weakly,  as  the  event  showed,  and  as 
Pompey  found  too  late;  for  Cssar,  had  by  this  time  actually 
seized  the  money,  and  did  more  than  Pompey  himself  mtended 
to  do. 


136 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


But  all  Picenum  was  by  this  time  lost  without  our 
receiving  any  information  of  its  loss,  but  by  a 
letter  which  Dolabella  sent  to  me. 

I  expect  every  moment  to  hear  that  Cssar  is 
in  Apulia,   and  Pompey  embarked.     I  am  very 
doubtful  what  course  to  pursue.      I  could  be 
in  no  such  perplexity,  but  for  their  shameful  con- 
duct; nor  indeed  was  I  consulted  in  any  one 
measure.     I  will,  however,   act  as  becomes  my 
character.      Cfesar    himself  advises   me  to   set 
about  an  accommodation,    but  his  letters  were 
•written  before  he  had  made  his  rapid  progress :  I 
am  informed  by  Dolabella  and  Cslius,  that  I  am 
greatly  in  his  favour.     My  inability  to  determine 
is  a  torment  to  me.     I  beg  you  will  give  me  all 
the  assistance  you  can  by  your  advice,  without 
neglecting,  so  far  as  you  are  able,    to  mind  my 
affairs  at  Rome.     I  have  nothing  farther  to  write 
amidst  this  general  consternation.  I  am  impatient 
to  hear  from  you. 


EPISTLE  XXII. 

V/^SAR  is  now  master  of  all  Italy.  I  know  no- 
thing of  Pompey,  but  I  believe  his  retreat  will 
be  cut  off  unless  he  has  already  embarked.  How 
incredibly  rapid  have  been  the  movements  of 
Caesar  !  How  dilatory  those  of  our  friend  ! 
But  I  am  averse  to  reflect  upon  the  man  whose 
condition  grieves  and  torments  me.     You  have 


TO  ATTICUS. 


137 


some  reason  to  apprehend  a  proscription  and  a 
massacre,  nftt  that  these  are  necessary  to  forward 
the  conquests  or  establish  the  power  of  Caesar; 
but  I  can  perceive  by  whose  counsels  he  is 
directed. '     Let  us  hope,  however,  for  the  best 

I  am  of  opinion  that  I  must  abandon  these 
towns.     I  am  at  a  loss  what  to  do.     Do  you  act 
as  shall  appear  best  to  you  for  my  interest     You 
may  talk  with  Philotimus,  and  my  wife  will  be  at 
Rome  by  the  13th.     But  how  am  I  to  proceed  ? 
Through  what  seas,  through  what  lands  am  I  to 
follow   a  man,    without   knowing  where  he  is? 
By  land  how  can  I  overtake  him,   and  how  can 
I  reach  him  by  sea  ?     Shall  I  then  surrender  my- 
self to  Caesar  ?     Supposing,  as  many  assure  me, 
I  could  do  it  with  safety,  can  I  do  it  with  honour? 
By  no  means.     What  then  am  I  to  resolve  upon  r 
I  fly,   as  usual,  to  you  for  advice.     My  difficul- 
•'  ties 

»  Our  author's  judgment  of  measures  seems  all  along  to  have 
beenmuch  morejustthan  his  judgment  of  men.  He^^asonsvej 
accurately,  and  his  conjectures  are  generally  verified ;  but  b^ 
characters  are  neither  true  nor  consistent,  as  we  have  observed 
on  various  occasions.     Nothing  could  be  more  d.stan  from  the 
truth  than  what  he  hints  of  C«sar,  who  the  least  of  all  mankmd 
was  susceptible  of  any  sanguinary  influence,  and  m  public  mat- 
ters always  judged  for  himself.     It  is  true,  he  sometimes  made 
ui  of  very  bad  men  under  him  ;  but  they  were  generally  such 
as  could  do  his  b.isiness,  nor  did  he  ever  sutler  them  to  be 
guilty  of  any  excesses,  and  even  h.s  favourite  Antony  some- 
times severely  felt  the  effects  of  his  displeasure  for  h.s  extra- 
vagance. 


tl.^V'^-^^.-:^illll<iJii:^iL.: 


158 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


ties  are  inextricable.  But  still  I  beg  you  will 
let  me  know  whatever  suggests  to  y«i,  and  what 
you  are  resolved  upon  yourself. 


EPISTLE  XXIII. 

1  HE  evening  of  the  9th  of  February,  Philotimut 
informed  me  by  a  letter,  that  Domitius  was  at 
the  head  of  a  strong  army,  which  had  been  joined 
by  the  battalions  from  Picenum,  under  the  con- 
duct  of  Lentulus  and  Thermus  ;  that  Ceesar  was 
apprehensive  his  communication  would  be  cut 
off,   which  was  very  practicable  to  be  effected ; 
that  the  patriot  party  at  Rome  had  recovered 
their  spirits,  and  that  the  rebels  were,  in  a  manner, 
thunderstruck.     Though  I  am  afraid  this  good 
news  is  little  better  than  visionary;  yet  this  let- 
ter from  Philotimus  has  brought  to  life  Manius 
Lepidus,    Lucius   Torquatus,  and    the   tribune, 
Caius   Cassius,    who  are  with  me  at  Formije, 
For  my  own  part,   I  am  afraid  they  are  not  so 
well  founded  as  the  accounts  of  our  being  almost 
surrounded  by  the  enemy,  and  that  Pompey  is 
retiring  from  Italy.     We  have  received  the  mor- 
tifying news  that  Caesar  is  in  pursuit  of  him. 
Caesar  in  pursuit  of  Pompey  .'—What !    To  put 
him  to  death  !    And  shall  we  not  all  join  to  ha- 
zard our  lives  in  his  defence  ?     This  reflection 

I  know. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


139 


I  know,  causes  you  likewise,  to  sigh.  But  what 
shall  we  do?  We  are  vanquished  and  undone ; 
in  short  we  must,  yield  at  discretion. 

Meanwhile,  upon  the  strength  of  Philotunus's. 
letter  I  have  altered  my  resolution  which  I  men- 
tioned to  you  of  sending  the  ladies  back  to  Rome. 
I  reflected  that  it  would  occasion  a  great  deal  of 
talk,  as  if,  finding  the  ruin  of  our  country  to  be 
unavoidable,  1  had  sent  off  the  women  before- 
hand, by  way  of  preparation  for  my  own  return 
to  Rome.     With  regard  to  myself,  I  am  of  your 
opinion,   not  to  hazard  a  wandering  perilous 
flight,  which  could  do  no  service  to  my  country. 
and  none  to  Pompey,  for  whom  it  would  be  my 
pride,  as  it  is  my  duty,  to  die\     I  will  therefore 
remain,  even  though  I  should  be  forced  to  live. 
You  ask  me  what  are  we  doing.     I  teU  you 
that  we  have  lost  all  Capua,  that  there  is  an  end 
of  our  levies,  that  our  affairs  are  desperate,  ana 
that  we  are  all  upon  the  point  of  flight,  unless  a 
junction  of  Pompey's  troops,  with  those  of  Domi- 
tius, should  take  place.     But  in  a  day  or  two  we 
shall  come  to  a  certainty  as  to  these  matters.     I 
have  sent  you,  at  your  request,  a  copy  of  Caesar  » 
letter  •  I  have  received  many  intimations  Irom 
different  hands,  that    he  is  extremely  desirous 
of  obliging  me.     I  shall  not  decline  his  favours, 
provided  they  are  not  inconsistent  with  the  pa- 
triot conduct  I  have  hitherto  observed. 

»  Ori£    Pro  quo  emori  cum  pie  p»isum,  turn  lilenter. 

IPISTLI 


--^    ^:..J°'^\:     ,.■"...«.    .. 


u...*^.^,.-j,^lhu\M 


140 


CICERO:S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


141 


EPISTLE  XXIV. 

It  is  true,  my  spirits  were  not  much  raised  by 
tlie  letter  I   received   from   Pliilotimus,   but  it 
gave  greatjoy  to  every  body  else   in  the  neigh- 
bourhood.    But  behold,   next  day,    Cassius  re- 
ceived a  letter   from   his   friend   Lucretius    at 
Capua,  with  an  account  tliat  Nigidius  had  been 
sent  to  Capua  by  Domitius,   and  gave   out  that 
Vibillus,  with  a  few  soldiers  was  making  the  best 
of  his  way  through   Picenum  to  join  Pompey; 
that  Caisar  was  at  his  heels,  and  that  Domitius' 
was  not  three  thousand  strong.     He  adds,  that 
the  consuls  had  abandoned  Capua.     I  make  no 
doubt  that  Pompey  is  flying,   and  I  wish  he  may 
escape.     I  think  with  you  that  I  ought  not  to 
join  in  his  flight. 


EPISTLE  XXV. 

Oephalio  arrived  here,  and  put  into  my  hand 
a  letter  from  you,  which  in  your  manner  was 
written  rather  to  comfort,  than  to  fortify  me,  just 
after  I  had  sent  off  to  you  the  melancholy,  but  I 
am  afraid  too  well  grounded  accounts  sent  by 
Lucretius  from  Capua  to  Cassius.     It  is  the  last 

thins 


thing  in  the  world  I  should  believe,  that  (as  all 
of  you  write  from  Rome)  Pompey  is  at  the  head 
of  an  army.     The  reports  here  are  very  different, 
and  the  reverse  of  what  I  wish.     How  afflicting 
is  the  thought  that  the  man '  who  has  always 
succeeded  in  the  worst,   should  now  fall  into  the 
best  of  causes.     How  shall  we  account  for  this, 
but  that  he  was  skilled  in  the  low  and  easily  ac- 
quired arts  of  cunning  and  dishonesty,  but  pos- 
sessed not  those  great  abilities  which  are  neces^ 
sary  to  steer   aright  the  helm  of  government'. 
But  in  a  little  while  I  shall  know  tlie  event;  I 
will  then  lose  no  time  in  writing  to  you. 

EPISTLE 


»  Meaning  Pompey,  to  whom  he  pays  no  great  compliment. 
The  truth  is,  Pompey  had  not  so  narrow  a  genius  as  our  au- 
thor generally  represents   him.       He  was  certainly  formed 
by  experience,  if  not  by  nature,  to  be  a  great  man  and  no  other 
Roman  had  so  great  an  art  in  balancing  parties  as  he  had.     His 
ambition  reached  no  farther  than  being  the  first  man  in  a  well 
regulated  commonwealth  3  and  though  his  power  was  perhaps 
a  little  unconstitutional,  yet  he  did  not  so  much  court  it,  as  it 
was  forced  upon  him  by  the  necessity  ot  the  times,  nor  did 
he  ever  flagrantly  abuse  it.     Perhaps  he  sometimes  contributed 
to  that  necessity}  but  notwithstanding  that,  our  author's  cen- 
sure of  him  here  is  certainly  too  severe,  if  it  implies  that  he 
was  never  concerned  in  any  other  than  dirty  practices.  ^ 

e  The  original  here  is  very  perplexed.  I  read  it  Nisi,  illud 
€um  scisse;  ''neque  enim  erat  difficile:  hoc  nesdsse.  This 
sentiment,  as  I  have  translated  it,  is  a  very  fine  and  a  very  true 
one.  5are  here  signifies  that  kind  of  knowledge  which  rises 
from  experience  and  practice,  and  Pompey  was  a  stranger  to  the 
arts  of  command  during  a  civil  war. 


143 


(ilCERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


143 


EPISTLE  XXVL 

JL  CANKOT  say  the  same  thing  happens  to  me, 
as  you  imply  happens  to  you  in  your  expression 
'•  As  oft  as  I  have  a  gleam  of  hope."  At  present 
however,  I  cannot  say,  that  the  hope,  which  as 
you  say,  dawns  on  you,  shines  upon  me.  My  spi- 
rits begin  to  rise  in  consequence  of  the  letter 
ifhich  came  from  Rome  concerning  Domitius 
and  the  Picentinc  battalions.  For  these  two 
days  every  one  has  put  on  a  more  cheerful  as- 
pect, and  no  longer  thinks  of  flying  as  was  in- 
tended. Caesars  menacing^  Manifesto  js  des- 
pised. In  short,  our  reports  concerning  Domi- 
tius give  us  comfort,  those  concerning  Afranius, 
courage. 

I  take  it  very  kind  that  you,  in  so  friendly  a 
manner,  advise  me  to  declare  myself,  as  little  as 
possible,  for  either  party.     "  But  above  all,  add 
you,    take  care  not  to  seem  to  be  biassed  in  fa- 
vour 

*  In  the  original  here  is  inserted  a  line  of  Ennius,  as  is 
thought^  U^nslated  from  Euripides, 

Si  te  secundo  lumine  hie  offendero,     Sub.  eras  moriere. 

Euripides  seems  to  have  put  it  in  the  mouth  of  Creon,  threats 
ening  to  kUl  Medea,  if  he  found  her  at  Corinth  two  days  longer. 
Here  it  expresses  the  effect  which  Caesar's  menaces  produced 
oti  the  minds  of  the  public. 


vour  of  the  rebels.'*    It  is  possible  that  I  may 
be  thought  to  be  so.     I  refused  taking  upon  me 
any  command  in  a  civil  war,  while  an  accommo- 
dation was  on  foot     Not  but  such  a  war  would 
have  been  warrantable;  but  I  had  smarted  be- 
fore for  being   concerned  in   a  measure  much 
more  warrantable.     The  truth  is,    I  was  unwil- 
ling to  have  for  my  enemy,  a  man  to  whom  the 
greatest  man  of  our  party  offered  a  second  con- 
sulate with  a  triumph,    ''  for  his  most  glorious 
actions,"  to  make  use  of  the  offerer's  own  re- 
markable  expression.      I  know  the    man,    and 
I    know  my   own  reasons   for  fearing   him,    if 
there  should  be  an  accommodation;  but  if  war 
should  take  place,    I   will  do  my  duty  to  my 

country. 

My  wife  has  written  to  you  concerning  the 
twenty  thousand  serteces.  I  did  not  choose  to 
trouble  Dionysius  while  I  thought  I  should  be 
obliged  to  be  in  motion.  As  to  what  you  write 
of  his  profound  regard  forme,  I  have  returned 
no  answer  to  it,  because  I  was  every  day  ex- 
pecting to  come  to  some  fixed  resolution.  I  am 
now  of  opinion  that  our  boys  will  pass  the 
winter  at  Formiae ;  I  know  not  whether  I  shall 
do  the  same,  for  in  case  of  a  war  I  am  resolved 
to  be  with  Pompey.  I  will  take  care  to  acquaint 
you  with  every  thing  I  can  depend  upon.  I  am 
pf  opinion  that  a  foul  and  bloody  conflict  will  be 

the 


\  ? 


144 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


the  event ;  unless  indeed  it  be  averted  by  a  sud- 
den inroad  of  the  Parthians,  which,  as  you  must 
be  aware,  will  either  separate  or  reconcile  the 
contending  armies. 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO 


i 


ATTICUS 


BOOK  VIII. 


EPISTLE   L 


CICERO'S 


After  sending  off  my  letter  to  you,  I  received 
one  from  Pompey,  upon  the  subject  of  what  has 
been  done  in  Picenum,  (according  to  his  intelli- 
gence from  VibuUius)  and  the  levies  of  Domitius, 
with  which  you  are  acquainted.  His  hopes  were 
not  however  so  sanguine  in  his  letters,  as  those  of 
Philotimus  were  in  his.  I  should  have  sent  you 
a  copy  of  the '  letter  itself,  were  not  my  brother's 

slave 

Vrig.  Ipsam  tiH  epistolam  misissem.  But  he  certainlir 
means  no  more  than  a  copy  of  Pompe/s  letter,  since  the  hurrf 
the  slave  was  in,  could  be  no  reason,  why  he  could  aot  iea* 
htm  the  original. 

Vol.  II.  L 


m  lAlb....L^..  j%iJ:%.ii 


146 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


147 


slave  in'a  hurry  to  depart ;  but  I  will  send  it  to 
you  to-morrow.  Pompey,  however,  towards  the 
close  of  his  letter,  writes  thus  with  his  own  hand. 
"  In  my  opinion  you  ought  to  come  to  Luceria ; 
"  you  can  be  no  where  in  greater  safety."  Now, 
from  this  expression,  I  conclude,  that  he  gives 
up  the  towns,  and  the  sea-coast  here,  for  lost ; 
nor  am  I  at  all  surprised  that  the  man,  who  has 
abandoned  the  head  should  likewise  sacrifice  the 
members,  of  the  empire.  I  immediately  sent  him 
in  answer  an  express  by  one  of  my  attendants, 
that  I  gave  myself  no  concern,  where  I  could  be 
with  safety,  and  that  if  I  could  serve  either  him, 
or  my  country,  I  would  instantly  repair  to  Luce- 
ria ;  but  I  admonished  him,  if  he  expected  sup-r 
plies  of  provisions  from  the  provinces,  that  he 
should  secure  the  sea-coast.  I  perceive  my  ad- 
vice is  to  no  purpose ;  but  as  I  then  declared  my 
opinion  for  his  keeping  possession  of  Rome,  so 
I  declare  it  now  for  his  not  leaving  Italy.  By 
all  appearances,  he  intends  to  make  Luceria  the 
general  rendezvous  of  his  forces ;  not  that  he  is 
resolved  to  make  good  that  post,  but  that  he  may 
the  more  readily  escape,  if  he  should  be  pursued 
by  Caesar. 

You  are,  therefore,  to  be  the  less  surprised  at 
my  backwardness  in  embracing  a  party,  which 
never  paid  the  smallest  regard  to  the  means,  ei- 
ther of  negociation  or  conquest;  but  have  ever 
kept  their  eye  upon  those  of  a  shameful,  ruinous 

retreat 


retreat.  But  it  seems  I  must  follow ;  that  I  may 
take  my  chance,  whatever  it  ma^  be,  with  men  of 
worth,  rather  than  seem  to  abandon  them.  And 
yet,  I 'can  perceive,  that  the  city,  already  filled 
with  men  of  wealth  and  fashion,  will  be  crowded 
when  they  leave  these  municipal  towns.  I 
should  be  of  their  number,  were  I  not  encumber- 
ed with  my  troublesome  Lictors;  for  I  never 
shall  be  ashamed  of  the  company  of  Manius  Le- 
pidus,  L.  Volcatius,  and  Servius  Sulpicius;  for  I 
believe  every  one  of  them  to  be  as  wise  as  Do- 
mitius,  and  as  determined  as  Appius. 

Pompey  is  the  only  person  who  influences  me  on 
this  occasion,  and  that  not  upon  the  principle  of 
regard  but  of  gratitude.  For  what  regard  is 
owing  to  a  man  who,  loved  C^sar,  when  all 
others  dreaded  him ;  and,  when  he  began  to  dread 
him,  thought  that  the  rest  of  mankind  ought  to 
go  to  war°with  him.  I  will  go,  however,  to  Lu- 
ceria, though,  I  believe,  I  shall  be  no  very  wel- 
come guest  there  to  Pompey ;  for  never  can  I 
make  it  a  secret,  that  I  am  extremely  disgusted 
with  the  conduct  of  the  party.  Could  I  sleep, 
I  would  not  harass  you  with  such  long  letters : 
But  should  you  be  similarly  disposed,  I  give  you 
leave  to  pay  me  in  the  like  coin. 


L  2 


EPISTLE 


m 


143 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  VIII. 


X  HE  reports  you  have  written  me,  the  matters, 
which  you  have  heard,  but  have  disbelieved,  be- 
cause they  were  incompatible  with  my  attach- 
ments, your  own  sentiments  upon  what  occurs 
are  all  welcome  to  me.     My  first  letter  to  Caesar 
was  from  Capua,   and  was  an  answer  to  that 
which  he  sent  me  concerning  his  gladiators^     It 
was  short  but  civil ;  and  so  far  from  reproaching, 
it  highly  commended,    Pompey;    for  I    could 
not  write  otherwise,  consistently  with  my  wish 
to  effect  an  accommodation  between  them.     If 
Caesar  has  parted  with  a  copy  of  mine,  I  wish  it 
may  become  as  public  as  possible.     I  wrote  my 
next  letter  to  him  this  very  day ;  and  I   could 
not  avoid  doing  it,   as  both  he  and  Balbus  had 
written  to  me.     I  have  sent  you  a  copy  of  mine, 
and  I  believe  you  will  be  displeased  with  no- 
thing that  is  in  it     If  you  are,  point  it  out  to 
me,  that  I  may  know  how  to  avoid  the  like  for 
the  future.    Perhaps  you  will  tell  me,    I  ought 
fiot  to  have  Written  at  all:  but  would  that  have 
atopt  the  mouth  of  calumny  and  caprice  ?     Well, 
I  will  do  all  I  can  to  please  you. 

You  desire  me  to  call  to  mind  what  I  have 
done,  what  I  have  said,  and  likewise  what  I 
have  written.    This,  I  am  sensible,  is  the  effect 

of 


TO  ATTICUS. 


149 


of  your  kind,  your  friendly  concern;  but  U js 
plain,  that  your  judgment  is  very  different  from 
L  opinion  of  the  conduct,  which  upon  this  oc- 
ciion,   it  becomes  me  to  pursue.     For  my  own 
part,  I  know  of  no  leader  or  general    m  any 
country,  who  ever  acted  more  disgracefully  Oian 
our  friend  has  done.    SoiTy  I  am,  that  m  aban- 
doning Rome,  he  abandoned  his  country,  though 
to  fall  in  our  country,  and  for  our  country,  is 
of  all  deaths  the  most  glorious.     You  seem  to 
me  to  be  insensible  of  the  danger  and  distresses  of 
our  situation.     For,  at  present,  you  are  even  en- 
ioving  yourself  at  home.    But  believe  me,  you 
hold  it  only  during  the  will  and  pleasure  of  the- 
most  profligate  of  mankind.-Is  it  possible  to 
figure  to  ourselves  scenes  of  greater  distress,  of 
creater  wretchedness,  than  this,  to  see  us,  like 
vagabonds  and  beggars,   wandering  about  with 
our  wives  and  children ;  our  hopes  reduced  to 
the  precarious  life  of  one  man,   who.   year  after 
vear,  is  brought  by  sickness  to  the  gates  of  death; 
ourselves,  not  driven,  but  deluded,   out  of  our 
country,   which  we  have  abandoned,  not  that  it 
might  be  preserved  for  our  return,   but  that  it 
may  be  plundered  and  burnt  in  our  absence. 
Many  of  us  have  forsaken  their  seats,  their  gar- 
dens in  the  vicinity  of  Rome,   and  even  Rome 
herself;  and  those,  who  have  not  already  adop- 
ted this  measure,  will  soon  be  compelled  to  do 
it.    We  are  driven  to  Luceria,  even  from  Capua, 


150 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


151 


H 
f. 


and  we  are  now  likewise  giving  up  the  sea-coast 
We  are  impatient  for  the  arrival  of  Afranius  and 
Petreius,  for  the  credit  of  Labienus  has  fallen 
very  low^  ''  Others,  you  will  tell  me,  say  the 
same  of  you,   and  for  the  same  reason." 

Of  myself  I  shall  say  nothing;  let  others  be- 
fore they  censure  me,  view  the  dangers  of  my 
situation.  You  keep  at  home,  and  all  of  you 
are  good  patriots.  What  boast  at  one  time  did 
you  all  make  ?  But  who  of  you  now  appears 
against  this  rebellion,  for  I  can  call  it  by  no  other 
name  ?  VibuUius  *  has  made  a  glorious  cam- 
paign as  you  may  learn  by  the  letter  from  Pom- 
p€y.  I  will  mark  the  passages  most  worthy  of 
your  observation.  You  will  there  see  what  the 
sentiments  of  Vibullius  himself  are  concerning 
our  friend  Pompey. 

And  what  means  this  declamation?  I  tell 
you,  my  friend,  I  could  die  with  pleasure  for 
Pompey,  nor  is  there  a  man  in  the  world  whom 
I  more  regard.     But,  at  the  same  time,  I  cannot 

be 

^  It  IS  no  new  thing  in  history,  to  find  a  man  of  great  use 
and  authority  in  one  party,  of  very  little  importance  when  he 
has  left  it.  This  happened  to  be  the  case  of  Labienus,  and  our 
•author  very  finely  applies  his  case  to  his  own.  I  cannot  here 
.  help,  once  for  all,  observing,  that  notwithstanding  all  the  fine 
things  Cicero  says,  at  this  critical  juncture  upon  patriotism, 
public  spirit,  and  the  like,  he  is  very  much  shaken  by  his  own 
danger,  and  Caesar's  civilities. 

«  This  is  an  irony.     He  was  sent  by  Pompey  to  repossess  K- 
ccnum^  but  found  it  wholly  in  Caesar's  hands. 


be  brought  to  think,  that  the  salvation  of  my 
country  depends  solely  upon  his  person.  You 
Idte  me,  (some^vhat  inconsistently  .ith  your 
foi^er'entiments,)  that  if  he  would  leave  Italy 
I  oTght  to  do  the  same.  This  is  a  step  hat 
could  do  no  service  to  my  country ;  U  migh  be 
of  prejudice  to  my  children,   and  above  all  it  is 

Z.  to  the  example  of  Socrates,  who  n^ver  aban- 
doned the  city,  though  the  government  of  his 
country  .vas  usurped  by  thirty  tyrants.  I  have 
iS  another  weighty  reason'  for  not  leaving 
iX  and  I  wish  I  had  an  opportunity  to  impart 

''  TJrite  Xletter  by  the  same  lamp  at  which  I 
burnt  yours  on  the  17th  of  February,  being  aboijt 
to  set-out  from  Formi.  to  Pompey,  Should 
Ihere  be  a  treaty,  I  shall  have  a  principal  hand 
Int  But  if  there  should  be  war;  I  know  not 
what  will  be  my  fate. 


EPISTLE 


»  ThU  probably  was  on  account  of  hU  wife's  bad  m3nage- 
oi JorhUprivai  »&-,  which  he  very  much  complamed  of. 


152 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


15a 


I 
1 

I 

H 


EPISTLE  III. 

XXARASSED  as  I  am  with  various  distresses,  I 
fly  to  your  advice  by  writing,  because  I  cannot 
consult  you  in  person.  The  whole  point  is  this. 
I  suspect  Pompey  is  to  leave  Italy,  and  if  he 
should,  what  would  you  counsel  me  to  do  ?  That 
I  may  assist  you  in  the  opinion  you  shall  form, 
I  will  lay  before  you,  in  a  few  words,  the  argu- 
ments  on  both  sides,  that  suggested  themselves 
in  my  own  mind. 

^  Pompey's  services  to  me  in  my  distress,  and 
his  friendship  to  me  since,  have  been  very  great; 
his  cause  is  that  of  my  country,   so  that  I. ought 
to  embrace  his  party,   and  to  follow  his  fortune. 
Besides,  should  he  leave  Italy  without  me,  I  must 
then  abandon  the  company  of  our  best  and  most 
illustrious  citizens,   and  become  subject  to  one 
man.     This  man  indeed  gives  me  many  intima- 
tidns  of  his  friendship,  which  you  know  I  had 
made  the  proper  dispositions  beforehand  to  se- 
cure,   forseeing  the  storm  that  was  to  happen. 
Now,   upon  the  whole,    we  are  to  consider  how 
far  Caesar  is  to  be   trusted  in  his  professions; 
and,   supposing  them  to  be  sincere,  whether  it  is 
consistent  with  the  character  of  a  brave  man 
and  a  worthy  patriot,  to  live  in  a  city  dependent 
on  the  will  of  another,  after  having,  in  that  very 

city, 


been  vested  with  the  highest  honours  and  com- 
mands,  managed  her  most  impovtaut  concerns, 
and  borne  the  most  illustrious  of  all  oflices,  that 
of  the  priesthood.  Must  not  he,  in  that  case,, 
expose  himself  to  danger,  perhaps  to  infamy, 
should  Pompey  again  recover  his  importance  m 
the  government  ?     So  much  on  the  one  side,  now 

for  the  other. 

Our  friend  Pompe/s  conduct  has  hitherto  been 
in  all  respects,  imprudent,  cowardly,  and,  let  me 
add,  the  reverse  of  my  public  opinion  and  pn- 
vate  advice.     1  shall  not  here  touch  upon  his 
former  misconduct  in  patronizing,  strengthemng, 
and  arming  Caesar,  against  the  government  of 
his  country,  in  moving  for  passing  laws  by  force, 
and  against  the  auspices ;  in  joining  the  Transal- 
pine Gaul  to  Caesar's  government,   and  taking 
Cffisaf  s  daughter  in  marriage ;  in  acting  as  augur 
upon  the  adoption  of  Publius  Clodius ;  in  being 
more  zealous  to  repeal,  than  to  prevent  the  sen- 
tence of  my  banishment ;  in  continuing  the  term 
of  his  government;  in  assisting  him  in  all  his 
measures,  during  his  absence ;  and  the  struggle 
he  made,  even  in  his  third  consulship,   when  he 
had  begun  to  espouse  the  cause  of  the  constitu- 
tion, that  the  ten  tribunes  should  bring  in  a  reso- 
lution to  dispense  with  Caesar  s  standing  fqr  the 
consulship  in  his  absence  (wliich  resolution  he 
afterwards  strengthened  by  a  proviso  of  his  own, ) 
and  lastly,  in  opposing,  on  the  1st  of  March,  the 

consuJ 


144 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


155 


k 


& 

$ 
It. 


consul  Marcus  Marcellus,  who  moved  that  the 
time  of  Caesar's  government  should  be  limited. 

But  not  to  insist  upon  these  matters,  could 
any  thing  be  more  scandalous,  more  precipitate, 
than  his   last   retreat,  or  rather,   his  cowardly 
^  flight  from  Rome.     What  terms  of  accommoda- 
tk)n  would  not  have  been  more  eligible  than  the 
abandoning  of  his  country  ?     The  terms   were 
disgraceful,  I  grant  you,  but  not  so  disgraceftil 
as  such  cowardice.     "  But,  say  you,  he  may  yet 
recover  the    constitution."      Let  me   ask   you, 
when  ?     What  steps  has  he  taken  for  that  pur- 
pose?    Has  he  not  lost  all  Picenum?     Has  he 
not  thereby  cleared  the  way  for  Caesar  to  Rome.^ 
Has  he  not  delivered  over  to  our  enemy  both  the 
public  and  private  properties  of  the  people  ?  In 
short,  Rome  has  now  no  party,   no  force ;    she 
has  no  place  where  her  friends,  who  are  willing 
to  defend  her,   can  dare   to  assemble.      As  to 
Apulia,  which  is  now  their  rendezvous,  it  is  the 
worst  provided  part  of  all  Italy,  and  at  the  great- 
est distance  from  the  burden  and  pressure  of  the 
war;  and  our  desperate  conduct  makes  it  evident, 
that  our  main  view  is  to  fly,  and  to  have  an  op- 
portunity of  escaping  by  sea. 

It  was  with  reluctance  I  undertook  that  com- 
mission to  Capua,  not  because  I  was  desirous  to 
decline  it,  but  because  it  was  to  no  purpose. 
But  I  could  see  no  declared,  sincere,  concern  for 
their  country,  in  any  of  our  public  bodies,  nor, 

in 


in  reality,  amongst  private  persons.     Our  pa- 
triots had,  indeed,  some  heavy,-  sluggish  appre- 
hensions as  usual,  and  as  I  had  foreseen,   while 
tlie  fickle  populace  discovered  a  manifest  bias  to 
Caesar,  and  most  of  them  were  fond  of  a  revolu- 
tion.    I  have  declared  to  Pompey  himself,  that 
I  would  undertake  nothing  without  troops  and 
money.     I  therefore,  did  not  interfere,  because 
I  saw  from  the  very  beginning,  that  his  sole  in- 
tention was  to  secure  his  escape.     Now,  should 
I  be  willing  to  follow  him  in  his  flight,  how  can  I 
do  it?     I  cannot  go  along  with  Pompey;  for, 
when  I  set  out  to  join  him,   I  understood,  that 
Csesar  was  in  those  quarters,  so  that  I  could  not 
come  with  any  safety  to  Luceria.     I  must  under- 
take a  voyage  in  the  dead  of  winter,  upon  the 
Tuscan  sea,  without  knowing  how  to  steer  my 
course.     Should  I,  think  you,  take  my  brother 
along  with  me,  or  leave  him  behind  me  ?     Shall 
I  carry  my  son;  if  not,  where  can  I  leave  him? 
Both  are  attended  with  the  greatest  difficulty,  and 
occasion  me  mych  anxiety.     Meanwhile,  in  my 
absence,  how  will  Caesar  vent  his  fury  on  all 
that  belongs   to   me  with  more   bitterness  than 
upon  others,  because,  he  may,  perhaps,  think  he 
will  please  the  populace  by  oppressing  me ! 

Let  us  now  consider,  how  inconvenient  it  is  for 
me  to  carry  out  of  Italy  these  fetters,  I  mean,  my 
triumphal  badges.  What  place  of  safety  can  I 
find,  even  supposing  my  voyage  to  be  favourable, 

until 


156 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


it 

I 

f 


until  I  joip  with  Pompey?  But  how,  or  where 
I  am  to  do  that,  I  know  not  Now,  supposing 
I  should  remain  here,  and  that  I  should  be  at 
Ubert^r  in  It^y,  my  condition  will  then  be  the 
same  as  was  that  of  Philip,  of  Lucius  Flaccus, 
nnd  Quintius  Mucius,  under  the  tyranny  of 
Cinna,  however  fatally  it  ended  for  the  latter. 
But,  foreseeing  what  happened,  he  said,  that  he 
preferred  death  rather  than  to  march  with  arms 
against  the  walls  of  his  country.  The  conduct 
of  Thrasybulus  was  different,  and  perhaps,  more 
virtuous.  But  Mucius  acted,  as  well  as  Thra- 
sihulus,  upon  a  rational  determined  principle;  • 
and  it  may  be  as  necessary  to  comply  with  the 
times,  as  not  to  lose  an  opportunity  when  it 
presents. 

But  supposing  me  to  comply,  there  occur*  the 
following  inconveniency  from  my  badges.  I 
shall  suppose,  but  only  for  arguments  sake,  that 
Caesar  will  be  my  friend;  if  so,  he  will  offer  me 
a  triumph.  In  that  case,  I  must  expose  myself 
either  to  danger  from  him,  or  to. resentment  from 
our  patriots.  You  must  allow  me,  that  this  is  a 
painful  and  inextricable  situation,  and  yet  I  must 
determine  upon  some  measure.  But  upon  what  ? 
You  are  not,  however,  to  imagine,  that  my  incli- 
nation leads  me  to  stay  in  Italy,  because  I  have 
said  so  much  in  defence  of  that  measure.  In  de- 
bates of  this  kind,  it  very  often  happens,  that 
where  the  most  words  are  employed,  there  is,  on 

that 


TO  ATTICUS. 


157 


t^t  side,  the  least  justice.    I  would  therefore, 
ask  your  advice  from  a  most  disinterested  dis- 
passionate view,  upon  this  important  head.     I 
have  a  vessel,  in  readiness,  both  at  Cajetie,  and 
at  Brundusium. 

But  while  I  am  writing  this  at  Calenum,  a 
courier  arrives  with  letters,  that  Caesar  is  march- 
ing towards  Corfinium,  where  Domitius  is  with 
a  strong  army,  which  is  eager  to  be  in  action.     I 
cannot   imagine  that  our  general  would  leave 
Domitius  behind  him,  though  he  has  sent  Scipio 
on  before  him  to  Brundusium,  with  two  battalions, 
and  though  he  has  sent  his  orders  in  writing  to 
the  two  consuls,  that  one  of  them  should  go  over 
to  Sicily  at  the  head  of  the  legion  raised  by 
Faustus.     But  after  all,  it  would  be  dishonour- 
able to  a1)andon  Domitius,  who  calls  upon  him 
for  ^sistance  and  relief.     I  have  some  faint 
hopes,  though  others  are  positive,  that  there  has 
been  an  engagement  on  the  Pirenaeans,  between 
Afranius  and  Trebonius,  to  the  disadvantage  of 
the  latter,  and  that  even  your  friend  Fabius  has 
come  over  to  us  with  his  battalions ;  but  above 
all,   that  Afranius  is  advancing  hither  with  a 
strong  reinforcement     If  those  accounts  should 
be  true,  we  may  perhaps  still  remain  in  Italy. 

For  my  own  part,  as  it  was  uncertain  whether 
Caesar  would  take  the  rout  of  Capua,  or  of  Lu- 
ceria,  I  have  sent  Lepta  with  a  letter  to  Pompey, 

and  for  fear  of  falling  into  the  enemy's  hands,  I 

am 


158 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


am  returned  to  Formiee.  I  think  it  proper  to 
send  you  this  intelligence,  which  I  write  with  a 
heart  more  at  ease  than  it  was,  when  I  began  this 
letter,  yet  without  obtruding  upon  you  my  own 
judgment,  but  inviting  yours. 


I 


EPISTLE    IV. 

UiONYsius,  who  is  rather  your  friend  than 
mine,  is  a  man  whose  dispositions,  though  I  wa^ 
sufficiently  acquainted  with  him,  yet  I  was  willing 
to  be  guided  by  your  judgment,  rather  than  my 
own;  this  man,  I  say,  without  fearing  to  contradict 
the  high  character  you  had  often  bestowed  upon 
him  to  me,  has  looked  down  with  contempt  upon 
the  state  to  which  he  thought  I  was  fallen.     I 
will,  however,  apply  all  the  means  that  fall  within 
human  foresight,  to  direct  the  movements  of  my 
fortune  by  the  conduct  of  reason.     Was  there  a 
mark  of  honour,  or  regard,  that  I  omitted  to- 
wards that  despicable  man?     This  I  did  to  such 
a  degree,  that  I  chose  my  brother  Quintius,  and 
my  numerous  acquaintance,  should  call  my  judg- 
ment of  mankind  in  question,  rather  than  suffer 
him  to  pass  without  my  distinguishing  approba- 
tion ;   and  I  preferred  to  assist  him  in  teaching 
my  son  and   my  nephew,  rather  than  procure 
them  any  other  tutor.     Good  God !  What  letters 

did 


TO  ATTICUS. 


159 


did  I  send  him;   how  full  of  respect  and  affec- 
tion !     Indeed,   had  you  read  them,  you  would 
have  thought  I  was  inviting  a  Dicaearchus,  or  aa 
Aristoxenus,  and  not  a  man,  of  all  others,  the 
most  talkative,  and  the  least  fit  to  be  a  tutor.     He 
has,  however,  a  good  memory,  but  he  shall  say 
that  I  have  a  better.     Yet,   he  answered  those 
letters  in  a  strain  that  I  would  not  have  made 
use  of  towards  any  man,  whose  cause  1  had  re- 
fused to  undertake.    For  my  excuse  in  such  cases, 
always  was,   "If  I  can;  if  I  am  not  prevented 
by  some  other  indispensable  business."    Never 
in  my  life  did  I  give  so  peremptory  a  denial  to  a 
person  undergoing  prosecution,  however  mean, 
however  despicable,    however    guilty,   however 
inimical,  as  he  gave  to  me ;  for  he  gave  me  with- 
out the  smallest  ceremony,  a  flat  denial.     Never 
did  I  know  a  man  guilty  of  so  much  ingratitude, 
a  vice  which  implies  all  other  vices.     But  I  have 
said  too  much  about  him. 

I  have  a  ship  in  readiness.  I  am,  however, 
impatient  for  your  letters  in  answer  to  my  doubts 
and  difficulties.  I  hear,  that  Atticus  of  Peligni, 
opened  the  gates  of  Sulmo,  though  he  had  five 
battalions  in  the  place,  to  Antony.  You  know, 
that  Quintus  Lucretius  is  fled  from  this  place ; 
that  Pompey  is  marching  to  Brundusium  after 
abandoning  us.     Our  hopes  are  at  an  end. 


I 


n 

I 


I 


{'■ 


^PXSTLS 


41 


l60 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


liPISTLE  V. 

^Iy  last  letter  was  written  before  daybreak. 
Upon  the  22d,  and  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day. 
Dionysius,  induced  I  suppose,  by  his  respect  for 
you,  for  I  can  put  no  other  construction  upon  it, 
paid  me  a  visit.  Although  he  usually  repents  of 
any  unadvised  step  he  makes,  he  never  in  hi* 
]xfk  acted  more  consistently  than  he  has  done 
upon  this  occasion.  For,  I  heard  since  I  wrote 
to  you,  that  he  had  not  gone  three  miles,  before 
he  goaded'  me,  like  a  mad  bull,  with  reproaches, 
which  must  all  return  upon  himself. — But  (see 
how  forgiving  I  am)  I  had  put  into  your  packet 
a  letter  for  him,  which  I  desire  you  will  send 
back  to  me,  and  I  dispatch  Pollux,  one  of  my 
footmen,  for  that  express  purpose.  I  write  you 
this  letter  at  the  same  time,  to  beg  you  will  send 
it  back  to  my  hand,  if  you  have  received  it,  with- 
out suffering  it  to  be  delivered  to  Dionysius. 
Had  there  b^en  any  thing  new,  I  would  have 
written  it.  I W  anxious  about  the  event  of  the 
Corfinian  business,  which  will  be  critical  to  our 

country 

*  Orig.  Pi-i^ai  vcXXa,  fjixryiit  xtfonaatv  is  wf*  Qvpi^fxtra.  Who 
the  author  of  this  verse  is,  remains  uncertain.  Literally  ren- 
dered, it  runs  thus :  Furious  he  vainly  tosses  the  dust  uith  his 
horns  in  the  air.— E. 


TO  ATTICUS.  ^ 


161 


'tn 


jcountry.  I  beg  you  will  take  care  that  the 
packet  directed  to  Manius  Curius,  may  be  duly 
delivered;  and  that  you  will  recommend  Tyro  to 
him,  requesting  in  my  name  to  supply  him  with 
>v'hat  money  he  may  require  for  his  charges. 


EPISTLE  VL 

After  making  up  my  last  packet,  which  I  finish- 
ed in  the  evening,  and  which  I  was  to  send  off,  as  I 
did,  before  daybreak,  the  praetor  Caius  Sosius, 
came  to  pur  neighbour  Lepidus,  to  whom  he  had 
been  questor  at  Formiae,  with  the  following  copy 
of  a  letter  from  .J^ompey  to  one  of  the  consuls. 

"  I  received  a  letter  from  L.  Domitius  on  the 
"  17th  of  February,  of  which  1  enclose  you  a 
''  copy.  Now,  though  I  had  not  written  to  you, 
"  I  know  you  are  sensible,  how  important  it  is 
*'  for  our  country,  that  as  soon  as  possible,  there 
should  be  a  general  muster,  at  one  place,  of  all 
*'  our  forces.  Therefore,  if  you  please,  you  will 
*^  make  all  possible  dispatch  to  join  me,  and 
"  leave  at  Capua,  such  a  garrison  as  you  shall 
"judge  sufficient" 

He  tlien  annexes  a  copy  of  a  letter  from  Do- 
mitius, which  I  sent  you  two  days  ago.  Immor- 
tal gods !  how  my  blood  runs  cold  with  anxiety 

for 

Vol.  II.  M 


<  »i 


f-'i 
11 


*  I 


(I 


162 


cicer6'S  epistles 


for  the  event  \  I  feel,  however,  a  great  confi- 
dence in  the  mighty  name  of  our  great  general  \ 
and  in  the  terror  which  his  approach  will  strike 
into  the  enemy.  I  am  even  dad,  as  I  have 
suffered  nothing  from  his  measures,  that  I  have 
not  altered  mine. 

I  just  now  learn  that  your  ague  has  left  you  ; 
I  feel  most  assuredly  in  your  recovery,  the  same 
lively  pleasure,  which  1  should  have  experienced 
in  my  own.  Tell  Pilia  from  me,  that  it  is  im- 
proper for  her  to  preserve  her  complaint  any 
longer,  and  unsuitable  to  the  sympathy  that  sub- 
sists between  you.  I  understand  that  my  secre- 
tary Tyro  is  also  recovered.  But,  I  perceive 
he  has  borrowed  money  from  others,  and  not 
from  Curius,  on  whom  I  gave  him  credit  for 
what  he  should  want.  I  .hope  this  is  owing  to 
the  modesty  of  Tyro,  and  not  to  the  unkindnes» 
of  Curius. 


EPISTLE   VII. 

X  HERE  remains  but  one  measure  to  complete 
the  sum  of  Pompey's  disgrace,  I  mean,  his  not 
succouring  Domitius.  I  am,  it  is  true,  almost 
single  in  thinking  that  he  will  not     Will  Pom- 

pey, 

1  This  with  the  following  passages  are  miserably  defaced 
irt  the  origiDal,  and  I  have  translated  it  from  conjecture  only. 


ttff^'.m^m^-'' 


TO  ATTICUS. 


163 


pey,"Tnen,  when  he  is  at  the  head  of  thirty  bat- 
talions,  abandon  such  a  Roman,  and  the  noble- 
men, who,  you  know,  serve  under  him  ?     If  I  am 
not  entirely  mistaken  he  will.     His  consternation 
is  incredible,  and  he  thinks  of  nothing  but  flying. 
'  I  know  you  think,  that  I  ought  to  attend  him. 
Alas  !    I  know  the  man  I  ought  to  fly ;  but  not 
W  the  man  I  ought  to  follow.     You  mention  with 
applause   a  saying  of  mine,    which  you  think 
out^ht  to  be  recorded,  that  I  would  rather  choose 
to  be  vanquist|ed  with  Pompcy,  than  to  conquer 
with  Caesar.    T  am  still  of  the  sajne  mind.     But 
it  was  with  Pompey,   such  as  h^  then  was,  and 
such  as  I  took  him  to  be,  but  not  with  this  Pom- 
pey, who  fled  before  he  knew  where,  or  whom,  he 
was  flying;  who  betrayed  our  mterests,  who  has 
abandoned  our  country,   and   is  now  about  to 
abandon  Italy.     If  that  was  my  choice,  I  have 
had  it,  for  I  am  already  vanquished.     In  short, 
I  cannot  bear  to  see  things  I  never  apprehended, 
nor,  indeed,  can  I  behold  with  patience,  the  man 
by  whose  means  I  am  robbed,   not  only  of  the 
comforts  of  life,  but  of  myself. 

I  have  written  to  Philotpaus,  concerning  my  tt-a- 
velling  charges,  that  he  should  receive  the  money 
for  them,  either  at  the  mint,  or  from  your  guests, 
the  Oppii,  for  there  is  no  getting  money  where 
it  is  owing.  I  shall  afterwards  lay  before  you 
whatever  may  be  proper  for  you  to  know. 


Mg 


£PlJiTl.S 


s 


i  f 


m 


Mffismm^^ 


Siwmmm 


1^4 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  IX. 

UisGRACEFUL,  and  therefore  miserable,  mea- 
sure  !  for  I  am  of  opinion,  that  what  is  disgrace- 
ful is  the  last,  nay  the  only,  character  of  misery. 
— He^  augmented  the  power  of  Caesar;  of  a 
sudden,  he  begins  to  fear  him;  he  discourages 
all  advances  for  an  accommodation;  he^neglects 
all  preparation  for  -war ;  he  abandons  the  city ; 
his  misconduct  loses  Picenum;  He  pins  himself 
up  in  ApuI^^Phe  prepares  to  withdraw  into 
Greece ;  he  abandons  us  without  even  taking  his 
leave  of  us,  or  giving  us  any  intimation  of  such 
important,  such  unusual  measures.  Behold  a  let^ 
ter  is  unexpectedly  delivered  him  from  Domitius, 
and  another  from  him  to  the  consuls.  You 
would  then  have  thought  him  impressed  with  all 
that  wjs  honourable,  and  he  appeared  to  exclaim 
in  a  language  becoming  his  character,  "  Let  my 
"  enemies  assail. me  with  all  their  strength  and 
**  all  thdr  mifPlifllations ;  honour  is  on  my  silte, 
"  md  r\vill  abide  by  ilie  events"  Of  these  ho- 
nourable 

*  Meaning  Pompey.  ^m 

wtr  lit  tfjLOi  rexratna-^ofv . 
tp  tv  fxtr*  tfjuu. 

^erses^  with  little  variation,  are  taken  froni'Aris^ 
tophaoct.        ^  A  '  '' 


1 

.1 


^ 


^ 


TO  ATTICU& 


165 


hourable  sentiments   notwithstanding,   he    soon 


takes  his  leave,  and  marches  for,  Brundusium. 
We  are  informed,  that  when  Domitius,  and  those 
under  his  command,  heard  of  this  step,  they  sur- 
rendered themselves.  A  catastrophe  so  deplo- 
rable, that  my  sorrow  interrupts  my  writing. — 
I  expect  to  hear  from  you. 


i 


*3 

1:1 
■I 


EPISTLE  IX. 


r 


X  AM  by  no  means  uneasy  at  the  information 
you  give  me,  that  my  letter  ^  has  been  made  pub- 
lic. I  myself  parted  with  a  great  many  copies 
of  it.  Past  events,  and  our  impending  situation^ 
make  me  desirous  to  bear  my  public  testimony 
for  the  terms  on  which  I  wish  an  accommodation. 
While  I  w^as  doing  all  I  could  to  bring  a  man, 
and  a  man  too  of  Caesar's  character,  into  the 
same  sentiments,  could  I  take  a  more  ready 
way  to  influence  him  than  by  insisting  upon  it, 
that  what  I  proposed  was  a  measure  the  most 
becoming  his  wisdom  ?  Granting  I  might  give 
it  the  epithet  of  ''  Admirable,"  it  must  be  con- 
sidered 


iV  j 


1  Meaning  his  letter  to  Caesar,  which  tlie  reader  will  find 
after  the  ekventh  letter  of  the  ninth  book.  I  have  not  altered 
the  usual  arrangement  of  these  letters,  but  this  one  is  evidently 
misplaced,  and  in  a  regular  order  it  ought  to  have  been  pre- 
ceded by  our  autiior's  letter  to  Cassar  here  referred  to. 


'■'mmmmissmm' 


166 


CICERO^  EPISTLES 


sidered,  that  I  was  speaking  to  serve  my  country ; 
in  such  a  cause  I  can  disregard  the  reproach  of 
servility ;   in  such  a  cause,  with  pride  could  I 
throw  mvself  ac  the  feet  of  Caesar.     As  to  the 
expression.    **  Allow  me  some  time  ;"  that  is  not 
applicable  tc  ihe  accommodation,  but  to  my  own 
person,  t(  induce  him  t  >  have  some  regard  to 
what  becoiiies  my  clviracter.     As  to  my  assuring 
him  chat  I  was  again     all  violent  measures;  be- 
sides th*^  notoriel}^  of  the  things  it  was  proper  for 
me  to  write  in  that  manner,  tiiat  my  private  sen- 
timents might  havj  the  grcab:r  weight  with  him ; 
and  for  the  same  purpose  I  added,  that  1  thought 
he  had  tlie  better  cause.     Bit  to  what  purpose 
is  all  this  ?     I  w  ish  to  heaven  that  the  letter  had 
taken  eft'ect. 

I  even  consent  that  this  letter  should  be  read 
before  an  assembly  of  the  people,  feince  Pompey 
himself,  in  one  of  his  letters  to  Caesar,  which  he 
published,  characterized  his  achievements  as 
the  most  glorious  that  ever  were  performed ; 
more  glorious  than  those  of  Pompey  himself, 
than  those  of  Scipio  Africanus.  This  was  but 
using  a  language,  which  the  exigencies  of  the 
time  required.  Even  your  friend  and  you,  firm 
patriots  as  you  are,  proposed  to  meet  Caesar  five 
miles  out  of  town.  From  whence  then  is  Ceesar 
coming  ?  What  is  he  doing  ?  What  is  he  about 
to  do  ?  What  spirit,  what  resolution  will  it  give 
him  in  pursuing  his  designs,  when  he  shall  see 

you, 


^  * 


• 


TO  ATTICUS. 


167 


you,  and  others  of  your  high  quality,  crouding 
to  welcome  his  approach,  with  joy,  not  only  upon 
your  tongues,  but  in  your  countenances  ?  Am  I 
then  in  the  wrong  ?  I  do  not  say  that  you  are  \ 
But  the  truth  is,  every  criterion  is  now  con- 
founded, by  which  it  is  possible  to  distinguish 
what  is  sincere  from  what  is  disguised.  Nay,  let 
me  appeal  to  the  resolutions  of  the  senate.  But 
this  is  going  farther  than  I  intended.  The  last 
of  this  month  I  design  to  be  at  Arpinum,  and 
then  I  will  saunter  round  my  little  villas,  with  a 
design  to  bid  them  an  eternal  adieu. 

I  approve  greatly  of  your  measures,  which 
are  at  once  generous'  and  prudent,  considering 
the  times.  As  to  Lepidus,  who  takes  it  very  kind 
of  me,  that  I  generally  spent  tlie  day  with  him, 
he  was  always  against  our  leaving  Italy,  and 
TuUus  was  much  more  so.  For  the  letters  which 
Lepidus  addresses  to  others,  are  often  shewn  to 
me;  but  I  pay  no  regard  to  their  sentiments. 
They  have  made  to  the  republic  fewer  sacrifices 

than 


»  I  have  translated  this  somewhat  different  from  Monsieur 
Mongault,  as  I  think  my  construction  is  more  natural,  there 
being  no  occasion  for  introducing  an  apostrophe,  rising  either 
from  the  words  or  the  sense. 

2  This  probably  was  the  beginning  of  another  letter,  and 
ought  to  have  the  precedence  ot  what  is  before,  as  it  seems 
to  have  been  written  at  that  time,  when  both  Pompey  and 
Cxsar  were  on  their  march  to  Brundusium,  and  the  preceding 
part  not  till  after  Caesar's  return  from  thence. 


168 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


1$9 


tlian  I  have.  But  your  advice,  has,  indeed^ 
made  a  strong  impresssion  upon  me,  as  it  pre- 
sents me  with  the  means  of  retrieving  all  that  is 
past,  and  improving  all  that  is  present. 

But  think,  my  friend,  what  can  be  more 
wretched,  than  for  one  leader  to  acquire  applause 
in  the  vilest,  while  the  other  incurs  reproaches  in 
the  best,  of  causes;  for  the  one  to  be  esteemed 
as  the  preserver  of  his  enemies,  the  other  as  a 
deserter  from  his  friends.  Though  Pompey  shall 
ever  receive  from  me  the  tribute  of  sincere  affec- 
tion, as  justly  due  to  him,  yet  I  will  acknowledge^ 
that  his  desertion  of  his  illustrious  friends,  has, 
with  me,  forfeited  every  claim  to  praise*  Wlial 
could  be  more  scandalous,  if  he  was  afraid,  or 
what  more  cruel,  if  he  believed,  as  matny  think 
he  did,  that  their  blood  would  prove  the  strongest 
cement  to  his  interest?  But  no  more  of  this  sub- 
ject, reflection  upon  it  gives  me  pain. 

On  the  evening  of  the  24th,  the  yoqnger  Balbus 
called  on  me  in  his  way  to  Lentulus  the  consul, 
to  whom  he  brought  secret  dispatches  from 
Caesar,  by  the  cross  road  to  me,  with  great  haste, 
and  with  the  promise  of  a  province,  if  he  would 
return  to  Rome ;  but  all*  1  believe,  will  be  to  no 
purpose,  without  a  meeting  on  both  sides.  Bal- 
bus told  me,  at  the  same  time,  that  Caesar  wished 
for  nothing  more  than  to  overtake  Pompey,  and 
to  regain  his  friendship.  The  former  I  readily 
believe,  but  cannot  help  discrediting  the  latter  ; 

and 


and  I  am  afraid,  that  he  has  shown  all  this  cle- 
mency to  make  the  dreadful  blow  the  more  se- 
cure. It  is  true,  the  elder  Balbus  writes  to  nie, 
that  Caesar's  highest  ambition  is  to. give  PompejT 
the  preeminence,  and  to  live  with  him  in  peace. 
You  may,  perhaps,  believe  this. 

Pompey  might  have  left  Brundusium  by  the 
date  of  this  letter,  which  is  the  25th  of  February, 
for  he  had  marched  with  great  expedition,  hav- 
ing left  his  legions  at  Luceria.  This  man  is  a 
frightful  prodigy  of  vigilance,  dispatch^  and  ap- 
plication.    Where  all  this  will  end,  I  am  utterly 


ignorant. 


EPISTLE  X. 

W  HEN  contrary  to  liiy  expectation,  Dionysiu^ 
came  to  wait  upon  me,  I  gave  him  my  sentiments 
with  great  freedom.  I  laid  before  him  the  ne- 
cessity of  the  times,  entreating  him  to  tell  me 
what  he  had  resolved  upon  ;  and  told  him,  that 
I  desired  nothing  of  him  against  his  inclination. 
His  answer  was,  that  he  was  quite  a  stranger  to 
the  state  of  his  own  afiairs ;  that  some  people  did 
not  pay  him,  and  that  the  notes  of  others  to  him 
were  not  yet  due  ;  and  he  spoke  somewhat  con- 
cerning some  slaves  he  has,  as  a  reason  why  he 
could  not  attend  me.  I  acknowledged  tlie  jus- 
tice 


I 


M 


170 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


tice  of  these  reasons ;  and  parted  with  him,  not 
with  pleasure,  as  he  is  the  tutor  of  our  boys,  but 
not  with  reluctance,  as  he  is  an  ungrateful  man. 
I  was  willing  you  should  know  my  opinion  of  his 
behaviour. 


EPISTLE  XL 


if 


You  imagine  that  my  mind  is  much  agitated. 
I  am  indeed,  distressed,  but  not  so  much  as  you 
may  luppose.    There  is  an  end  of  care,  when  our 
resolution  is  fixed,   or  when  our  concern  is  un- 
availincr      We  have  still  freedom  enough  to  la- 
ment Tnd  lamentation  consumes  all  my  days,  and 
that  without  effect,  to  the  reproach,  I  am  afraid, 
of  my  studies  and  learning.   I  therefore,  waste  the 
tune  in  dwelling  upon  the  idea  of  that  man, 
whom  you  allow,  I  have  drawn  so  happily  m  my 
writings.     Are  you  quite  master  of  the  character 
of  that  patriot,   in  whom  should  be  vested  the 
highest  powers  of  thestate?     For  if  I  remember 
right,  Scipio  thus  speaks  in  the  5th  book,       As 
"a  happy  voyage  is  the  purpose  of  the  pilot, 
«  health  of  the  physician,   and  victory  of  the  ge- 
"neral,  so  the  purpose   of  a  chief  magistrate 
«  ought  to  be  the  happiness  of  his  countrymen, 
« that  their  power  may  be  well  founded    their 

**  interests 


TO  ATTICUS. 


171 


*'  interests  extensive,  their  renown  noble,  and 
**  their  courage  virtuous.  Such  is  the  office, 
'*  the  best,  the  most  glorious  of  all  human  offices, 
that  I  allot  for  my  patriot  prince. 

Never  did  our  friend  Pompey,  and  on  this  oc- 
casion less  than  ever,   think  upon  this  character. 
Botn  are  rivals  in  power,  but  not  for  making  this  a 
flourishing  and  virtuous  government.      Pompey 
did  not  abandon  Rome,  because  it  was  untenable, 
nor  Italy,  because  he  was  driven  out  of  it;   but 
his  original  design  was,  to  move  earth  and  sea, 
to  rouse  barbarous  monarchs,   to  introduce  the 
troops  of  savage  nations  into  Italy,  and  to  levy 
numerous  armies.     He  wishes  to  renew  the  ty- 
ranny of  Sylla,   and  in  this   wish  many  concur 
with  him.     Do  you  imagine,  that  these  two  rivals 
can  come  to  no  accommodation  r  That  they  can 
i^ter  upon  no  agreement  ?     They  may,  but  now 
or  never  is  the  time  ;  though  neither  of  them  has 
our  happiness  ultimately  in  view,  for  that  is  in- 
consistent with  the  interests  of  both.   Thus  I  com- 
ply with  your  desire  in  giving  my  opinion  on  the 
afflicted  state  of  tlie  republic.    And  this,  I  deliver, 
my  friend,   not  like  the  prophecy  of  Cassandra, 
when  none  believed,  but  as  probabilities,  which, 
though  calamitous,    are   likely   to  be   realized. 
A  ruin  hangs  over  us  equal  to  the^destruction  of 
Troy;  and  another  Iliad  will  be  requisite  to  de- 
scribe 


i-i 


i7i 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


173 


scribe  it^     They  wha  are  gone  beyonff  sea,  are, 
I  assure  you,  in  a  much  better  situation  than  we 
who  stay  behind.  They  have  only  Caesar  to  dread, 
but  we  both  Caesar  and  Pompey.     Then,  you  will 
say,  why  did  not  you  follow  them  ?     I  have  three 
answers  to  this;  compliance  with  your  advice, 
my  not  meeting  with  Pompey,  and  the  rectitude 
of  the  measure.     I  teH  you  again,  that  by  next 
summer,  you  will  see  the  bosom  of  our  wretclied 
country  trampled  under  feet,  you  will  see  it  sink- 
ing under  the  oppression  of  the  vilest  slaves* 
No,  I  do  not  so  much  apprehend  a  proscription, 
with  which  we  were  so  often  threatened  at  Lu- 
ceria*  as  an  universal  massacre.      So  great,   I 
foresee,  will  be  the  conflict  of  the  contending 
parties.  This  is  my  opinion.  You,  I  suppose,  ima- 
gined  I  should  send  you  some  comfort     No,  that 
is  all  over ;  our  situation  is  wretched,  desperate, 

and  shameful  beyond  description. 

You 

1  It  is  not  practicable  to  give  a  tolerable  translation  of  the 
original  in  this  place  without  deviating  considerably  from  the 
letter  of  it.  I  subjoin  the  author's  own  words,  of  which  the 
above  version  only  exhibits  the  general  spirit.  U^oBscnr^^, 
igitur,  noster  Attice,  non  ariolans,  ut  ilia  cui  nemo  credidit,  sed 
conjectura  prospiciens,  Jamque  mari  magno.  Non  multo  in- 
qnam,  'secus  possum  vaticinari :    tanta  malorum  impendet. 

IXms. — E.  -J  11 

«  Pompey  often  declared  that  he  would  consider  all 
the  Romans  who  did  not  join  him,  as  so  many  traitors  to  their 
counto',  and  Caesar,  that  he  would  consider  all  who  remained 
neutral,  as  friends  to  himself.  % 


4 


If  You  ask  me  concerning  the  contents  of  Caesar's 
letters  to  me.  The  purport  of  them  is  the  same 
with  what  he  has  often  repeated.  He  expresses 
his  satisfaction  that  I  take  no  active  part  with 
Bompe)^,  and  begs  me  to  continue  in  the  same 
disposition.  The  commission  given  to  Balbus 
was  much  to  the  same  purpose,  but  his  chief  er- 
rand was  to  carry  Caesar's  letters  to  the  consul 
Lentulus,  w^ith  mighty  promises,  if  he  would  re- 
turn to  Rome.  I  calculate,  however,  that  Len- 
tulus must  have  set  sail  beforeBalbus  could  reach 
him. 

I  think  it  proper  you  should  be  acquainted 
with  two  cold  letters,  which  Pompey  wrote  to  me^ 
and  the  very  particular  manner  in  which  I  wrote 
gto  him.  I  therefore  enclose  you  copies  of  the 
.whole  correspondence.  I  am  impatient  to  know 
the  consequences  of  Caesar's  hasty  march  through 
^Apulia,  towards  Brundusium,  and  wish  it  may 
terminate,  like  the  inroads  of  the  Parthians,  in  a 
repulse.  I  will  write  to  you,  as  soon  as  I  know 
any  thing  for  certain.  I  desire  you  will  let  me 
know  the  sentiments  of  our  patriots,  who  are  said 
to  swarm  at  Rome.  I  know  that  you  do  not  ap- 
pear in  public,  yet  for  all  that,  you  must  have  a 
great  deal  of  intelligence.  '  Norw  that  I  think  of 
it,  you  have  rec^ved  a  treatise  from  Demetrius 
Magnes,  concerning  public  unanimity.  I  know  it 
was  sent  to  you,  and  I  beg  you  will  let  me  have  it 

You 


i^ 


174 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


# 


You  understand  what  is  the  subject  of  my  pre- 
sent studies. 


THE  LETTERS    ENCLOSED    FROM    CICERO 
ATTICUS,   ARE    AS    FOLLOW. 


^ 


Cno^us  the  Great,  Proconsul  to  Marcus  Cicero, 
Commander  in  Chief, 

On  the  29th  of  January,  I  learned  from  Quin- 
tius  Fabius,  who  came  to  me,  that  Lucius  Do- 
mitius  was  marching  to  join  me  with  eleven 
cohorts  of  his  own,  and  fourteen  cohorts,  which 
were  brought  him  by  VibuUius  ;  that  he  intended 
to  march  from  Corfinium  on  the  14th  of  February, 
and  that  he  was  to  be  followed  by  five  cohorts 
under  Caius  Hirrus.  My  opinion  is,  that  you 
should  meet  me  at  Luceria ;  for  there,  I  think, 
jou  will  be  in  the  greatest  safety. 


Marcus  Cicero,  Commander  in  Chief,  to  Cno^us  the 

Great,  Proconsul.        ittSk 

On  the  15th  of  February  I  received  your  letter 
at  Formiae,  by  which  I  learned  that  what 
had  happened  in  Picenum,  was  much  more  to 
our  advantage,  than  what  we  were  made  to  be- 
lieve, and  it  is  with  pleasure  that  I  give  you 
joy  of  the  courage   and  conduct  of  VibuUius* 


TO  ATTICUS. 


175 


Hitherto,  I  have  always  had  a  ship  in  readiness 
upon  the  coast  where  I  command.  I  thought 
this  precaution  necessary,  because,  by  what  I 
heard,  and  what  I  feared,  it  was  proper  to  fol- 
low you  in  whatever  course  you  determined  to 
pursue.  At  present,  as  your  authority  and  wis- 
dom have  inspired  me  with  fuller  confidence,  I 
will  remain  where  I  am,  if  you  think  Tarracina 
and  its  coast  can  be  defended  ;  but  the  towns  at 
present  are  without  garrisons.  For  there  is  in 
the  neighbourhood,  none  of  our  order  besides 
Marcus  Eppius^  whom  I  had  stationed  at  Min- 
turnae,  a  vigilant  active  person.  For  Lucius 
Torquatus,  a  brave  and  a  wise  man,  is  not  now 
with  us  at  Formiae.  He  has,  I  suppose,  joined 
you. 

I  actually  came  to  Capua  that  very  day  you 
wished  for,  I  mean  that  on  which  you  left  Tea- 
iium  Sidicinum^,  for  you  had  a  strong  desire  that 
I  should  take  upon  me  the  management  of  afFaira 
there,  with  the  propraetor  Marcus  Considitft^ 
When  I  came  thither  I  saw  that  Titus  Ampius  was 
active  in  recruiting,  and  that  Libo  received  from 
him  his  new  levies,  and  was  at  great  pains  to 

serve 

*  He  was  probably  the  same  senator  whom  Caesar  pardoned, 
^fter  his  victory  over  Scipio  in  Africa. 

*  This  town  lay  in  Campania,  and  is  called  to  this  day, 
Teano. 

'  He  was  named  to  succeed  Cassar  in  his  government  of  tbe 
Cisalpine  Gauls. 


1 


176 


ClCftOS*  EPISTLES 


serve  him  with  all  tlie  interest  he  had  in  that 
colonv.  I  remained  at  Capua  as  long  as  tlie 
consuls  did,  and  by  their  orders,  I  returned  to 
Capua  on  the  5th  of  February,  where  I  staid  for 
three  days,  before  I  returned  to  Formiae. 

I  am  ignorant  of  the  measures  which  you  have 
determined,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  you  in- 
tend to  conduct  the  war.     If  you  think  this  coast 
tenable,  as  I  believe  it  to  be,  as  it  is  both  conve- 
nient and  honourable,  and  contains  many  illus- 
trious Korfians,  some  person  must  necessarily  be 
appointed  to  command  it.     But  if  all  our  forces 
are  to  be'' collected  into  one  point,  I  will  join  you, 
without  farther  delay,  with  the  greatest  pleasure; 
and,  1  think,   I  told  you  so  mucli  the  day  on 
which  we  left  Rome  together.     Should  any  ima- 
gine me  too  tardy  on  this  occasion,  it  would  give 
me  no  concern  so  long  as  you  are  not  of  that  opi- 
nion.     Meanwhile,  if,  as  I  expect,  war  will  be 
unavoidable,   I  hope  to  give  you  and  all  others 
fall  satisfaction.     I  have  employed  Marcus  Tul- 
liusS  whoKves  with  me,  to  be  the  bearer  of  this, 
and,' if  you  please,  you  may  return  by  him  your 
answer  to  me. 


\ 


Cnaus 


I  He  was  so  active  an  enemy  to  Caesar,  that  he  was  called 
the  trumpeter  of  the  civil  war  notwithstanding  which,  Caesar 


r 

f 


TO  ATTICUS. 


177 


Cnaus  the  Great,  Proconsul  to  Cicero  Commander  in 

Chief, 

Y  OUR  letter  gave  me  pleasure,  and  I  hope  that 
this  will  find  you  in  good  health  ;  for  I  perceive 
you  still  retain  your  former  virtue,  even  at  this 
juncture  so  critical  to  our  country.  The  consuls 
have  repaired  to  the  army,  which  I  had  in  Apulia. 
I  conjure  you  in  the  most  earnest  manner,  by 
your  constant,  your  matchless,  zeal  for  our 
country,  to  repair  to  me,  that,  by  our  joint 
counsels,  we  may  administer  some  relief,  and 
assistance  to  our  languishing  government.  My 
advice  is,  that  you  come  by  the  Appian  road, 
and  make  what  speed  you  can  to  Brundusium. 


generously  pardoned  him 


Marcus  Cicero ,  Commander  in  Chief ,  to  Cnaus  the 

Great,  FroconsAL 

W  HEN  I  dispatched  that  letter,  which  you 
received  at  Canusium  \  I  had  no  suspicion,  that 
the  public  service  was  to  carryyou  beyond  sea;  and 
I  was  in  great  hopes  that  Italy  was  the  most  pro- 
per country,  either  for  effecting  an  accommoda- 
tion, which^  in  my  opinion  was  the  most  desira- 
'  ble 

^  This  town  lay  upon  tlie  confines  of  Apulia, 

Vol.  II.  N 


'\ 


178  CICERO'S  EPISTLES 

blc  measure,  or  for  defending  oi,r  country  «ith 
the  greatest  glory.       Meanwhile,     before    you 
could  have  received  my  letter,  perceivmg  from 
the  order  which  you  charge  Deems  Lalms  ,  to 
communicate  to  the  consuls,    what  your  reso- 
lution was,  I  did  not  think  proper  to  wait  for 
vour   answer,  and  I  instantly  set  out  with  my 
brother  Quintus.     and   the    children   to    meet 
YOU  in  Apulia.     When  I  came  to  Teanum  Sidi- 
cinum     I  understood   from   your  friend  Caius 
Messius',    and  many  others,    that   C^sar  vvas 
marching  towards  Capua,  and  that  he  would  lay 
that  very  night  at  Esernial     This,   I  own    d.s- 
concerted  me  a  good  deal,  foreseemg,  it  this  in- 
teUi<^ence  were  true,  that  my  journey  not  on  y 
inust  be  stopt,  but  that  I  must  fall  into  his  hands 
should  1  advance  farther.      1  thcrctore  went  to 
Calvi  to  reside  there,  till   I  could  learn  some 
certainty  from  Escrnia,  conccrnmg  his  motions. 
While  I  remained  at  Calvi,  I  saw  a  copy  of 
the  letter  you  wrote  to  the  Consul  Lentulus.     1 
thereby  learned  that  you  received  a  letter  (a  copy 
of  which  you  subjoined)  from  Lucius  Domittus 
dated  the  17th  of  February,  and  you  wrote  riia 
it  was  of  the  utmost  public  importance,  that  all 
j9ur  troops  should  rendezvous,  a?  soon  asjos^- 

1  He  afterwards  commanded  a_acel  upon  tl.e  coast  of  Asia,, 

2  He  is  mentioned,  vol.  i.  p.  2/4. 

»  This  town  lay  in  the  country  of  the  Samn.tes.  near  the 

source  of  the  river  Volturuo. 


TO  ATTICtJS. 


179 


sible,  at  one  place  ;  leaving  a  sufficient  garrison 
at  Capua.  On  reading  thos^  letters  I  fell  in 
with  the  generalopiuion,  that  you  were  to  march 
to  Corfinium  with  all  your  forces  j  to  which  place 
I  thought  I  could  not  safely  repair,  as  Csesar 
was  encamped  before  that  town. 

While  we  were  greatly  at  a  loss  how  to  proceed, 
we  heard  at  once,  and  at  the  same  time,  both  what 
had  happened  at  Corfinium,  and  of  your  marching 
to  Brundusium,  and  when  both  I  and  my  brother 
were  resolved  to  go  to  Brundusium,  we  were  cau- 
tioned by  those  who  came  fromSamnium  and  Apu- 
ha,   to  take  care  lest  we  should  be  intercepted  by 
Caesar,  who  was  upon  his  march  for  the  very 
same  places  to  which  we  were   bound,*  and  who 
would  reach  them  much  sooner  than  we  possibly 
could.     Matters  being  thus  situated,  neither  I 
nor  my  brother,  nor  any  of  our  friends  chose! 
through  rashness,  to  endanger  either  ourselves  or 
the  public  cause,    especially  as  we  knew,    for 
certain,  that,    supposing  the  road  to   be  quite 
open,   we  could  not  come  up  with  you.     Mean- 
whde  we  received  your  letter  from  Canusium. 
dated  the  20th  of  February,    requiring  me  to 
make  tlie  best  of  my  way  to  Brundusium.     As  I 
did  not  receive  this  letter  till  the  27th,  we  con- 
cluded that  you  were  before  that  time  at  Brun- 
dusium   and  conseq^.ently  that  our  communica- 
tion with  that  place,  was  entirely  cut  off,   ^nd 
that  we  were  as  much  prisoners  as   they   who 
Vent  to  Corfinium ;  for  we  did  not  think  that  a     ' 

N2  ,^^^ 


I* 
tii 

.1  ■ 


180  CICERO'S  EPISTLES 

state  of  captivity  is  confined  to  the  condition  of 
those  who  are  actually  in  the  hands  of  armed 
enemies,  but  that  it  extends  to  those  who  are  m 
the  heart  of  a  country,  surrounded  by  the  gar- 
risons  and  the  posts  of  an  enemy,  and  thereby 
prevented  from  the  possibility  of  escape. 

This  being  our  case,   my  chief  wish  was,  that 
1  had  always  been  in  your  company.     A  wish 
which  I  intimated  to  you  wh«n  I   declmed  the 
command  of  Capua,    which   I  did  not  to  avoid 
trouble,  but  because  I  was  sensible  that  that  city 
was  not  tenable  without  an  army.     Now   I  was 
unwilling  to  undergo  the  fate,  which  I  am  sorry 
has  happened  to  some  of  our  bravest  countrymen. 
However,*  as  I  had  not  the  good  fortune  to  be 
with  you,  I  wish  I  had  known  your  resolution. 
For  I  could  have  no  manner  of  suspicion,  and  it 
would  have  been  the  last  thing  I  could  have 
thouivht  of,  that  the  cause  of  our  country  could 
not  have  been  maintained   in  Italy  under  your 
command.     In  this  I  do  not  reproach  your  con- 
duct, but  1  bewail  the  fate  of  our  government ; 
neither  do  I  think  your  conduct  to   be  the  less 
admirably  wise,  because  I  am  unacquainted  with 

it  motives.  '  j   t  u  r 

I  have  always  been  of  opinion,  and  I  believe 
YOU  may  remember  it,  that  we  ought  first  to  have 
attempted  an  accommodation,  even  on  disadvan- 
tageous terms  ;  and  next  to  use  all  means  for  the 
.     security  of  the  city.  Of  your  intention  to  withdraw 


TO  ATTICUS. 


181 


into  Italy  you  never  gave  me  the  least  intima- 
tion. But  as  I  was  not  vain  enough  to  think 
that  my  opinion  ought  to  have  prevailed,  I 
followed  yours,  and  that  not  for  the  sake  of  our 
country,  of  which  I  despaired,  which  now  lies  in 
ruins,  and  which  cannot  be  raised  again  without 
a  most  destructive  civil  war.  But  I  was  attached 
to  you;  I  desired  to  be  with  you,  nor  shall  I  omit 
any  opportunity,  if  any  presents,  for  that  purpose. 
During  this  emergency,  I  obviously  perceived 
that  I  gave  great  oftence  to  men  who  delight  in 
Wood.  For  my  open  profession,  and  first  wish 
was  peace,  not  but  that  I  apprehended  the  same 
consequences  from  it,  as  they  did,  but  still  I 
thought  that  those  were  preferable  to  a  civil  war. 
After  this,  when  hostilities  commenced,  and 
when  you  had  answered  punctually  and  honour- 
ably the  terms  of  accommodation  that  were 
offered  to  you,  I  took  a  review  of  my  own  con- 
duct, which,  honoured  as  I  was  by  your  partia- 
lity for  me,  I  thought  I  could  easily  justify  to 
you;  I  recollected  that  I  was  the  only  person 
whose  signal  services  to  our  country,  had  ex- 
posed him  to  a  melancholy  and  cruel  punish- 
ment ;  that  I  was  the  only  person  who  must  again 
be  exposed  to  the  like  conflicts,  should  I  exas- 
perate the  man  to  whom,  even  when  we  were  in 
arms  against  him,  a  second  consulship  and  the 
most  glorious  triumph  were  offered.  Thus  the 
profligate  citizens  appear  to  have  always  hoped 

to 


182 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICU& 


18S 


to  find  in  me  a  commodious  subject  of  the  popu- 

lar  fury. 

No  sooner  did  I  apprehend  this  danger  than 
it  was  openly  announced  to  me ;  nor  was  I  so 
fearful  of  encountering  these  difficulties,  if  en- 
counter them  I  must,  as  1  was  anxious  to  avoid 
them,  if  I  could  avoid  them  with  honour. 

You  now  see  the  plan  of  my  conduct  during 
our  short  prospect  of  peace.  Since  then  our  sit- 
uation has  put  it  out  of  my  power  to  engage  in 
active  service.  To  those  whom  I  disgust,  I  have 
a  ready  answer,  that  I  never  was  a  greater  friend 
to  Caius  Caesar  than  they  are,  nor  are  they  bet* 
ter  friends  to  their  country  than  I  am.  The  diffe- 
rence between  them  and  me  is,  that  as  they  are 
sincere  patriots,  and  as  I  have  some  pretensions 
to  that  character,  I  was  for  embracing  the  terms 
to  which  I  understood  you  inclined,  but  they 
chose  to  appeal  to  the  sword.  As  their  senti- 
ments have  prevailed,  believe  me,  my  conduct 
shall  be  such,  that  my  heart  shall  never  be  want- 
ing to  my  country  as  a  patriot,  nor  to  you  as  a 
friend. 


EPISTLE  XII. 


T 


HE  humour  in  my  eyes  incommodes  me  now- 
more  than  ever.  Yet  I  chose  to  dictate  this  let- 
ter, rather  tlian  not  entrust  our  very  good  friend 

Gallius 


Gallius  Fabius  with  a  letter  for  you.  It  is  true, 
I  wrote,  the  day  before,  in  the  best  manner  I 
could,  the  prophetic  letter  which  I  earnestly 
wish  may  not  be  verified.  But  I  write  this  let- 
ter, not  only  because  I  am  resolved  not  to  omit 
a  day  without  writing  to  you,  but  for  a  much 
better  reason,  that  I  may  prevail  with  you  to 
take  a  few  moments,  (and  I  know  it  will  not  cost 
you  more)  for  laying  before  me  your  undisguised 
sentiments,  so  that  I  may  fully  understand  your 
plan  of  conduct.  ' 

I  am  as  yet  under  no  engagements  to  either 
party.  I  have  hitherto  taken  no  steps  but  what  are, 
not  only  plausible,  but  prudent.   I  cannot  surely 
be  blamed  for  declining  the  command  of  Capua 
in  its  defenceless  condition,  because  I  wished  to 
avoid  not  only  the  tardiness  of  the  new  forces, 
but  the  suspicion  of  treachery.     Neither  was  I 
to  be  blamed,  after  an  accommodation  was  pro- 
posed by  L.  Caesar  and  Fabatus,  for  not  exaspe- 
rating the  man,    to  whom,  after  the  commence- 
ment of  mutual  hostilities,    Pompey  offered  the 
the  consulship  and  a  triumph.     Nor  is  even  the 
last  part  of  my  conduct  in  not  abandoning  my 
country  justly  reprehensible.     For  though  it  was 
a  measure  that  required  consideration,  yet  it  was 
out  of  my  power  to  pursue  it     I  could  not  have 
supposed  that  Pompey  designed  to  pass  the  sea, 
especially  as  by  his  own  letters,  you,   as  well  as 
I,  made  no  doubt  of  his  marching  to  relieve  Do- 

mitius. 


r;. 


184 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


f 


mitius.  Upon  the  whole,  I  frankly  own,  that  I 
wanted  farther  time  for  considering  the  conduct 
that  was  most  honourable  in  itself,  and  most  pru- 
dent in  me,  to  follow. 

In  the  first  place  then,  though  you  have  slight- 
ly given  me  your  sentiments,  yet  I  require  them 
more  fully  upon  these  matters.  In  the  next 
place,  I  desire  that  you  would  look  a  little  for- 
ward, and  form  to  yourself  some  idea  of  what 
is  most  becoming  for  me  to  do  ;  where  or  how  I 
can  do  most  service  to  my  country ;  whether  the 
pacific  disposition  of  a  mediator  may  still  be 
availing,  or  whether  all  hopes  rest  only  in  the 
abilities  of  a  warrior.  For  my  own  part,  my 
duty  is  my  only  standard  of  conduct ;  but  yet 
well  do  I  remember  your  counsels,  and  had  I  fol- 
lowed them  I  should  have  escaped  the  embar- 
rassment of  these  times.  I  remember,  and  I 
remember  often  with  anguish  of  spirit  for  neg- 
lecting the  advices  you  gave  me  by  Theophanes 
and  Culeo.  Well  then,  let  us  turn  back  to 
the  pages  we  then  overlooked,  let  us  adopt 
salutary  as  well  as  honourable  measures.  But  I 
leave  you  to  your  own  thoughts,  which  I  desire 
you  to  write  me  very  particularly. 

I  beg  likewise  that  you  will  inform  yourself, 
and  I  know  you  have  the  proper  agents,  what 
my  friend  Lentulus,  what  Domitius  are  doing,  or 
about  to  do ;  whether  they  blame,  whether  they 
are  angry,  and  reproach  a  certain  person  ;  — I 

mean, 


TO  ATTICUS. 


185 


mean,  whether  they  reproach  Pompey,  who  lays 
the  whole  blame  of  the  miscarriage  upon  Domi- 
tius, as  you  may  perceive  by  his  letters  of  which 
I  send  you  copies :  These  are  the  particulars  I 
recommend  to  your  care ;  send  me  the  treatise 
of  Demetrius  Magnes  upon  unanimity,  of  wliich 
he  made  a  present  to  you. 


Cnaus  the  Greats  Proconsul,   to  M.  Marcellus  and  Lu- 
cius  Lentulus,  Consuls^  wisheth  Prosperitj/. 


JjEiNG  persuaded,  that  while  we  remained  scat- 
tered, we  could  ^either  serve  our  country  nor 
defend  ourselves,  I  wrote  to  L.  Domitius,  that 
he  should  make  all  haste  to  join  me  with  his 
whole  force ;  and  if  he  had  any  apprehensions 
with  regard  to  himself,  that  he  should  send  me 
the  nineteen  cohorts,  which  were  upon  their 
march,  to  join  me  from  Picenum.  It  happened, 
as  I  dreaded,  that  Domitius  was  surrounded, 
without  having  with  him  forces  sufficient  for  a 
regular  encampment ;  my  nineteen  cohorts,  and 
his  own  twelve,  being  quartered  in  three  diffe- 
rent towns,  for  he  had  quartered  some  of  them 
at  Alba,  and  some  at  Sulmo ;  4ior,  indeed,  could 
he  escape  should  he  attempt  it.  This  event 
you  may  easily  imagine  fills  me  with  the  grea- 
test alarm.     At  the  same  time,   that  I  earnestly 

desire 


M 


186 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


187 


desire  to  deliver  so  many  illustrious  Romana 
from  the  danger  of  being  besieged,  it  is  impos- 
sible for  me  to  relieve  them  ;  because  I  judge  it 
unsafe  to  march  the  two  legions  I  command  here 
into  those  quarters ;  and  of  these  two  legions, 
I  can  bring  together  no  more  than  fourteen  co- 
horts, having  thrown  a  garrison  into  Brundusium, 
and  taken  care  of  Canusium,  which  I  did  not 
think  proper  to  leave  without  a  sufficient  force  to 

defend  it. 

As  I  was  in  hopes  that  our  army  would  grow 
stronger,  I  charged  Laslius,  with  a  request,  if  you 
thought  proper,  that  one  of  you  should  repair  to 
me    and  that  the  other  should  go  to  Sicily  with 

_  •  •    • 

the  troops  you  have  raised  at  Capua,  or  m  its 
neif^hbourhood,  and  with  the  levies  of  Faustus ; 
and'  that  Domitius,  should  join  them  with  his 
twelve  cohorts;  that  the  rest  of  the  troops  should 
assemble  at  Brundusium,  and  conveyed  in  trans- 
ports from  thence  to  Dyrrachium.  Now^  as 
thincTs  are  circumstanced,  I  am  no  more  able 
than  you  are  to  relieve  Domitius,  who  cannot 
escape  by  the  IMountains.  We  are  to  take  care, 
that  the  enemy  shall  neither  come  up  with  those 
fourteen  wavering  cohorts,  nor  overtake  me  in 
my  march.  I  therefore  think  proper,  and  I  am 
joined  in  sentiments  by  Marcellus,  and  the  other 
noblemen  of  our  rank  in  this  place,  to  march  the 
troops  I  command  here  to  Brundusium.  I  there- 
fore request  you,  to  make  all  possible  dispatch  to 

join 


join  me  there,  with  as  many  troops  as  you  can 
get  together.  ]\Iy  opinion  is,  that  you  give  to 
the  troops  you  have  with  you,  the  arms  you  pro- 
posed to  send  to  me,  and  if  any  remain,  it  will  be 
advisable  to  send  them  in  waggons  to  Brundu- 
sium. I  beg,  that  you  w  ill  give  our  friends  ad- 
vice concerning  the  matter.  I  have  sent  you  to 
require  the  prastors  P.  Lupus  and  C.  Coponius 
to  join  me,  and  to  resign  to  you  the  command  of 
their  forces. 


Cnaus  the  Great,  Proconsul,  to  Domitius^  Proconsul, 

wisheth  Prosperity, 

X  AM  surprised  at  my  not  hearing  from  you,  and 
that  all  my  public  intelligence  comes  through 
other  hands  than  yours.  With  forces  so  dis- 
united as  ours  are,  it  is  impossible  for  us  to  be  a 
match  for  our  enemies ;  but  were  they  united,  I 
am  in  hopes  we  may  yet  be  the  means  of  saving 
our  country,  and  our  own  persons.  Therefore, 
as  VibuUius  wrote  me,  on  the  9th  of  February, 
that  you  was  about  to  march  from  Coriinium  to 
join  me  with  your  army,  I  cannot  comprehend 
why  you  have  altered  your  resolution.  The  rea- 
son VibuUius  intimated  to  me,  namely,  that  you 
had  intelligence  of  Caesar's  march  from  Firmum 
to  the  castle  of  Truentum,  was  by  no  means  satis- 
factory 


■*< 
i* 


n 


188 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


to  ATTICUS. 


189 


f 


factory.  For  the  quicker  the  enemy's  advances 
towards  you  were,  your  dispatch  ought  to  have 
been  the  greater  to  join  me,  before  Caesar  could 
have  the  means  of  either  obstructing  your  march, 
or  of  cutting  off  my  communication  with  you.  I 
therefore,  in  the  most  earnest  manner,  repeat  to 
you  my  former  orders,  to  take  the  very  first  op- 
portunity of  marching  to  Luceria,  before  the 
troops,  which  Caesar  proposes  to  draw  together, 
can  intercept  our  communication  with  one  ano- 
ther. Should  any  endeavour  to  persuade  you  to 
remain  as  a  guard  to  their  properties,  you  cannot 
in  justice  refuse  to  send  me  the  cohorts  which 
came  from  Picenum  and  Camerinum,  and  which 
have  left  behind  them  all  their  fortunes. 


Cnaus  the  Great,  Proconsul,  to  Domitius,  Proconsul, 

uisheth  Prosperity/. 

m 

M.  Calenius  brought  me  a  letter  from  you 
the  l6th  of  February,  informing  me,  that  you  in- 
tended to  observe  Caesar's  motions ;  and  should 
he  direct  his  march  to  me  by  sea,  that  you  would 
speedily  join  me  in  Samnium  ;  but  should  he  tarry 
in  this  neighbourhood,  that  you  would  resolutely 
oppose  him,  in  case  he  should  attempt  to  extend 
his  quarters.  I  am  sensible  this  resolution  pro- 
teeds  from  your  courage  and  magnanimity ;  but 

we 


we  must  be  upon  our  guard,  lest  our  being  di- 
vided may  give  the  enemy  a  superiority,  as  his 
army,   which    is    already   strong,    is   hourly  in- 
creasing.    It  is  inconsistent  with  your  wisdom, 
to  have  an  eye  only  to  the  number   of  cohorts, 
which  C^sar  at  present  commands  against  you, 
without' reflecting  upon  the  great  force  both  of 
cavalry  and  infantry,  which  he  will  in  a  very  short 
time  assemble.     The  letter  I  received  from  Bus- 
senius,  is  an  evidence  of  this  fact ;  for  he  tells 
me,  and  his  intelligence  is  confirmed  by  my  other 
correspondents,   that   Curio   has   drawn  all   the 
garrisons  out  of  Umbria   and  Tuscany,   and  is 
marching  at  their  head  to  join  Caesar.     Now, 
should  all  those  troops  join,  so  that  part  should 
be  detached  towards  Alba,  and  part  of  them  de- 
file towards  you,  the  consequence  will  be,  that 
you  will  not  be  able  to  attack,  and  the  enemy,  in 
order  to  succeed,  need  only  to  act  on  the  defen- 
sive ;  neither  can  you  singly,  in  the  face  of  such 
forces,  send  out  parties  to  maintain  or  to  forage 
your  army.     I  therefore,  again,    earnestly  con- 
jure you,   speedily  to  march  all  your,  troops  to 
this  place.     The  consuls  have  come  to  the  same 
resolution. 

I  ordered  Metuscilius  to  acquaint  you,  how 
necessary  it  was  for  me  to  take  care,  that  the 
two  legions  should  not,  without  the  Picentine 
battalions,  come  in  sight  of  Caesar's  quarters. 
You  are,  therefore,  to  give  yourself  no  concern,  if 

you 


190 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


191 


Ih 


you  shall  hear,  that  I  retreat,  upon  Caesar  s  ad- 
vancing against  me.  I  must  take  care  not  to  be 
surrounded;  for,  both  the  season  of  the  year, 
and  the  disposition  of  my  soldiers,  render  it 
impracticable  for  me  to  form  a  regular  encamp- 
ment; nor  would  it  be  advisable  for  me  to  draw 
all  our  garrisons  from  the  fortified  places,  lest  I 
should  be  cut  off  from  all  retreat.  I  have,'  there- 
fore, assembled  no  more  than  fourteen  cohorts 
at  Luceria.  The  consuls  are  either  to  join  me 
with  the  troops  they  have  drawn  from  the  fortified 
towns,  or  they  are  to  go  to  Sicily.  For  we  must 
either  have  an  army  strong  enough  to  force  our 
way  through  the  enemy,  or  we  must  take  posses- 
sion of  such  passes  as  they  cannot  force.  Now, 
faeither  of  these  expedients  is  practicable  for 
us  at  this  juncture,  both  because  Cajsar  is  master 
of  trreat  part  of  Italy,  and  because  our  army  is 
neither  so  well  provided,  nor  so  numerous  as 
his.  We  are  thereibre  to  be  tlie  more  cautious 
of  exposing  our  country.  I  again  and  again 
conjure  you  instantly  to  join  me  with  all  your 
troops.  We  may  yet  restore  the  government,  if 
we  act  in  concert  with  another;  but  by  being 
xiissipated,  we  shall  become  weak ;  such  are  my 
sentiments. 

P,  S.  When  I  had  finished  this  letter,  Sica  de- 
livered to  me  your  letter  and  coumiission,  exhort- 
inc£  me  to  march  towards  Corfinium.  But  that, 
X  think,  is  what  I  cannot  venture  to  do,  especially 

as 


as  I  put  no  great  trust  in  the  fidelity  of  the  legions 
I  command^ 


Cfiteus  the  Great,  Proconsul,  to  Domitius,  Proconsul, 

zoisheth  Prosperity, 

Your  letter  of  February  17th  came  to  my  hand, 
informing  me  of  Caesar's  having  encamped  before 
Corfinium.     I  foresaw,  and  forewarned  you  of 
what  has  happened ;  that  as  things  now  stand, 
he  would  not  venture  to  fight  you,  and  that  he 
would  draw  together  all  his  force,  to  surround 
.you,  and  to  obstruct  the  communication  between 
yoii  and  me,  and  to  prevent  your  joining  the  well 
afifected  troops  you  command,  with  my  suspected 
legions^  Your  letter  alarms  me  the  more,  because 
I  cannot  stake  the  whole  fortune  of  our  country 
upon  the  loyalty  of  the  troops  that  serve  under 
me,  nor  am  I  yet  joined  by  those  the  consuls 
have  levied.     I  therefore  recommend  it  to  you, 
to  do  all  you  can,  if  it  is  now  possible,  to  disen- 
gage yourself,  and  immediately  to  join  me  before 
the  enemy's  junction  can  be  completed:  for  our 
liew  recruits  cannot  march  time  enough  to  this 
rendezvous,  and  though  they  were  already  come 

up, 

^  These  were  the  two  legions  we  have  already  taken  notice 
of,  which  Pompey  obliged  Caesar  to  part  with  under  pret^ce 
of  serving  against  tlie  Partijians, 


192 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS: 


193 


m 


up,  you  are  sensible  how  little  dependence  there 
is  upon  raw  men  who  are  strangers  to  one  ano- 
ther, against  veteran  legions'. 


EPISTLE  XIIL 

The  assistance  of  my  amanuensis,  and  the  short- 
ness of  this  letter  sufficiently  intimate,  that  the 
deflu*jc  of  my  eyes  still  continues;  and  yet,  indeed, 
I  have,  at  present,  nothing  material  to  write  you. 
All  my  hopes  rest  upon  the  accounts  from  Brun- 
dusium.  If  Cffisar  has  had  an  interview  with 
our  friend  Pompey,  I  shall  still  entertain  faint 
hopes  of  an  accommodation  ;  but  if  the  latter  has 
passed  the  sea  without  seeing  him,  I  am  appre- 
hensive of  a  most  destructive  war.  Are  you  not 
now  sensible,  what  a  discerning,  what  a  vigilant, 
what  a  resolute  leader  the  commonwealth  has  to 
contend  with.  Indeed,  if  he  were  to  abstain 
from  massacre  and  rapine,  he  would  become  the 

favourite 

1  If  we  are  to  form  a  judgment  of  Pompey's  conduct  by  what 
our  author  writes  of  him  to  Atticus,  he  must  have  been  a  very 
bad  as  well  as  a  dastardly  soldier.  But  in  fact,  he  was  nei- 
ther.  If  he  had  not  so  great  a  genius  as  Caesar  had,  he  shewed 
himself  to  have  a  true  judgment  in  the  mechanical  part  of  war. 
The  reasons  which  he  gives  in  this  letter  for  his  conduct,  are 
undoubtedly  very  solid,  and  must  have  been  admitted  to  be  so 
^y  our  author,  had  he  not  been  unreasonably  prepossessed 
agiiinst  Pompey's  person. 


favourite  of  those  who  dreaded  him  most.  I 
have  had  a  great  deal  of  talk  with  the  towns- 
men, and  a  great  deal  with  the  country  gentlemen 
in  these  quarters;  and  take  my  word  for  it,  they 
halve  no  concern  but  about  their  lands,  their 
farms,  and  their  monej^  You  see  to  what  a  pass 
things  are  reduced.  They  fear  the  man  they 
trusted;  they  love  the  man  they  feared.  It  is 
with  anguish,  that  I  recollect  the  miscarriages 
and  misconduct  that  have  brought  us  to  this. 
Thus  have  I  given  you  my  sentiments  upon  what 
we  are  to  expect;  and  I  aiA  now  impatient  for 
your  answer.  »     v 


EPISTLE  XIV. 

1  HE  letters  I  daily  send  you  are,  doubtless, 
irksome  to  you,  as  they  give  you  no  fresh  matter 
of  information,  and  as  I  have  now  no  new  sources 
of  reflection.  But  it  would  be  ridiculous  in  me 
to  send  you  couriers  with  blank  letters,  finding, 
after  all  the  pains  I  take  for  information,  that  I 
have  no  subject  to  write  upon.  Now  I  cannot 
bring  myself  to  omit  the  opportunity,  offered  by 
my  own  servants  going  to  Rome,  without  send- 
ing you  a  letter.  And  let  me  tell  you,  I  find 
some  ease  amidst  my  trouble,  in  conversing,  as 
it  were,  with  you ;  and  much  more  in  reading 
Vol.  IL  O  your 


>{ 


194 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


195 


your  letters.  The  truth  is,  ever  since  all  this 
hurry  and  consternation  began,  we  have  not  had 
a  period  so  destitute,  as  this  is,  of  all  matter  for 
writing ;  both  because  there*  is  nothing  new  at 
Rome,  nor  here,  though  we  are  two  or  three 
days  journies  nearer  Brundusium  than  you  are. 
As  to  Brundusium,  the  success  of  these  first  ope- 
rations will  depend  upon  the  blow  that  is  to  be 
struck  there.  I  am  tortured  with  anxiety  about 
the  event ;  but  we  shall  have  more  early  intelli- 
gence than  you. 

For,  I  perceive,  thatPompey  set  out  from  Canu- 
sium  the  morning,  and  Caesar  from  Corfinium  the 
afternoon,  of  the  same  day ;  that  is,  on  the  anni- 
versary of  the  Feralia\  But  Caesar  marches 
with  such  rapidity,  and  quickens  the  movements 
of  his  soldiers  with  such  bounties,  that  I  am 
afraid  he  will  reach  Brundusium  sooner  than  we 
could  wish.  Then,  you  will  say,  to  what  pur- 
pose should  you  anticipate  uneasiness  about  an 
event,  that  you  must  be  certainly  informed  of  in 

three 


I  This  was  a  feast  in  honour  of  the  infernal  gods,  or  the  Dii 
Manes,  and  in  our  author's  time,  it  was  celebrated  on  the  2l8t 
of  Februaryi  It  seems  to  have  obtained  so  universally  amongst 
the  ancients,  that  the  custom  of  carrying  dishes  of  victuals  to 
the  graves  of  dead  friends,  (from  which  custom  the  feast  took 
its  name)  continued  in  the  times  of  Christianity  5  and  I  am  not 
sure,  that  it  is,  even  at  this  time,  quite  abolished  in  some  parts 
of  Christendom. 


three  days  ?    Why,  that  is  true  ;  but  as  I  have 
already  said,  I  love  to  converse  with  you. 

You  must  know,  at  the  same  time,  that  I  am 
now  wavering  in  the  resolution  which  I  thought 
had  been  entirely  fixt.     The  precedents  which 
you  approve  of,  have  not  weight  enough  to  deter- 
mine  me.     Shew  me  a  bold  action  performed  bjr 
any  one  of  the  men  you  quote  for  their  country 
hitherto ;  and  how  are  we  to  look  for  any  glo- 
rious resolution  from  them  hereafter  ?     Nor,  in- 
deed, do  I  think  those  men  are  to  be  mentioned 
with  applause,  who,  in  order  to  carry  on  the  war, 
have  crossed  the  sea,  though,  it  is  true,   Caesar's 
proceedings  are  intolerable.     For,  I  foresee,  what 
a  dreadful,  what  a  pernicious  war  this  will  prove. 
But  there  is  one  man  who  influences  me,  the  man 
whom  it  becomes  me  to  attend  in  his  flight,  or 
to  join  in  his  attempts  to  retrieve  the  constitu- 
tion.    What  say  you,  will  you  never  fix  to  one 
point  ?     Indulge  me  my  friend ;  I  commune  with 
you,  as  I  do  with  my  own  heart,  and  is  it  not  na- 
tural for  every  man  in  so  critical  a  situation,  to 
be  irresolute  and  fluctuating  ?     I  am  desirous  at 
the  same  time  to  elicit  your  sentiments ;  if  they 
are  still  the  same,  they  will  fix  me ;   if  they  are 
changed,  I  will  agree  with  you. 

It  is  absolutely  necessary  for  me,  before  I  can 
come  to  a  fixed  resolution,  to  know  what  mea- 
sures Domitius  and  our  friend  Lentulus  will  take. 
We  have  different  accounts  concerning  Domitius. 

O  g  Sometimes 


■i\\ 


/ 


m 


CICtRO^S  EPISTLES 


Sometimes  that  he  is  at  Tiburtum,   the  house  of 
Lepidus',   and  that  he  is  to  set  out  with  Lepidus 
from  thence ;  but  this  too  I  perceive  to  be  a  false 
report.     For  Lepidus  reports,  that  Domitius  has 
retreated  along  bye-roads,  though  he  is  uncertain 
whether  to  conceal  himself  or  to  escape  by  sea. 
He  knows  nothing  of  the  younger  Domitius.     To 
this  he  adds  another  grievous  event,  namely,  that 
the  elder  Domitius  had  a  considerable  sum -of 
money  seized  at  Corfinium,  which  never  was  re- 
turned him^     As  to   Lentulus,   I  hear  nothing 
concerning  him.     I  beg  you  would  inquire  after 
these  matters,  and  write  to  me  what  you  can 
learn. 


EPISTLE  XV. 

0  s  the  3d  of  March,  Egypta  delivered  to  mc 
fcopies'  of  several  letters  from  you.  The  first 
was  dated  the  26th  of  February,  which  you  say, 
Vou  gave  to  Pinarius,  and  which  I  have  not  seen. 
^      "  In 


^    i  The  original  here  is  irretrievable,  so  that  I  must  supply  it 

by  conjecture, 

.".«  Tliis  seems  not  to  have  been  true  j  for  Caesar  himself  as- 
sures us  (in  BeUo  Civili,  Lib.  i.  cap.  22.)  that  he  restored  to 
Domitius  all  his  money,  though  he  knew  it  had  been  given 
him  by  Pompeyj  for  paying  his  soldiers. 

<  Orig.  Epistolas  mihi  tuas.    They  seem  however  only  to 
have  been  copies. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


197 


fo  that  you  tell  me,  that  you  are  impatient  con- 
cerning the  success  of  the  commission  with  which 
Vibullius*  is  charged ;  but  is  certain,  that  Vibullius 
was  noteven  seen  by  Caesar,  (I  perceive,  by  your 
next  letter,  that  you  know  this  last  circumstance 
to  be  true)  and  that  you  are  impatient  to 
know  in  what  manner  I  shall  receive  Caesar  upon 
his  return.  I  am,  you  must  know,  by  all  means, 
determined  to  avoid  him.  I  think  vou  are  in  the 
right  in  your  resolution"  to  retire  to  your  estate 
in  Caonia,  and  to  alter  your  sphere  of  life.  You 
say,  you  are  ignorant  whether  or  not  Domitius^ 
has  declined  his  badges  of  authority.  When  you 
do,  let  me  know.  . 

So  much  for  your  first  letter ;  your  two  next, 
which  came  to  my  hands,  both  of  them  dated  the 
last  of  February,  have  quite  unhinged  my  former 
resolution,  which,  as  I  wrote  you  before,  was 
then  wavering.  I  am  not  moved  by  your  expres- 
sion, that  Pompei)  is  so  tnragtd^  as  not  to  spare 

even 

^  He  was  one  of  those  who  were  taken  prisoners  at  Corfi- 
nium, and,  notwithstanding  what  Cicero  says  here,  Csesar  cer- 
tainly saw  him  (Vide  Bell.  Civ.  Ibid.)  and  very  probably 
charged  him  with  such  a  commission  as  is  here  mentioned  for 
Pompey. 

2  The  original  here  is  incorrigibly  corrupted. 

3  He  was  entitled  to  have  lictors,  and  tlie  badges  of  authority, 
by  being  named  to  be  Caesar's  successor  in  the  government  of 
the  Transalpine  Gaul.  If  he  dismissed  that  distinction,  it 
was  a  sign  that  he  approved  of  Caesar's  pretensions,  and  would 
have  been  an  excellent  excuse  for  our  author  to  have  done  the 
same. 


198  CICERO'S  EPISTLES 

even  Jupiter  himself.    For  our  danger  is  equal 
from  the  resentment  of  either  party.     Victory 
does  not  incline  to  the  side  of  justice,  but  to     - 
Ceesar,  whose  superior  promptitude  commands 
success.      Even   the    conduct    of    the    consuls 
makes  no  impression  upon  me ;  for  they  are  as 
easily   moved  as  a  leaf,   or  a  feather.     What  I 
owe    to  myself  and  my    country,    is    the  con- 
sideration that    gives   me,   and   has  given   me, 
all  my  pangs.     Caution  clearly  requires  my  re- 
maining in  Italy,   but  the  voice  of  honour  seems 
to  call  me  to  leave  it ;  and  I  am  sometimes  in- 
clined to  prefer,  that  the  many  should  reproach 
me  for  want  of  caution,  than  that  the  few  should 
blame  me  for  want  of  honour.     As  to  what  you 
inquire  concerning   Lepidus    and  TuUus,   they 
have  agreed  without  any   hesitation,    to  be  at 
CjBsaf  s  devotion,  and  to  assist  in  the  senate. 

Your  last  letter  is  dated   the   1st  of  March, 
and  in  it  you  wish  for  an  interview,  and  do  not 
despair  of  an  accommodation  between  Caesar  and 
Pompey.     But,  in  my  present  way  of  thinking, 
I  cannot  believe  that  there  will  be  any  interview, 
or  if  there  is,  that  Pompey  will  agree  to  any 
terms.     You  make  no  doubt  that  I  can  be  at 
po  loss,  in  what  manner  to   determine  myself, 
should  the  consuls  abandon  this  country;  that 
they  will  do   this  is  beyond  all  doubt,    and  it 
is  probable  they  are  already  gone.     But  you  are 
to  remember,  that,  excepting  Appius,  every  great 

officer 


TO  ATTICUS. 


199 


officer  of  the  republic  who  attends  him,  has  the 
right  of  leaving  the  country.  For  every  one  of 
them  has  either  a  command  that  authorizes 
him  to  do  so,  such  as  Pompey,  Scipio,  Setenas, 
Fannius,  Voconius,  Sestius,  and  the  consuls  them- 
selves, (whose  commissions,  in  the  terms  of  our 
ancestors,  allow  them  to  vfsit  any  province  in 
the  empire,)  or  they  are  lieutenants  to  those  who 
bear  such  commissions.  But  on  this  I  will  be  si- 
lent ;  I  understand  your  sentiments,  and  I  am 
now  at  little  or  no  loss  concerning  my  own  duty. 
This  letter  should  be  longer  were  I  able  to  write 
with  my  own  hand ;  but  I  am  in  hopes  of  recovering 
in  a  few  days.  I  send  you  a  copy  of  a  letter  from 
Balbus  Cornelius,  which  I  received  the  same  day 
with  yours,  in  which  you  will  see  how  much  I 
am  to  be  pitied,  when  he  thus  presumes  to  insuH 
my  understanding*. 


Balbus  to  Cicero,  Commander  in  Chief,  wisheth 

Prosperity, 

I  CONJURE  you,  my  dear  friend,  to  undertake 
the  important  office  so  suitable  to  your  talents 
and  virtue;  of  reconciling  Caesar  and  Pompey, 
and,  divided  as  they  now  are  by  the  treachery  of 

evil 

1  In  endeavouring  to  make  him  berieve,  that  Caesar  was  well 
.disposed  to  an  accommodation  with  Pompey. 


I'-.'- 


200 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


evil  disposed  persons,   of  uniting  them  in  their 
former  harmony  and  friendship.     Caesar,  believe 
me,  will  not  only  submit  to  your  decisions,   but 
will  even  own  himself  indebted  to  you   in   the 
highest  degree,  if  you  will  attempt  this  reconci- 
liation.      Had  Pompey  but  the  same  disposition. 
— But  it  is  rather  my  wish  than  my  belief,  that, 
at  this  juncture,  he  can  be  brought  to  any  accom- 
modation.    But  should  he  suspend  his  retreat, 
and  recover  from  his  consternation,  I  should  then 
begin  to  hope  that  he  would  be  greatly  influenced 
by  your  counsels. 

With  your  opinion,  that  the  consul  Lentulus 
ought  to  remain  in  Italy,  Caesar  is  well  pleased; 
to  me,  I  aver,  it  affords  the  highest  pleasure.  For 
xnj  respect  and  affection  for  that  consul  equal 
those  I  feel  for  Caesar  himself     Had   Lentulus 
indulged  me  in  my  usual  familiarity  with  him,  had 
he  not  again  and  again  avoided  conversation  with 
me,  I  should,  this  hour,  have  been  less  unhappy 
than  I  am.     For  you  are  not  to  imagine  that  any 
thing  gives  me  greater  pain  at  this  time,  than  to 
see  the  man  I  love  beyond  myself,  a  consul  with- 
out the  badges  of  that  oflice.     But  should  he  in- 
cline to   your  admonitions,  should  he  trust  me 
concerning  Cesar's  sentiments,  should  he  pass 
the  remaining  time  of  his  consulship  in  Rome, 
then  should  1  begin  to  hope  that  the  authority  of 
the   senate,   your   motions,    and  his  mediation, 
might  effect  a  reconciliation  between  Pompey 

and 


TO  ATTICUS. 


201 


and  Cffisar.     Were  this  to  take  place,  I  should  no 
longer  feel  anxious  to  continue  in  life. 

I  know  you  will  approve  of  Caesafs  beha^ 
viour^  at  Corfinium.  Nothing  surely  could  give 
him  greater  advantage  upon  such  an  occasion, 
than  to  prevent  the  smallest  effusion  or  blood. 
I  am  extremely  pleased  to  think  that  the  visit  of 
our  common  friend  Balbus  was  so  agreeable  to 
you.  I  know  that  he  will  substantiate  every  thing 
he  has  said  concerning  Caesar,  and  every  thing 
that  Caesar  haJ?  written,  whatever  ma^  be  the 
event 


EPISTLE  XVI. 

X  HAVE  now  got  every  thing  ready,  excepting  a 
secret,  and  a  safe,  passage  to  the  Adriatic  sea; 
for  it  is  impossible  for  me,  at  this  season  of  the 
year,  to  pass  by  the  Tuscan.  But,  by  what  means 
shall  I  arrive  at  the  place  to  which  my  wishes  and 
my  circumstances  point  ?  For  my  dispatch  must 
be  quick,  lest  some  incident  should  distract  and 
impede  me.  It  is  not  Pompey,  as  is  generally 
supposed,  who  influences  me :  he  is  a  man  whom, 
for  a  long  time,   I  have  judged  to  be  void  of  all 

political. 


^  Fix.  The  unparalleled  clemeqcy  with  which  he  used  his 
conquest. 


202 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


203 


political,  and  I  judge  him  now  to  be  no  less  void 
of  all  military  accomplishments.  It  is  not,  I  say, 
he  who  influences  me,  it  is  the  public  talk  of 
which  Philotimus  informs  me  in  his  letters.  For 
he  tells  me,  that  I  am  reprobated  by  the  men  of 
rank,  wfio,  indeed,  have  no  claim  to  this  longer 
distinction,  as  having  flocked  around  Caesar,  and 
sold  to  him  their  lives  and  fortunes. 

The  municipal  towns  regard  him  as  a  divine 
being,  but  without  the  insincerity  they  shewed/ 
when  they  offered  up  public  prayers  for  Pompey's 
recovery.  But  as  much  merit  has  been  made  of 
the  mischief,  which  the  second  Pisistratus  has 
not  done,  as  if  he  had  prevented  its  being  com- 
mitted by  another.  People  hope  from  the  cle- 
mency of  Caesar;  they  fear  from  the  wrath  of 
Pompey.  What  concourse  from  the  towns  to 
meet  Csesar !  What  honours  they  pay  him  ! 
They  fear  him,  pu  tell  me.  I  believe  they  do, 
but  not,  indeed,  so  much  as  they  do  Pompey. 
They  are  charmed  with  the  insiduous  clemency 
of  the  one,  and  daunted  by  the  implacable  re- 
sentment of  the  other.  I,  every  day,  see  some 
one  or  other  of  the  eight  hundred  and  fifty 
judges\  who  were  devoted  to  our  friend  Pompey, 

and 

*  These  judges  had  been  named  by  Pompey.  Three  hun- 
dred of  them  were  of  the  senatorial  order,  and  the  rest  were 
knights,  or  commissioners'  of  the  treasury. 


and  who  are  terrified  by  some  fulminating  edicts 
at  Luceria,  of  which  I  have  no  knowledge  ^ 

Let  me  therefore  ask  you,  who  these  men  of 
quality  are  who  are  for  forcing  me  away,  and  yet 
can  remain  quiet  in  their  own  homes  ?  But,  who- 
ever they  are,  I  am  afraid  of  public  censure.*  Yet 
I  am  sensible  what  I  am  to  hope  from  those  to 
whom  I  am  going,  and  that  I  am  about  to  join 
a  man  who  bids  fairer  to  plunder  than  to  conquer 
Italy.  What  then  do  I  look  for?  On  the  2d  of 
March  I  look  for  some  news  from  Brundusium. 
But  what  kind  of  news  ?  The  shameful  manner 
in  which  Pompey  has  fled  from  thence,  and  the 
progress  and  marches  of  his  conqueror.  When 
I  shall  hear  any  thing  certain,  if  Caesar  should 
come  by  the  Appian  road,  I  will  retire  to  Ar- 
pinum. 


CICERO'S 


^  He  publidy  declared  that  he  would  hold  all  neutral  per- 
sons to  be  traitors  to  their  country. 

2  Orig.  ailioyMi  T^uxs.  I  fear  the  Trojans.  Cicero  here  in» 
timates,  that  the  censure  of  the  aristocratic  party,  in  the  peace 
and  security  of.  their  own  houses,  was  as  unreasonable  as  that 
which  the  Trojans,  who  were  secured  within  the  walls,  would 
have  passed  upon  Hector,  had  he,  in  compliance  with  the  en- 
treaties of  his  wife,  declined  any  longer  to  exert  himself  in  behalf 
of  the  city. — E. 


.1 


li 


r    ■ '  «  " 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO 


ATTICUS. 


BOOK  IX. 


EPISTLE    I. 


JL  HOUGH,  by  the  time  this  letter  came  to  your 
hand,  I  imagine  I  may  know  what  has  past  at 
Brundusium,  (for  Pompey  went  from  Canusium 
the  2d  of  February,  and  I  write  this  on  the  7th 
of  March,  the  fourteenth  day  after)  yet  I  am 
tortured  by  impatience  to  know*  the  event  of 
every  hour.  I  am  surprised  that  I  have  not 
heard  so  much  as  a  rumour  from  that  place, — 
Surely  this  silence  is  very  unaccountable.  But 
perhaps  I  now  torture  myself  to  no  purpose. 
But  it  cannot  be  long  before  the  pains  of 
suspense  terminates. 

There  is  another  thing  which  gives  me  pain.    I 


can. 


206 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


can,  by  no  means,  learn  where  our  friend  Len- 
tulus,  and  where  Domitius  are.     1  want  to  know, 
that  1  may  the  more  easily  learn  how  they  intend 
to  proceed ;  whether  they  are  to  join  Pompey ; 
and  if  they  are,  which  way,  or  when  ?     At  pre- 
sent I  hear  that  the  city  is  crowded  with  men  of 
quality ;  and  that  Sosius  and  Lupus,  whom  our 
friend  Pompey  thought  would  be  at  Brundusium 
before  himself,  act  upon  the  Praetorian  bench  at 
Rome\     The  people  flock   from  this  place  to 
Rome,  and  even  Manius  Lepidus,   with  whom 
I  used  to  spend  the  day,  thinks  of  repairing  thi- 
ther to-morrow.   As  to  myself,  I  shall,  that  I  may 
be  nearer  the  source  of  information,  remain  at 
Formic,  and  then  I  design  to   go  to  Arpinum, 
from  thence  to  set  out  for  the  Adriatic  by  the 
jnost  private  road,   having  first  quitted,   or  en- 
tirely dismissed,    my  Lictors.     For  I  hear  that 
a  great  many  men  of  honour,  who  now  serve  their 
country,  and  who  have  often  greatly  served  her 
before,  are  disgusted  with  my  lingering  here,  and 
that  they  reflect  with  severity  upon  my  conduct, 
especially  when  they  sit  down  to  their  seasonable 

meals  % 

We 

*  This  news  appears  to  have  been  false. 

*  Orig,  Multaque  in  me,  ct  severe  in  convivih  tempestivis 
quidam  disputan.  The  whole  passage  appears  ironical.  These 
worthy  patriots  censured  his  conduct,  while  they  did  their  coun- 
try no  other  service  than  talking  of  political  measures  over  their 

feasts^ 


TO  ATTICUS. 


£07 


We  will  then  go.  To  merit  the  character  of 
Patriots,  I  will  invade  Italy  by  land  and  sea, 
and  rekindle,  against  myself,  the  hatred  of  the 
wicked,  which  was  before  extinguished.  In 
§hort,  I  will  be  guided  by  the  counsels  of  Luc- 
ceius  and  Theophanes\  For  Scipio  can  excuse 
himself  either  by  his  appointment  to  go  to  Syria, 
or  by  the  honourable  plea  of  standing  by  his  son- 
in-law,  or  by  fear,  for  avoiding  Csesar.  As  to 
the  Marcelli,  they  would  have  staid  in  Italy,  but 
for  the  dread  of  Caesar's  arms.  Appius  is  influ- 
enced by  the  same  motive,  and  by  some  later 
cause§  of  disgust  he  has  given  to  Caesar ;  and  all 
the  rest,  himself,  and  Caius  Cassius  excepted, 
are  lieutenants ;  Faustus  is  proquestor ;  and  I 
was  the  only  one  who  have  the  liberty  of  choice. 

My  brother  will  attend  me,  though  it  is  hard 
tliat  he  should  be  the  companion  of  my  fortunes 
as  Caesar  will  be  more  particularly  incensed 
against  him.  But  I  cannot  prevail  with  him  to 
stay  behind.  Well,  we  will  repay  Pompey  all 
that  we  owe  him ;  for  no  consideration,  but  that 
of  his  person,   influences  me;  not  even  the  talk 

of 


feasts,  virhich  came  always  in  its  season,  without  reflecting  on 

the  hardships  of  those,  who  without  sufficient  food  and  dothing 

were  engaged  in  the  actual  services  of  war. — E. 

1  These  were  two  great  confidents  of  Pompey.    The  reading 

here  is  rather  extraordinary,  for  our  author  puts  Theophani  as 

the  genitive.  ©fcXheophanes.     Several  instances  of  the  like  kind 
•ccur. 


I 


\ 


CICERO'S 'EPISTLES 


/ 


20B 

of  those  who  arc  patriots  only  in  name ;  nor 
the  cause  itself,  the  conduct  of  which  is  as  mar- 
ked with  cowardice,  as  its  end  must  be  ruinous. 
Such  is  the  sacrifice  I  make  to  Pompey,  and  to 
Pompey  only,  and  that  without  solicitation, 
though  he  says  that  he  fights,  not  for  himself,  but 
for  his  country.  I  am  impatient  to  know  whe- 
ther you  are  determined  to  remove  to  Epirus. 


EPISIXE    II. 


Though  I  looked  for  a  long  letter  from  you, 
on  the  7th  of  March,   which,  if  I  mistake  not, 
is  the  day  of  your  confinement,   yet  I  write  this 
in  answer  to  the  short  line  which  you  wrote  me 
the  5th,  some  time  before  your  fit     You  tell  me 
YOU  are  very  well  pleased  at  my  remaimng  m 
Italy    and  you  continue  still  in  your  former  sen- 
timents.    Now  I  understood,  from  your  former 
letters,  that  you  were   positive  as  to  my  sailing, 
if  Pompev  should  carry  any  considerable  force 
out  of  Italy,    and  if  the  consuls  should  attend 
him      Can  this  be  owing  to   your  forgetfulness, 
to  my  misunderstanding,  or  to  a  change  in  your 
opinion  ?     But  I   shall   either    know  your  real 
meaning,  by  the  letter  which  I  expect  from  you, 
or  learn  it  by  a  subsequent  one. 

We  have    yet    no  news    from    Brundusium. 


TO  ATTlCUi 


205 


kow  difficult,  how  desperate,  is  my  situation  ? 
How  very  minute  you  are  in  laying  its  particu- 
lars before  me  ;  but  how  vague  in  explaining 
your  sentiments  as  to  the  conduct  I  ought  to  fol* 
low  ?  You  compliment  me  upon  my  not  going 
along  with  Pompey,  and  yet  you  hold  forth  the 
disgrace  of  being  present  in  the  senate,  where  I 
could  not,  with  decency,  approve  of  any  mea- 
sures which  shall  be  proposed  against  him.  Then 
surely  I  must  throw  myself  into  the  opposition. 
May  heaven,  say  you,  guide  you.  What  then 
can  be  done  if  the  one  measure  is  attended  with 
guilt,  and  the  other  with  punishment  You  will 
obtain,  say  you,  from  Caesar,  a  liberty  to  be 
absent,  and  to  live  at  your  ease.  Must  I  then 
petition  him  for  such  a  liberty  ?  How  wretched! 
What  if  I  should  not  obtain  it. — • 

You  will  tell  me  likewise,  that  I  shall  thereby 
preserve  my  claims  to  a  triumph.  But,  what  if 
Caesar  should  press  me  to  accept  of  it  Shall  I 
accept  of  it?  That  would  be  disgraceful.  Shall 
I  refuse  it?  He  will  then  think  that  I  have  aa 
aversion  for  all  he  does,  more  than  he  formerly 
did  in  the  case  of  the  twenty  commissioners  \  In 
exculpating  himself,  he  usually  throws  on  me  all 
the  errors  of  those  times,  and  tells  me,  that  I 
had  such  an  aversion  to  him^   that  I  would  not 

even 


1  See  vol.  i.  p.  113. 

Vol.  II. 


oiO  CICERO'S  EPISTLES 

even  accept  of  a  place  of  honour  under  him. 
But  how  much  more  will  he  now  be  exasperated 
as  the  honour  of  a  triumph  is  more  glorious,  and 
he  himself  more  powerful !  ,     ,      .    .  t 

You  tell  me,  that  you  make  no   doubt  that  1 
am  out  of  all  favour,  with  Pompey,  at  this  time. 
I  can  see  no  reason  for  that,  at  least,  if  we  con- 
sider circumstances.     After  he  had  lost  Corfini- 
um,  he  imparted  to  me  his  resolution ;  and  will 
he    blame  me  for  not  coming  to  Brundusium 
though  CjEsar  lay  betxveen  me  and  that  town  ? 
In  the  next  place,   he  is  conscious  that  it  very 
ill  becomes  him  who  is  so  much  in  the  wrong 
to  reproach  others,   and  he   knows  that  I  saw 
fartiier,  than  he  did,   into  the  weak  state  of  the 
municipal  towns  and  the  newly  raised  armies ; 
that  I  wa.  right  in  the  advice  1  gave  on  the  sub- 
jects of  accommodation,    the  city,    the   public 
money,  and  gaining  the  possession  of  Picenuiii. 
But  if,  when  I  am  at  liberty,   I  should  not  at- 
tend  him,  then  is  his  time  for  being  my  enemy. 
That,  however,   would  give  me  no  pain  on  ac- 
count of  what  I  might  suffer.     For  what  evil  is 
it  in  his  power  to  do  me  > 

He  can  have  no  slavish  fear  of  man,  ivho  stands 
not  inj'ear  of  death'.  g^^. 

'    .  Ori,.  r.V  ...  W,  r.  S....  «?eo.- .V.  TTus  fine  verse  U 
preserved  by  Plutarch,  and  ascribed  to  Eunp.des      V.rgd  al 
E'To  the  same  sentiment  in  the  foUowmg  words  of  D.do. 

quetn  t'mui  moritura.-^^" 


TO  ATTICUS. 


211 


But  the%harge  of  ingratitude  fills  me  with  horror, 
I  therefore  hope  that,  as  you  write,  he  will  glad- 
ly receive  me,  whenever  I  shall  determine  to  join 
him. 

You  tell  me,  that  you  would  be  more  cautious 
in  giving  me  advice,  if  Caesar  should  proceed 
with  moderation.  But  how  can  he  proceed  other- 
wise than  in  a  desperate  manner?  Think  upoa 
his  life,  his  manners,  his  past  conduct,  his  pre- 
sent proceedings,  his  associates,  and  how  he  will 
be  exasperated  by  the  power,  and  even  by  the 
inflexibility,  of  our  patriots. 

Scarcely  had  I  read  your  letter,  when  Post- 
humus  Curtius  came  to  me,  in  great  haste,  on 
his  way  to  Caesar,  with  nothing  on  his  tongue, 
but  the  victories  of  Caesar  by  land  and  sea. — 
Caesar  has  conquered  Spain,  he  possesses  Asia,  x 
Sicily,  Africa,  and  Sardania,  and  now  he  is  pur- 
suing his  enemies  into  Greece.— If  this  is  true, 
and  should  I  follow  Pompey,  it  would  not  be  to 
assist  him  in  fighting,  but  in  flying.  And  indeed 
I  cannot  bear  the  talk  of  those— what  shall  I  call 
them  ?— For  surely  they  are  not  patriots,  as  they 
affect  to  be  called.  And  yet  I  cannot  help  being 
curious  to  know  what  they  say,  and  I  beg  you, 
in  the  most  earnest  manner,  to  learn  what  it  is, 
and  to  inform  me  of  it.  As  yet,  I  am  an  abso- 
ute  stranger  to  what  has  happened  at  Brundu- 
sium.    I  shall  be  determined  by  that  event,  and 

PS.  the 


ii 


212 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


SI  3 


the  circumstances  of  the  time.     But  I  will  do  no- 
thing  without  consulting  you. 


EPISTLE   III. 

The  younger  Domitius,    on  the  8th   instant, 
Avent  by  this  place   to  Formiae,  in  haste,  to  see 
his  mother  at  Naples;  and,  upon  Dionysius,  one 
of  my   slaves  being  importunate   with   him  for 
news,   he  ordered   him  to  acquaint  me,   that  his 
lather  was  at  Rome.     Now,    I  had  intelligence 
that  he  was  gone  either   to  Pompey  or  to  Spain. 
1  wish  I  knew  the  truth  of  this.     For  it  is  of  im- 
portance to  my  present  difficulties,    if  Domitius 
is  not  yet  gone,    that  Pompey  should   know  that 
it  is  no  easy  matter  for  me  to  leave  Italy,  espe- 
cially in  the  winter  time,  and,  filled  as  it  is,  with 
Caesar's  armies  and  garrisons.     For  if  the  season 
were  more  favourable,  I  would  pass  over  by  the 
Tuscan  sea,  whereas  now  I  can  only  go  by  the 
Adriatic,  and  my  passage  to  it  is  shut  up.     You 
will  therefore  inform  yourself  both  as  to  Domitius 

and  Lentulus. 

I  have  as  yet  no  news  from  Brundusium, 
though  this  is  the  9th  of  March,  and  by  my  cal- 
culation, either  this  day  or  yesterday,  Caesar  ar- 
rived at  Brundusium  ;  for,  on  the  1st  of  this 
month,    he  lay  at  Arpi.     If  we  are  to  believe 

Posthumus, 


Posthumus,  he  is  gone  in  pursuit  of  Pompey,  who 
he  thinks,  by  all  he  can  guess  from  the  wind  and 
the  weather,  is  already  sailed.  I  cannot  think 
that  Caesar  will  be  able  to  man  his  transport  ves- 
sels. Posthumus  is  confident  he  can,  on  account 
of  Caesar's  great  character  of  liberality  amongst 
the  seamen.  But  it  is  impossible  I  can  be  long 
ignorant  of  every  thing,  be  what  it  will,  that  is 
past  at  Brundusium. 


EPISTLE  IV. 


jL  HOUGH  I  am  relieved  from  pain,  while  I  am 
writing  to  you,  or  reading  your  letters,  yet  all  my 
subject  is  now  exhausted,  which  I  believe  is  the 
case  with  you  likewise.  As  to  writing  on  private 
familiar  subjects,  the  times  preclude  it,  and  we 
have  exhausted  all  that  can  be  said  upon  public 
matters.  But  that  I  might  not  become  the  prey 
of  indolence  and  ennui,  I  have  taken  in  bands 
some  topics  of  a  political  nature,  but  relating  to 
the  times,  which  may  soften  the  bitterness  of 
complaint,  and  at  the  same  time  contribute  to 
my  improvement.  The  topics  I  mean,  I  will  pro- 
pose to  you  in  the  form  of  queries. 

Whether  a  man  ought  to  continue  in  a  country 
that  has  fallen  under  the  power  of  a  tyrant?  Whe- 
ther in  such  a  case,  the  downfall  of  the  tyranny  is 

not 


It 


214 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


to  be  attempted,  even  at  the  risk  of  the  very 
being  of  the  state  ?     Whether  it  may  not  be  pro- 
per to  watch  the  ambition  of  the  man,  who  over- 
throws an  usurper  ?     Whether  it  is  no  I  the  duty 
of  a  citizen,  when  his  country  is  oppressed,  to 
assist  her  by  his  wisdom  and  address  rather  than 
by  arms  ?     Whether  it  is  consistent  with  the  cha- 
racter of  a  good  patriot,  to  retire,  and  to  be  at  his 
ease,  while  his  country  is  enslaved  ?  Whether  any 
danger  is  too  great  to  be  hazarded  for  our  country? 
Whether,  when  she  is  enslaved,  we  ought  not  to 
march  in  arms  against  her  and  even  attack  her 
walls  ?  Whether  the  man  who  disapproves  of  re- 
sisting tyranny  by  arms,  ought  to  be  numbered  in 
the  list  of  patriots  ?  Whether  we  ought  not  to  risk 
all  dangers  for  our  oountry,  in  common  with  our 
benefactors  and  friends,  though  they  be  funda- 
mentally wrong  in  their  measures  ?    Whether  the 
man  who  has  greatly  served  his  country,  and  has 
thereby  incurred  the  severest  penalties  and  ha- 
tred, is  bound  in  duty  to  offer  her  his  services  in 
her  succeeding  dangers  ?     Whether  it  is  lawful 
for  him  out  of  regard  for  himself  and  his  family, 
to  decline  joining  in  the  opposition  made  to  usur- 
pation. 

Such  are  the  subjects  in  which  I  exercise  my- 
self, disputing  on  both  sides,  sometimes  in  Greek, 
sometimes  in  Latin,  and  thereby  gradually  wean- 
ing my  mind  from  its  uneasiness,  by  applying 
the  whole  to  my  present  case.      But  I  am  afraid, 

I  shall 


TO  ATTICUS. 


215 


I  shall  become  burdensome  to  you.  For,  if  the 
bearer  of  this  letter  proceeds  directly,  you  will 
receive  it  on  the  very  day  in  which  your  fit  re- 
turns. 


EPISTLE  V. 


The  letter  which  you  wrote  me  upon   your 
birth-day,  was  full  of  sound  wisdom,  tempered 
with  great  affection  and  true  prudence.     I  re- 
ceived it  from  Philotimus  the  day  after  he  had  it 
from  you.     The  matters  you  touch  upon  are  of 
the  most  difficult  nature.     To  get  to  the  Adriatic 
—To  sail  on  the  Tuscan  sea— My  going  to  Arpi- 
num— The  danger  of  appearing  to  fly  from  Cae- 
sar— Of  throwing  myself  in  his  way,  to  compli- 
ment him,  should  1  remain  at  Formiae. — But  the 
most  wretched  circumstance  is,  that  I  have  lived 
to  this  sad  day,  in  which  I  witness  what  I  cannot 
help,  the  miseries  that  thicken  every  hour.     Pos- 
thumus  has  been  with  me.     I  wrote  to  you  before, 
what  an  air  of  importance  he  wore.     Fusius  like- 
wise came  to  me,  with  strange  looks,  in  high  spi- 
rits, and  in  great  haste   to  reach   Brundusium, 
sometimes  railing  at  Pompey  s  treason,  and  some- 
times at  the  Senate's  want  of  resolution  and  wis- 
dom.    If  I  cannot  bear  such  insolence   in  my 

villa, 


216 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


villa,  can  I  bear  it  of  Curtius^  in  the  senate, 
But  suppose  I  >yere  to  bear  this  with  patience, 
what  will  be  the  event,  when  my  sentiments  are 
formally  demanded  in  the  senate  ?  I  shall  not 
here  speak  of  the  cause  of  our  country,  which  I 
think  to  be  irretrievable,  not  more  from  her 
wounds,  than  the  remedies  that  has  been  applied 
to  them.  But  I  ask  you,  how  I  am  to  conduct 
myself  in  respect  to  Pompey  ? 

It  signifies  nothing  for  me  to  deny  to  you,  that 
I  am  angry  with  him.     For  the  causes  of  events 
always  affect  \is  more  than  the  events  themselves. 
When  I  reflect,  or  rather  when  I  perceive,  that 
those  calamities  (than  which  none  can  be  greater) 
happened  through  his  misconduct  and  obstinacy, 
1  blame  him  more  than  I  do  Caesar.     Our  ances- 
tors held  the  day,  on   which  the  battle  of  Allia, 
was  fought,  to  be  more  fatal  than  that  on  which 
their  city  was  taken,  because  the  one  calamity 
was  the  necessary  consequence  of  the  other.     For 
this  reason,  the  one  day  is  marked  out  in  the  ca- 
lendar, though  the  other  day  is  not  so  much  as 
known  to  the  public.     Agreeable  to  this  maxim, 
when   I  reflect  upon   his  misconduct,    for   ten 
years,  including  the  year  in  which  my  banishment 
happened,  without  his  endeavouring  to  prevent  it, 
when  I    reflect    upon    his    misconduct,    not  to 
<Tive  it  a  harsher  name  ;  when  I  see  his  rashness, 

his 

I  Curtius  Posthumns  was  a  kind  of  dependant  upon  Cicero, 


TO  ATTICUS. 


.217 


his  indolence,  and  his  negligence,  at  this  period. 
I  cannot  help  giving  vent  to  passion.  But  I  have 
now  got  the  better  of  all  these  reflections.  I  low 
look  back  only  to  the  services  he  has  done  me,  I 
look  back  to  his  dignity  in  the  state.  The  let- 
ters, and  the  language  of  Balbus,  prevented  me 
from  understanding  so  soon  as  I  wish  I  had  done, 
that  Caesar  has  nothing,  that  he  had  nothing,  in 
view,  even  from  the  very  beginning,  but  to  destroy 
Pompey.  You  remember  that  Homer  introduces 
Thetis,  the  mother  of  Achilles,  as  telling  him, 

When  Hector  fallsy  thoudist^ — Let  Hector  die. 
And  let  me  f  ally  Achilles  made  reply. 
Far  lies  Patroclus  from  his  native  plain  I 
He  felly  and  fallings  ivisKd  my  aid  in  vain. 

In  like  manner,  I  ask  you,  how  I  am  to  be- 
have towards  a  man  who  has  been  not  only  my 
friend  but  my  benefactor,  to  a  man  of  his  rank, 
at  the  head  of  such  a  cause.  For  my  own  part, 
I  am  of  opinion  that  such  obligations  ought  to  be 
recompensed  only  by  life  itself. 

As  to  your  pretended  patriots  I  have  no  con- 
fidence in  them ;  I  no  longer  feel  attached  to 
their  cause.  I  see  they  are  going  over  to  Caesar, 
and  will  soon  be  devoted  to  his  interest.  Do  you 
think  that  the  acts  of  the  municipal  towns  for 
public  prayers,  in  behalf  of  Pompey's  recovery, 
were  more  extraordinary  than  their  congratula- 
tions 


218 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


219 


tions  for  Caesar's  victory  ?  This,  you  tell  me, 
proceeds  from  fear  ;  but  they  tell  you,  they  were 
afraid  of  Pompey  likewise.  But  let  us  see  what 
has  been  done  at  Brundusium.  That  may,  per- 
haps, give  rise  to  my  pursuing  other  measures, 
and  writing  more  letters. 


EPISTLE  VL 

Not  a  word  as  yet  from  Brundusium  !     Balbus 
writes  me  from  Rome,  that  he  is  of  opinion,    the 
consul  Lentulus  had  sailed  before  the  younger 
Balbus  could  reach  him  ;  that  he  received  this 
intelligence  at  Canusium,  from  whence  his  ne- 
phew wrote  to  him.     He  adds,    that  the  six  co- 
horts stationed  at  Alba,  had  gone  over  to  Curius 
upon  tlie  Munician  road  ;  that  he  learned  this  by 
a  letter  from  Caesar,  who,  in  a  short  time,   was 
to  be  at  Rome.      I  will  take  your  advice  in  not 
removing  to  Arpinum  at  this  trying  period.     And 
yet  as  I  intended  to  have  given  my  son  his  man- 
ly robe  at  Arpinum,  I  might  have  left  that  as  an 
excuse  to  Ciesar  for  my  departure.     But,  per- 
haps     that  very    circumstance   may    give    hnn 
offence ;  for  why,  did  I  not  rather  perform  that 
ceremony  at  Rome  ?      And  yet,  if  meet  him  I 
must,  I  choose  to  meet  him   here.     As  to  the 
place,  the  manner,   and  the  time  of  meeting  him, 

these  I  shall  determine  hereafter. 

Domitius, 


Domitius,  I  hear,  has  reached  his.house  at  Cosa, 
and  is  said  to  be  in  readiness  to  sail.    If  for  Spain, 
I  am  against  the  voyage  ;  if  to  join  Pompey,  I  am 
for  it.     But  let  him  go  any  where,  rather  than  see 
Curtius.     I  who  am  his  patron,  cannot  bear  to 
see  him ;  what  then  must  be  the  case  with  others? 
But,  I  believe,   I  ought  to  be  quiet,  for  fear  of 
exposing  my  own  miscarriages;    since  my  love 
for  Rome,  that  is,  for  my  country,  and  my  hopes 
of  an  accommodation  were  so  strong,  that  by  my 
conduct,  I  find  myself  actually  enclosed  and  im- 
prisoned. 

Having  written  thus  far,  I  received  from  Capua 

a  letter  in  the  following  words,    "  Pompey  has 

*'  put  to  sea  with  all  his  troops,  to  the  number 

"  of  thirty  thousand  men,  and  is  attended  by  the 

^'  two  consuls,    the  tribunes   of  the   commons, 

*^  and  the   senators  who  were  along   with  him, 

^*  with  all   their    wives   and   children.       He  is 

*^  said  to  have  embarked  the  4th  of  March  \  and 

*^  the  winds  ever  since  have  been  northerly.     It 

*^  is  reported  he  has  broken  up,  or  burnt  all  the 

"  ships  he  did  not  make  use  of.     This  intelli- 

"  gence  came  in  a  letter  to  Capua  to  the  tribune 

**  Lucius  Metellus,  from  his  mother-in-law  Clci- 

"  dia,  who  is  likewise  gone  to  sea."  ' 

Hitherto  I  was  anxious  and   perplexed,    and 

no  wonder,  considering  my  situation,   because  it 

was 

*   Pompey  did  iiot  embark  till  the  15th. 


220 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


4^^  1 


was  impossible  for  me,  with  all  the  address  I  had, 
to  disengage  myself.  But  now,  that  Pompey  and 
the  consuls  have  left  Italy,  my  anguish  rises  to 
agony ;  my  heart  fails  within  me,  and  my  brain 
turns  round ;  I  have  not,  believe  me,  the  com- 
mand of  my  feelings,  so  sensible  am  1  of  the  dis- 
grace which  now  shades  my  character.  That  I 
should  not  at  first  have  followed  Pompey,  how- 
ever, he  might  have  been  mistaken  1  That  I 
should  not  have  been  amongst  the  friends  of  my 
country,  however  rashly  they  may  have  pro- 
ceeded !  Especially,'  as  the  very  persons  for 
whose  sake  I  was  so  unwilling  to  trust  myself  to 
fortune,  I  mean  my  wife,  my  daughter,  and  my 
tw  o  boys,  were  for  my  joining  him,  and  thought 
my  conduct  in  not  doing  so,  dishonourable  and 
unworthy  of  myself.  As  to  my  brother,  he  al- 
ways said,  that  he  would  be  guided  by  my  wishes, 
and  submit  to  them  with  the  most  perfect  resig- 
nation. 

I  now  feel  some  comfort  in  reading  over  your 
letters  from  the  beginning  In  those  which  you 
first  sent  me,  you  admonish,  and  beg  me  not  to 
throw  myself  away.  In  the  succeeding  letters, 
you  express  your  joy  for  my  having  remained  in 
Italy.  During  the  moments  in  which  I  r^ad 
them,  but  no  longer,  my  sense  of  shame,  in  some 
degree,  subsided,  but  my  grief  and  the  fear  of 
disgrace,  again  overwhelm  me.  I  conjure  you, 
therefore,  my  dearest  friend,  pluck  these  sorrows 

from 


from  my  soul,  or  at  least,  diminish  them  by  your  con- 
solations, by  your  counsels,  or  by  some  other  means. 
But  I  am  too  deeply  entangled  for  you,  for  any 
man,  and  almost,  for  any  divinity,  to  extricate  me. 

I  will  endeavour  to  follow  your  advice,  (which 
you  think  practicable)  to  obtain  of  Caesar,  leave 
to  be  absent  from  the  senate,  when  any  measures 
against  Pompey  are  in  agitation.  But  I  am 
afraid,  I  cannot  obtain  that  indulgence.  Furnius 
(that  you  may  know  what  kind  of  men  are  to  di- 
rect us)  came  from  Caesar,  and  he  tells  me,  that 
the  son  of  Quintus  Titinius  is  with  him,  and  that 
Ca3sar  is  more  profuse  than  I  could  wish  him,  in 
owning  his  obligations  to  me.  But  you  will  effec- 
tually learn  from  his  own  letter,  which  is  but 
short,  what  he  asks  of  me. 

How  unhappy  it  makes  me,  that  you  have  been 
indisposed !  Were  we  together,  we  surely  should 
discover  some  means  of  extricating  me.  Two 
heads,  you  know,  as  the  poet^  says,  are  better 
than  one. — But  let  us  not  review  the  scene,  let 
us  look  forward  Hitherto  I  have  been  deceived 
in  two  circumstances.  I  flattered  myself  at  first 
with  the  hopes  of  an  accommodation,  and  if  that 
had  happened,  I  might  then  have  retired  to  a 
private  life,  and  passed  my  old  age  in  quiet.     In 

the 

> 

^  This  is  only  the  general  sense  of  a  verse  in  Horner.—^ 
2yvT6  ^v  i^yrpiLiMu^  kxi  re  tt^o  o  rov  eyovaev.  II.  x.  224.  Of  two  men 
who  join  together,  one  aids  the  other  in  counsel.  Aristotle,  m 
citing  this  verse,  adds,  x«/ y«^  >ooj<ra/  xxi  fr^x^att  Jv>«TwT«fo<.— -E. 


22 


o 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


the  next  place,  I  saw  that  Pompey  was  about  tO 
kindle  a  bloody,  and  a  destructive  war.  I  ima- 
gined, indeed,  that  a  worthy  patriot,  and  a  good 
man,  would  submit  to  the  most  dreadful 
punishment,  rather  than  be  a  director,  or  even  a 
party,  in  such  scenes  of  misery.  I  thought  death 
was  preferable  to  the  company  of  such  men. 
Tind  out,  or  ratlier,  invent,  my  Atticus,  some  re- 
medy of  these  evils.  Nothing  can  happen  so  in- 
supportable to  me  as  is  my  present  anguish  of 
spirit 


C(esar,  Commander  in  Chief,  to  Cicero,  Commander 
in  Chief y  zcisheth  Prosperity/, 


All 


Having  but  just  seen  our  friend  Furnius, 
without  being  able  conveniently  to  speak  with 
him,  as  I  was  upon  a  hasty  march,  and  as  my 
lections  were  ^one  before ;  yet,  I  was  unwilling 
to  lose  an  opportunity  of  writing  to  you  by  him, 
and  returning  you  my  thanks,  as  I  have  often 
done  before,  and,  so  well,  in  my  opinion,  do  you 
deserve  from  me,  that  I  shall  ever  feel  obliged  to 
you.  In  the  first  place,  as  I  am  in  hopes  of 
being  very  soon  at  Rome,  I  beg  that  I  may  see 
you  there,  where  I  may  be  directed  by  your  ad- 
vice, interest,  authority,  and  assistance  in  all 
things.     I  return  tg  the  object  I  am  pursuing,  and 

I  beg 


TO  ATTICUS. 


223 


I  beg  you  will  pardon  the  hurry  and  shortness  of 
this  letter.     I  refer  you  to  Furnius  for  the  rest. 


EPISTLE  Vir. 


m 


L  WROTE  you  a  letter,  which  I  delivered  for  you 
upon  the  12th,  but  the  person  to  whom  I  ordered 
it  to  be  given,  is  not  yet  set  out.  The  courier 
came  with  such  speed,  as  to  arrive  on  the  very 
day  that  was  mentioned  by  Sallus,  and  broucrht 
me  your  letters,  which  were  so  full  of  informa- 
tion, and  which  reanimated  the  little  spirit  yet 
remaining  in  me,  with  some  degree  of  comfort ; 
for  I  cannot  say,  that  it  has  quite  restored  me, 
and  yet  you  have  made  me  the  next  thing  to  it 
Believe  me,  I  do  not  now  flatter  myself  with  any 
happy  event,  for  I  can  foresee,  while  Pompey 
and  Caesar  are  alive,  or  even  Pompey  himself, 
that  the  constitution  never  can  be  re-established. 
I  therefore,  do  not  so  much  as  dream  of  any  ease 
to  myself,  for  I  calculate  upon  the  worst  I  am 
now  under  no  apprehensions,  but  lest  I  may  do, 
or  may  have  done,  something  that  is  unworthy^f 
me.  You  are  therefore  to  be  assured,  that  your 
letters  have  restored  me  to  life.  I  do  qot  only 
mean  your  long  letters,  which  are  at  once  so  ex- 
tremely particular  and  elegant,  but  even  your 

short 


~'  "MHJ  "■'^^ '^r ■• 


22-4 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


■225 


it 

I* 


4 
f: 


short  ones,  which  gave  me  the  very  great  pleasure 
to  understand,  that  my  conduct  was  approved  of 
by  Sextus ;  an  intelligence,  the  more  agreeable  to 
me,  as  I  am  sensible,  not  only  of  his  great  aflFec- 
tion  to  me,  but  of  his  being  a  thorough  judge  of 

what  is  right. 

As  to  your  longer  letter,  it  not  only  relieved 
nie,  but  my  friends  and  family,  from  our  unea- 
siness.    I  will  therefore,  follow  your  advice,  and 
remain  at  Formi^e,  lest  too  much  notice  should  be 
taken  of  the  meeting  between  Caesar  and  me  at 
Rome,    and  lest  he  should  think,    I  purposely 
shun  him,  if  I  should  see  him  in  either  of  these 
places.     As  to  the  favour  you  desire  me  to  ask 
of  him,  that  I  may  act  with  rc^gard  to  Pompey,  in 
the  same  manner  I  did  with  regard  to  him,  you 
may  perceive   by   the   letters  from  Balbus  and 
Oppius,  of  which  I  send  you  copies,  that  I  made 
that  request  some  time  ago.     I  likewise  send  you 
Cesar's  letter  to  them,   which,  considermg  the 
ardour  of  his  ambition,  is  written  with  great  cool- 
ness.    But  if  CiEsar  will  not  indulge  me  in  this, 
you  advise  me  publicly  to  declare  myself  a  medi- 
ator for  an  accommodation.     No  danger  shall 
.  deter  me  from  that.     For,  surrounded  as  I  am 
with  dangers,  act  how  I  will,  if  comply  I  must, 
why  should  it  not  be  in   the  manner  that  shall 
do  me  the  most  honour  ?     But  I  am  afraid  lest 
this  should  gall  Pompey.     I  am  afraid 

Lesi 


Lest  he  should  shake  his  Gorgon  Locks  at  me  K 

For  you  cannot  believe  how  much  our  friend 
Pompey  wishes  to  renew  the  domination  of  Sylla. 
I  know  what  I  say,  and  he  never  made  a  less  se- 
cret of  any  thing  in  his  life,  than  he  does  pf  this. 
If  such,  you  will  say,  is  his  disposition,  would  you 
follow  him  ?  Believe  me,  my  friend,  I  follow 
him  for  the  kindnesses  he  has  done  me,  not  as  he 
is  the  head  of  a  party.     I  befriend  him  as  I  did 

Milo ; 

^  Mij  (xot  yo^yiinv  xt^otXviv  ^sivoto  iri\u§ov.  This  is  a  Very  happy 
quotation  from  Odyss.  ii.  33.  For,  as  Pliny  (Lib.  viii.  12.) 
asserts,  Pompey  was  a  man  of  a  stern  and  terrific  aspect, 
though,  from  motivesof  popularity,  softened  with  affected  affa- 
bility. Very  similar  to  this  is  a  very  eloquent  passage,  in  a 
speech  of  Mr.  Burke.  "  How  came  Junius  to  ha.ve  broke 
"  through  the  cobwebs  of  the  law,  and  to  range  uncontroled 
"  and  unpunished  through  the  land  ?  The  myrmidons  of  the 
"  court  pursue  him  in  vain.  They  will  not  spend  their  time  on 
**  me  or  you ;  they  disdain  such  vermin,  when  tlie  mighty  boar 
^'  of  the  forest,  that  has  broke  their  toils,  is  before  them.  When 
''  I  saw  his  attack  upon  the  king,  my  blood  ran  coldj  not  that 
•*  there  was  not  intliat  composition  many  bold  truths, "by  which 
*'  a  wise  prince  might  profit :  it  was  the  rancour  and  venom 
"  with  which  I  was  struck.  When  I  expected  from  his  daring 
*'  flight,  his  fall  and  final  ruin,  I  behold  him  soaring  higher, 
'^  and  coming  souse  upon  botli  houses  of  parliament.  Nor  has 
"  he  dreaded  the  terrors  of  your  Irow,  Sir ;  king,  lords,  and 
"  commons,  are  the  sport  of  his  fury."  Sir  Fletcher  Norton^ 
the  speaker,  whom  Mr.  B.  then  addressed,  was  a  man  of  a 
stern  countenance.-— F. 

Vol.  IL  Q 


•t 


Mi 


.1 


if 


5» 

■!1 


226 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


Milo;  as  I  did\— But  where  have  I  got— Then, 
you  will  say,  you  disapprove  of  his  factious  prin- 
ciples. No,  these  are  excellent.  But,  mark  what 
I  say,  their  proceedings  have  been  most  scanda- 
lous. They  set  out  with  a  design  to  starve  Rome 
and  Italy,  then  to  plunder  and  burn  the  country, 
and  to  seize  the  properties  of  monied  men.  But, 
as  I  am  afraid  of  the  same  consequences  from 
the  other  party,  if  I  meet  with  no  kindness  there, 
I  think  it  would  be  more  eligible  for  me  to  suffer 
all  extremities  at  home.  But  I  conceive  my  obli- 
gations to  Pompey  to  be  so  great,  that  I  dare  not 
stand  the  reflection  of  being  ungrateful,  and  yet, 
what  you  urge  even  upon  that  head,  has  in  it  a 

great  deal  of  force. 

With  regard  to  my  triumph,  I  entirely  agree  with 
you,  and  I  resign  all  thoughts  of  it  with  ease  and 
pleasure.  You  rightly  hint,  that  while  I  am  act- 
ing in  this  manner  towards  Caesar,  the  fine 
weather  for  sailing  is  insensibly  approaching. 
But,  you  will  say,  that  will  only  be,  if  Pompey  is 
at  the  head  of  a  sufficient  army.  His  army,  let 
me  tell  you,  is  greater  than  we  looked  for.  You 
need  be  under  no  apprehensions  for  him  ;  though 

I  promise 

*  Nothing  renders  these  letters  so  agreeable  to  a  reader,  as 
passages  of  this  kind.  We  here  see  the  sentiments  of  our 
author,  stript  of  all  party  and  personal  considerations.  Who, 
after  reading  his  pathetic  oration  for  Milo,  can  think,  that  he 
knew  him  to  be  guilty,  and  that  all  the  concern  he  took  for  hL^ 
defence,  was  merely  a  matter  of  interest  and  party  ? 


TO  ATTICU^. 


&2f 


1  promise  you,  if  he  should  prevail,  he  will  not 
leave  in  Italy  one  stone  upon  another.  Theit, 
you  will  ask,  will  you  attend  him  in  proceedings 
so  inhuman  ?  If  I  do,  it  is,  most  assuredly, 
against  my  own  judgment,  and  against  the  full 
current  of  precedents  from  our  ancestors.  But 
I  wish  to  be  gone,  not  so  much  to  assist  Pompey, 
as  to  avoid  being  the  witness  of  Caesar's  mea- 
sures. For  you  are  not  to  imagine  that  the  fury 
of  his  party  will  either  be  tolerable  or  bounded* 
But  you  are  sensible  of  all  this,  that  when  the 
laws,  the  courts  of  justice,  and  the  authority  of 
the  senate,  are  ruined,  neither  the  private  nof 
the  public  revenues  of  the  Romans,  will  be  suffi- 
cient to  supply  the  lusts,  the  presumption,  the 
excesses,  and  the  wants  of  so  many  needy  per- 
sons. 

Let  me  therefore  be  gone  froiii  hence,  embark 
where  I  will.  But  even  that  shall  be  as  you  ad- 
vise me.  But  I  must  go.  We  shall  certainly 
receive  what  you  wait  for,  I  mean  news  from 
Brundusium.  You  tell  me,  that  our  best  patriots 
approve  of  my  conduct  hitherto,  and  know  that 
I  ^  have  not  left  them  ;  and  this  gives  me  joy,  if 
there  is  yet  any  room  left  for  joy.  I  will  make 
the  most  strict  inquiry  concerning  Lentulus;  I 
have  committed  that  charge  to  Philotimus,  who  19 
a  man  of  courage,  and  a  most  furious  patriot^ 

"^  This  is  irony. 


ft 

Ti 

'ft 

l| 

i 
II! 


22« 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


.  .  Now  that  I  am  finishing,  it  occurs  to  me,  that 
YOU  will  perhaps  be  at  a  loss  for  farther   sub- 
ject upon  which  to  write.      For  we  can   now 
write  upon  nothing  but  public  affairs,   and  the 
subject  is  actually  exhausted.     But,  as  your  in- 
vention is  fruitful,  and  affection  (I  speak,  indeed, 
from  my  own  expwence,  and  from  the  effects  it 
has  upon  my  own  capacity)  is  communicative, 
ao  on  in  writing  to  me  as  oft  as  you  can.     I  am 
somewhat  piqued,  as  I  should  be  no  unpleasant 
companion  to  you,  at  your  not  inviting  me  to  go 
"with  you  to  Epirus.     But  adieu,  for  the  rest  is  as 
necessary  to  me,    as  walking  and  rubbing'  is  to 
you,  and  believe  me,  your  letters  have  restored 
me  to  my  natural  rest 


Balbus  aiid  Oppius  to  Cicero,  wish  Prosperity. 

Mankind  in  general  are  apt  to  judge  of  the 
counsels,  not  only  of  humble  persons,  silch  as 
we  are,  but  of  those  of  the  highest  rank,  accord- 
ing to  events,  rather  than  motives.  Relying, 
however,  on  your  sincerity,  with  regard  to 
the  business  about  which  you  wrote  to  us,  we 
will  give  you  what,  in  our  opinion,  is  the  sound- 
est advice:  it  may  not,  perhaps,  be  the  most  pru- 
dent, but  we  can  assure  you  it  proceeds  from  ho- 
nest 

1  This  was  one  part  of  the  regimen  prescribed  ta  Atticus. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


2^9 


nest  sentiments  and  faithful  hearts.  Were  we 
not  perfectly  well  assured  from  Csesar  himself  of 
his  doing  what  we  think  he  ought  to  do,  by  enter- 
ing upon  a  treaty,  as  soon  as  he  comes  to  Rome,' 
for  accommodating  all  matters  between  him  and 
Pompey,  we  should  not  continue  to  press  you  to 
concern  yourself  in  that  negociation,  which  must 
be  the  less  embarrassed,  and  proceed  with  the 
greater  dignity,  if  the  whole  of  it  shall  pass 
through  your  hands,  who  are  a  friend  to  bo  A. 
On  the  other  hand,  as  we  have  alWays  earnestly 
dissuaded  you  from  fighting  against  "CaSsar,'  s6 
we  never  would  give  our  advice  for  your  takin^f^ 
arms  against  the  man,  who  has  so'  highly  oblige'dl 
you,  as  Pompey  has  done,  *tf  w'e  knew  that  Caesat 
was  determined  to  statnd  out,  aiwito  push  the  war 
againsft  Pompey.  Biit  as  for  all  that  has  hap- 
pened, we  write  from  opinion,  rather  than  know- 
ledge of  Caesar's  intentions.  All  we^  can  say  ils, 
that  we  cannot  conceive  how  either  yoirr  rank  or 
your  honour,  which  are  so  universally  acknow- 
ledged, can  permit  you  to  taMe'  ^rms  against 
either,  as  you  are  under  such  obligations  to  both: 
and  we  make  no  doubt,  Caesar'^  gooct-nature  lis 
such,  that  he  wiU  approve  of  your  neutrality. 
However,  if  you  think  proper,  we  will  write  to 
Caesar,  to  let  us  knoTV  positively  wKat  He  intends 
to  do  in  this  matter ;  and  if  we  receive  his  ans^ver, 
we  will  instantly  communicate  to  you  our  senti- 
ments upon  the  same;  and  we  give  our  word  ©f 

honour^ 


230  CICERO'S  EPISTLES 

honour,  that  our  advice  to  you  shall  be  suited  not 
to  Caesar's  views,  but  to  your  dignity;  and  we 
know  Cffisar's  indulgence  to  his  friends  too  well 
to  fear,  that  he  will  be  offended  at  our  freedom, 


•  JBalbus  to  Cicero,  Commander  in   Chief,  wisheth 
Prosperity,  and  of  en  his  Compliments. 

After   sending  off  to  you  the  joint  letter'  I 
wrote  with  Oppius,  I  received  one^  from  Caesar, 
of  whicli  I  enclose  you  a  copy.     You  may  per- 
ceive by  it,  how  earnest  he  is  for  restoring  pub- 
lic tranquillity,  and  of  accommodating  his  diffe- 
rences with  Pompey,  and  how  very  averse  he  is 
to  all  cruelty.     It  gives  me,   as  it  ought,  great 
pleasure  that  he  entertains  such  sentiments.     I 
am,  my  dearest  friend,  as  sensible  as  you  are,  of 
whLt  you  owe  to  yourself,   your  engagements, 
and  your  gratitude ;   and,  indeed,  I  think  it  in- 
compatible with  your  duty  and  your  character, 
for  you  to  take  arms  against  a  man  to  whom  you 
own  yourself  to  be  under  so  strong  an  obliga- 
tion.    I  have  experienced  the  unrivalled  huma- 
nity of  Csesar  in  so  great  a  degree,  that  I  know 
he  will  approve  of  my  sentiments  in  this  matter, 
^^  and 

I  I  have,  after  Monsieur  Mongault,  restored  those  letters  to 
their  proper  order,  they  being  misplaced  in  the  common  ed„ 
tlons  of  our  author, 


TO  ATTICUS. 


231 


and  I  know  also,  that  you  will  give  him  the  most 
entire  satisfaction,  by  taking  no  concern  in  the 
war  against  him,  and  by  not  joining  with  his  ene- 
mies. This  is  an  indulgence  he  will  not  only 
shew  to  a  person  of  your  great  rank  and  abilities, 
but  he  has,  of  himself,  been  pleased  to  dispense 
with  even  my  serving  in  the  camp,  that  was  to 
act  against  Lentulus  or  Pompey,  to  whom  I  own 
myself  to  be  under  great  obligations.  He  added, 
that  he  should  require  no  more  of  me  than,  at 
his  desire,  to  do  him  some  services  at  Rome, 
and  he  left  me  at  liberty  to  do  as  much  for  them. 
In  consequence  of  this  indulgence,  I  now  ma- 
nage and  inspect  the  private  affairs  of  Lentulus 
at  Rome,  and  perform  to  him  and  Pompey,  all  I 
owe  them  upon  the  footing  of  duty,  honour, 
and  gratitude. 

The  hopes  of  an  accommodation  have  been 
again  dropt,  but,  really,  I  cannot  see  for  what 
reason,  since  Caesar  evinces  no  disposition  but 
such  as  we  could  wish  him  to  display.  You 
ought,  I  think,  if  it  is  agreeable  to  you,  to  write 
to  him,  and  to  ask^him  for  a  guard*  as  you  for- 
merly did  (and,  as  I  thought,  very  properly)  from 

Pompey, 


*  Balbus  here  artfully  puts  our  author  in  raind  of  Pompey's 
overawing  the  trial  of  Milo  with  his  guards.  Dr.  Middleton, 
in  his  Life  of  Cicero,  is  of  opinion,  that  the  offer  of  this  guard 
was  insinuated  to  make  him  Caesar's  prisoner.  But  I  can  see 
no  reason  for  that  supposition,  when  we  consider  the  open  man- 
ner in  which  Caesar  acted  to  all  his  enemies. 


23S 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


Pompey,  in  the  case  of  Milo.  I  am  so  sure  of 
Ceesar,  that  I  will  answer  for  his  respecting  your 
dignity,  rather  than  his  own  interest  1  know 
not  how  unguardedly  I  express  myself  here,  but 
I  well  know  that  every  thing  I  write  to  you,  flows 
from  my  entire  esteem  and  friendship  for  you, 
and  may  I  die,  which  I  would  willingly  do  for 
the  preservation  of  Caesar,  if  there  are  many  in 
the  w^orld,  whom  I  esteem  equally  with  yourself. 
I  beg  you  to  write  to  me,  as  soon  as  you  have 
come  to  any  resolution  upon  this  matter.  For  I 
am  in  great  pains  to  put  you  in  the  way  of  ex- 
pressing the  affection  which  you  bear,  and  which, 
I  am  confident,  you  express  to  both.     FareweL 


Casar  to  Oppius  and  Cornelius  *,  Health, 

X  AM,  be  assured,  extremely  glad  that  you  expres- 
sed by  letters,  your  very  great  approbation  of 
what  has  passed  at  Corfinium.  I  will  follorw 
your  advice  with  the  greater  pleasure,  as  it  was 
always  my  own  disposition  to  act  with  the  ut* 
most  lenity,  and  to  court  an  accommodation  with 
Pompey.  Let  us  try  whether  it  be  possible,  by 
this  means,  to  regain  the  confidence  of  the  pub- 
lic,  and  to  make  our  successes  durable;  since 

others, 

^  Though  Balbus  was  a  Spaniard^  yet  he  took  the  name  of 
the  family  of  his  patron  LenttUus. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


kB 


<)thers\  by  cruelty,  fell  into  detestation,  antf 
none  of  them,  excepting  Sylla,  whom  I  dd 
not  choose  to  imitate ^  enjoyed  his  successes 
long.  Let  us  shew  the  world  a  new  method  of 
conquering,  and  let  clemency  and  munificence  be 
my  only  guards.  I  have  already  formed  some 
schemes,  and  many  more  may  be  formed,  for  ef- 
fecting this.  I  desire  you  .to  turn  your  thoughts 
to  the  same  subject.  • 

I  took  prisoner  Cnaeius  Magius,  one  of  Pom- 
pev's  commanding  officers ;  but,  according  to  the 
plan  I  laid  down,  I  instantly  dismissed  him.  He 
is  the  second  general  officer  who  has  fallen  into 
my  hands,  and  whom  I  have  dismissed.  If  they 
want  to  shew  their  gratitude,  they  will  exhort 
Pompey  to  prefer  my  friendship  to  that^  of  those 


men 


1  This  letter  is  a  noble  testimony  of  Caesar's  wisdom  and 
magnanimity,  and  as  his  actions  answered  the  sentiments  he 
lays  down  here,  there  is  no  room  to  doubt  of  his  sincerity.  The 
persons  he  means  in  this  passage,  are  Marias  and  Cinna,  and  he 
was  related  to  both.  For  Marius  married  his  aunt,  and  he  mar- 
ried Cinna's  danghter.     Notwitlistanding  that,  he  blames  their 

cruel  politics. 

2  Sylla  was  always  the  enemy  of  Caesar,  and  pretended  to 
have  restored  the  nobility,  and  the  senate,  in  the  state,  to  their 
proper  rank  and  authority  j  and  this  he  did  by  deluging  the 
commonwealth  with  blood.  Caesar  was  professedly  the  friend 
of  the  commons,  but  no  enemy  to  the  senate,  and  what  he  says 
here  is  a  tacit  reproach  upon  Pompey,  who  always  publicly  de- 
clared he  would  imitate  Sylla. 

3  It  is  a  great  short-sightedness  in  authors  who  take  up  the 

commencement 


iS4 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


men  who  have  ever  shewn  themselves  his,  and 
my  inveterate  enemies ;  and  by  whose  practices 
the  republic  is  reduced  to  its  present  state. 


EPISTLE  VIII. 

W  HiLE  we  were  at  supper,  the  night  of  the 
14th  instant,  Statius  brought  me  a  short  letter 

from 

comrocncement  of  the  civil  differences  in  Rome,  which  ended  so 
fetally  for  her  liberty,  only  at  the  dme  when  the  breach  be- 
tween Pompey  and  Caesar  was  declared.     The  best  patriots  of 
Rome,  viz.  Cato,  Bibulus,  Domitius,  and  even  our  author,  as 
we  have  seen  in  the  foregoing  part  of  these  letters,  foresaw,  and 
foretold,  the  miseries  that  followed  from  the  time  of  Pompey'a 
intimacy  with  Caesar,  and  they  equally  opposed  the  growth  of 
the  power  of  both.     But  Pompey *s  popularity,  and  Caesar's  in- 
terest amongst  the  commons,  and  with  the  Marian  faction, 
which  was  still  very  strong,  bore  down  every  thing  before  them  j 
because,  in  effect,  they  formed  a  kind  of  coalition  of  parties, 
especially,  as  by  means  of  Crassus,  it  was  supported  by  the 
monied  interest,  viz.  the  knights.  Notwithstanding  this,  as  the 
real  patriots  had  great  weight,  they  often  found  means  to  open 
the  eye  sof  their  countrymen  so  effectually,  that  they  went  near 
to  overthrow  all  the  power  of  Pompey  and  Caesar,  Vide  vol.  i; 
p.  143, 144,  145,  &c.     We  are  not,  therefore,  candidly  speak- 
ing, to  imagine,  that  Caesar,  with  all  his  plausible  declarations, 
ever  meant  to  restore  the  constitution  of  Rome,  to  that  equal 
balance  between  the  people  and  the  senate,  which  the  true 
patriots  desired  to  effect.     This  very  passage  is  a  proof,  that 
this  was  not  in  his  thoughts,  and  that  all  he  wanted  was  to 
compromise  matters  with  Pompey,  at  the  expence  of  Cato,  and 
the  rest  who  had  opposed  both  of  them  in  their  growing  power. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


S55 


from  you.  As  to  Lucius  Torquatus,  whom  you 
inquire  after,  both  he,  and  Aulus'  are  gone  ;  the 
latter  has  been  gone  many  days.  I  am  greatly 
alarmed  at  the  news  you  write  me  from  Reate,  as 
if  a  proscription  was  about  to  take  place  in  the 
country  of  the  Sabines.  I  had,  as  well  as  you, 
heard  that  a  great  many  senators  were  at  Rome- 
Pray  can  you  guess  why  they  are  leaving-  it? 
An  opinion,  founded  rather  upon  conjecture  than 
information  or  intelligence,  prevails  here,  that, 
on  the  22d  of  March,  Caesar  will  be  at  Formiae. 
I  wish  I  had  with  me  here  that  Minerva,  who, 
in  Homer,  appears  under  the  figure  of  Mentor, 
to  whom  I  might  address  myself, 

Sajf  how  shall  I  approach,  end  how  embrace  him. 

Never  was  I,  in  my  life,  so  much  at  a  loss  to  de- 
termine how  to  behave.  I  am,  however,  deter- 
mined ;  nor  shall  I  encounter  the  evils  unpre- 
pared. I  wish  you  well ;  for,  if  I  mistake  not; 
you  had  a  fit  yesterday. 


EPISTLE 


*  Lucius  Torquatus  had  been  consul,  and  Aulus  Torquatus 

had  been  praetor, 
«  Vi%,  To  welcome  Caesar,  who  was  then  returning  to  Rome. 


i 


x^    1 
•   V 


I   :  t 


I    ^1 


4  ;i 


I    I 


l1 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


23/ 


EPISTLE  IX. 

v/n  the  l6th,  I  received  three  letters  from  ycRi, 
dated  the  12th,  13th,  and  14th,  I  will  therefore 
answer  them  in  the  order  of  time.  I  agree  with, 
you,  that  it  is  best  for  me  to  remain  at  Formiae, 
and,  likewise  as  to  what  you  write  of  the  upper 
sea ;  and,  as  I  wrote  before,  I  will  do  my  best  ta 
tty,  whether  I  cannot  reconcile  Caesar  to  my 
standing  neutral  in  public  matters.  You  com- 
mend me  for  my  writing  to  you,  that  I  haye  over- 
looked the  miscarriages  and  demerits  of  our 
friend.  It  is  true,  I  have,  and  even  to  such  a 
degree,  that  I  have  even  forgotten  his  unkind  pro- 
ceedings, which  you  mention  against  myself.  So 
very  willing  am  I,  that  my  sense  of  favours  should 
prevail  over  my  resentment  of  injuries.  Let  me, 
therefore,  pursue  what  you  recommend,  and  be 
myself  again.  For,  in  my  rural  walks,  I  am  in- 
cessantly reasoning  with  myself,  and  conning 
over  my  queries ;  but  some  of  them  are  extremely 
difficult  to  resolve. 

Let  our  great  men  be  what  you  will  have  them 
to  be ;  but  you  know  the  proverb,  Dionysius 
lived  at  Corinth',     The  son  ofTitiniusis  with 

Caesar. 

*  Orig.  Monsieur  MongauU,  with  very  great  justice,  rejects 
the  common  application  which  critics  have  made  of  this  pro- 

'*  ■       ^    verbial 


Caesar.  You  seem  apprehensive,  lest  your  coun- 
sels should  be  disagreeable  to  me ;  so  far  from  it, 
that  my  only  joy  in  life  is  in  receiving  your  ad- 
vices and  letters.  Fulfil,  therefore,  your  purpose 
of  continually  wTiting  to  me,  whatever  comes  inta 

your 

verbial  expression,  to  our  author's  person,  as  if  he  had  re- 
proached himself  for  leading  a  life  unbecoming  his  character. 
But  I  cannot  agree  so  well  with  that  gentlemen  in  thinking, 
that  Cicero  means  here  to  put  Atticus  in  mind  of  the  mutabi- 
lity of  fortune,  and  that  it  was  possible  Pompey  might  one  day 
or  other  get  the  better.     There  is  nothing  in  the  words  here, 
as  he  supposes,  that  determines  them  to  that  sense,  though  I 
own,  it  is  difficult  to  find  out  a  better.  If  I  were  to  hazard  a  con- 
jecture, I  would  apply  it  to  that  thirst  of  tyranny  which  led 
Dionysius  to  tyrannize  over  school-boys  after  he  was  expelled 
from  his  throne.     It  is  in  this  light  that  the  occupation  of  Dio- 
nysius chiefly  strikes  our  author,  rather  than  in  that  of  the  me- 
lancholy reverse  of  fortune.     He  therefore,  perhaps,  hints,  that 
the  nobility  of  6ome,  were  willing  to  live  under  either  Csesar 
or  Pompey,  provided  they  still  continued  to  enjoy  the  power  of 
oppressing  slaves,  as  they  had  formerly  done  freemen.  Est  au» 
tern,  says  he,  {Tuscul,  Disput.  Lib,  3,  Cap.  12.)  impudens  bictus 
mcerore  se  conficientis ,  quod  imperare  non  liceat  liheris.     Dio- 
nys'ius  quidem  tyrannus,  Syracusis  expulsus,  Corinthi pueros  do- 
celat  i  usque  eo  imperio  carere  non  poterat,     "  Now  it  is  a 
"  most  impudent  grief  for  a  man  to  languish  with  sorrow,  be- 
"  cause  he  cannot  command  the  free.    Dionysius  the  tyrant, 
*^  was  so  unable  to  live  without  power,  that  he  taught  boys  at 
*^  Corinth,  when  he  was  driven  from  Syracuse."     This  pas- 
sage, I  think,  goes  far  to  determine  the  words  in  question,  to 
the  sense  I  have  hinted  at.     He  mentions  this  circumstance  of 
Dionysius,  (Epist.  Earn,  Lib,  Q.  Ep.  18.)  in  pretty  much  the 
same  light,  with  regard  to  himself,  but  jocularly. 


f 

1 


8S3 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


239 


3'our  thoughts;  you  cannot  lay  me  under  a  greater 
obligation. 

I  now  come  to  your  second  letter.  You  are 
in  the  right,  in  not  believing  the  number  of  Pom- 
pey's  soldiers  to  be  as  you  have  heard.  Clodia's 
letter  mentions  it  to  be  greater  by  half.  The  ac- 
count of  the  ships  being  burnt,  is  likevi^ise  false. 
As  to  your  commending  the  consuls,  I  too 
commend  their  motives,  but  not  their  measures. 
For,  by  their  separation,  all  negociations  con- 
cerning peace  are  at  an  end ;  at  least,  upon 
the  plan  which  I  had  projected  \  I  have  there- 
fore,  sent  you  back  by  Philotimus,  the  treatise  of 
Demetrius  concerning  public  unanimity. 

For  my  own  part,  I  perceive  a  most  destructive 
war,  ready  to  terminate  in  famine  ;  and  yet  I  la- 
ment that  I  am  not  concerned  in  this  war,  a  war 
so  detestable,  that  though  it  is  the  hjghest  crime 
against  nature  not  to  support  our  parents,  yet 
the  leaders  of  this  war  have  taken  their  mea- 
sures for  famisliing  the  most  venerable,  the  most 
sacred  of  all  parents,  I  mean  their  country. 
My  apprehensions  do  not  arise  from  what  I  con- 
jecture, but  from  what  I  heard.  For  all  this 
fleet  from  Alexandria,  Colchis,  Tyre,  Sidon, 
Aradus,    Cyprus,     Pamphylia,    Lycia,    Rhodes, 

Chios, 


J  This  happened  to  be  true  in  effect,  for  Pompey  rejected 
Caesar^fi  last  propositions,  on  pretext  that  the  consul*  were  not 
%ith  him. 


Chios,  Byzantium,  Lesbos,  Miletus,  Smyrna, 
and  Coos,  is  getting  ready  to  intercept  the  pro- 
visions of  Italy,  and  to  seize  the  coasts  of  the 
corn-countries.  But  in  what  a  passion  will  Pom- 
pey return !  especially  with  those  who  wanted 
most  to  save  their  country,  as  if  they  had  aban- 
doned him,  and  not  he  them,  which  was  the 
case*  My  friendship,  therefore,  for  Pompey, 
goes  a  great  way  in  determining  my  doubts,  as 
to  my  future  conduct;  for,  were  it  not  for  that 
friendship,  I  should  choose  to  die  in  my  country, 
rather  than  to  ruin,   under  the  pretext  of  saving 

it 

The  north  wind,  as  you  conjecture,  has  cer- 
tainly conveyed  away  the  consuls.  I  am  afraid, 
that  Epirus  will  have  its  share  in  the  public  trou- 
bles. But  do  you  imagine,  there  is  a  place  ia 
Greece,  that  will  not  be  plundered  ?  For,  Pom- 
pey publicly  avows,  and  demonstrates  to  his  sol- 
diers, that  he  will  out-do  Caesar  himself  in  libe- 
rality. Your  advice  is  excellent,  that,  when  I 
shall  see  Caesar,  I  should  speak  to  him  rather 
with  authority,  than  with  mildness.  I  am  deter- 
mined to  do  this.  I  think  of  going  to  Arpinum, 
but  not  till  I  have  s^en  him,  lest  I  should  chance 
not  to  be  in  the  way  when  he  comes  hither,  or 
be  obliged  to  ramble  after  him  through  very  bad 
roads.  I  hear,  as  you  write  me,  that  Bibulus  is 
arrived,  and  that  he  returned  on  the  14th. 

In  your  third  Jetter^  you  tell  me,  that  you  ex- 
pected 


\  ii 


Mi 


5 

2 


I 


I 'I 


i 


240 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  Arricus. 


S4I 


pected  Philotimus ;  but  he  left  me  only  on  the 
15th,  for  which  reason,  my  answer,  which  I  iu-» 
stantly  wrote  to  yours,  is  longer  than  it  ought  in 
coming  to  your  hands.     I  agree  with  you  in  be- 
lievinfT  Domitius  to  be  at  his  house  in  Cosa,  and 
that  it  is  not  known   how  he  will  proceed.     Of 
all  base  men  he  is  the  basest  \  who  maintains, 
that  a  consular  election  may  be  held  by  a  praetor. 
But  that  is  in  unison  with  his  former  behaviour 
tOAvards  his  country.      This,  however,  explains 
CjEsaf  s  expressions  in  his  letter,  of  which  I  sent 
you  a  copy,  that  he  would  be  directed  by  my  ad- 
'vice,  which  is  a  vulgar  compliment, — By  my  inte" 
rest,  which  is  absurd  ;   but,  I  suppose,  he  passes 
that  compliment  to  me,  in  regard  to  the  opinion 
of  the  senators, — By  my  authority. — Perhaps,  he 
means,  the  weight  which  the  opinion  of  a  con- 
sular carries  along  with  it  in  the  house  ; — At  last, 
he  says,  bi)  my  assistance  in  all  things''^     When  I 

read 

1  This  probably  was  Lepidns,  who  was  afterwards  a  Trium- 
vir, and  was  then  praetor.  Concerning  the  affair  mentioned 
here.  See  Aulus  Gellius,  Lib.  13.  Cap.  14. 

*  Monsieur  Mongault  has  not  evinced  his  usual  accuracy  In 
translating  this  passage.  It  plainly  refers  to  Caesar's  letter  to 
our  author.  Vide  p.  68.  And  the  identity  of  the  expression  in 
Caesar's  letter,  ought  to  have  been  preserved  here,  which  Mon- 
sieur Mongault  has  neglected  to  do.  I  have  been  the  more  mi- 
nute in  this  observation,  because  the  political  sense  of  the  words. 
Consilium,  Gratia,  Dignitas,  and  Opes,  which  often  occur  in 
our  author,  are  very  happily  determined^ by  this  comment  of 
•ur  author  upon  Caesar's  words. 


tead  your  letter,  I  began  to  suspect  he  meant 
this,  or  some  such  thing.  For  it  is  of  great  im- 
portance to  him,  that  there  shouid  be  no  inter- 
regnum, which  he  may  prevent,  if  a  praetor  can 
elect  the  consuls  \  Our  statute-books,  however, 
tell  us,  that  a  praetor  cannot  lawfully  elect  the 
consuls,  nor  even  praetors,  and  that  no  such 
thing  ever  was  done.  They  cannot  by  law 
appoint  the  consuls,  because  the  higher  magis- 
tracy cannot  lawfully  be  obtained  from  the  infe- 
rior nor  the  praetorsj  because  they  are,  with, 
regard  to  the  rights  of  election,  on  a  footing  with 
the  consuls,  whose  power  is  supreme.  Caesar 
w411  likely  desire  my  decision  in  his  favour, 
without  depending  upon  that  of  Galba,  Scae- 
vola,  Cassius,  or  Antony",  than  which  I  should 
rather  be  buried  alive ^  Thus  you  see  what 
a  dreadful  storm  is  hanging  over  us.  I  will 
write  you  what  senators  have  gone  beyond 
the  sea,  as  soon  as  I  have  more  certain  intelli- 
gence. You  are  right  in  your  apprehensions, 
concerning  the   subsistence  of  Pompey's  army^ 

which 


^  He  found  another  way  of  preventing  it,  by  beings  named 

dictator,  in  right  of  which  office  he  presided  at  the  consular 
elections. 

2  These  were  all  creatures  of  Cae^r,  and  perhaps  augurs,  as 
Well  as  our  author. 

^  Ori^. — TOTS  /Ao<  ^am  ivpua  ^9m,  literally,  then  may  the  earth 
swallow  me  up. 

Vol.  IL  R 


t 

i 


"; 


242 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


which  can  be  furnished  only  by  extraordinary 
imposts ;  nor,  is  it  without  good  grounds,  that 
you  are  afraid  of  those  wlio  are  about  Pompey, 
and  of  a  dreadful  civil  war.  I  am  very  desirous 
to  see  our  friend  Trcbalius,  though  he  is,  as  you 
write,  always  in  a  state  of  despondency.  I  beg 
you  will  desire  him  to  make  haste  to  come  to  me, 
for  it  is  very  requisite  I  should  see  him  before 
Caesar  comes  this  way. 

As  to  Lanuvinum'  as  soon  as  I  heard  that 
Phameas  was  dead,  I  wished   that  some  of  my 
friends  would    buy   it,    I  mean,   provided    our 
country   should   continue    to    exist;     and  yet, 
though  you  are  the  best  friend  I  have,  you  did 
not  so  much   as  come  into  my  mind.     For,  I 
know  how  much  interest,  or  how  much  ground 
you   require  for  your   money,  and  I  saw  your 
books  of  accounts,  not  only  at  Rome,    but  at 
Delos^     But,  though  it  is  a  pretty  estate,  I  now 
value  it  less,  than  I  did  under  the  consulship  of 
Marcellinus,  when  the  gardens  that  belonged  to 
it,  would  have  greatly  improved  the  house  I  then 
had  at  Antium,   and  when  the  whole  might  have 
cost  less  than  the  repairing  of  Tusculanum.     I 
offered  him  security  for  five  hundred  thousand 
serteces,  and  that  the  money  should  be  advanced 

to 


1  This  seat  lay  near  Aricea. 
<  The  original  here  is  very  obscure, 
cording  to  the  best  authorities. 


I  have  translated  it  ac- 


TO  ATTICUS. 


243 


to  Phameas,  when  he  came  to  Antium  to  sell 
it.  But  he  refused  it ;  yet,  I  suppose,  the  price 
of  estates  is  now  fallen,  on  account  of  the  scarcity 
of  money.  If  you  should  buy  it,  it  would  be 
extremely  convenient  for  me,  or  rather  for  us. 
X  would  not,  however,  have  you  to  reject  it  on 
account  of  the  immense  expence,  as  it  is  very 
beautiful ;  though  in  my  opinion  every  edifice 
of  this  kind  will  soon  become  the  devoted  vic- 
tim of  plunder.  I  have  thus  answered  your  three 
letters.  But  I  am  impatient  for  more,  since 
hitherto  your  letters  haye  been  my  only  support. 
March  the  17th. 


EPISTLE  X. 

1  HAVK  nothing  to  write  to  you,  as  having  re- 
ceived no  news,  since  I  answered  yours  the  day 
before  yesterday.  But,  as  fretting  not  only 
keeps  me  from  sleeping,  but  gives  me  the  great- 
est pain,  while  I  am  awake,  I  set  myself  down 
to  scribble  somewhat  or  other,  in  which  I  have 
no  manner  of  meaning,  but  to  converse  as  it 
were  with  you,  who  are  my  only  comfort.  I  now 
see,  that  I  have  been  a  madman  all  along,  and  I 
am  tortured  by  this  single  reflection,  that  I  did  not, 
as  a  soldier  follows  his  colours,  implicitly  follow 
Pompey.    While  he  was  tottering,  or  rather  rush- 

^  ^  mg 


i  a 


i  s 


;•      I 


244 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


£45 


ing  into  ruin,  I  saw  him  on  the  1 1th  of  January, 
under   such  visible  consternation,   that  I  knew 
that  very  day,  what  he  intended  to  do.     1  ap- 
proved of  none  of  his  measures,  as  he  continu- 
ed to  heap  one  misconduct  on  another,  without 
writinc^   in   the   meantime  to  me,    and  witliout 
thinking  of  any   thing,    but  how    to  fly.      To 
tell  you  the  truth,  as  in  the  aftairs  of  love,  we 
are  disgusted  with  a  senseless,  inelegant  mistress, 
so  my  aftection  towards  him  was  alienated  by  the 
meanness  of  his  flight,  and  the  carelessness  of 
his  behaviour.     He  did  not  make  one  step  that 
could  induce  me  to  attend  him  in  his  flight.     But 
now  my  love-fit  returns,  and  I  am  unable  to  bear 
the  absence  of  him;  books,  reading,  philosophy, 
are  now  altogether  destitute    of   interest    and 
charms  to  me.     Night  and  day  my  heart  flutters 
like  a  bird,  as  soon  as  I  cast  my  eyes  on  the 
sea,  with  eagerness  to  fly  over  it     I  am  pun- 
-  ished,  indeed  I  am,  for  my  rashness.     But  what 
do  I  talk  of  rashness  ?     What  have   I  done,,  but 
upon    the   most   mature   deliberation  \?       Had 
^  fight 

1  The  whole  of  tl^is  paragraph  Is  inexpressibly  beautiful,  and 
the  manner  of  it  is  an  infallible  proof  of  its  being  dictated  from 
the  heart.  Notwithstanding  which,  I  know  nothing  in  the  hu- 
man system  so  unaccountable  as  the  passion  which  our  author 
here  pretends  to  have  for  Pompey.  For  my  own  part,  I  cannot 
help  frankly  owning,  that  I  believe,  he  mistook  the  object  of  his 
passion,  and  that  all  he  says  here  of  Pompey,  is  no  other  than 
the  reiult  of  the  tenderness,  the  delicacy,  and  the  soreness, 

which 


.  ( 


'  n 


flight  been  the  only  question,  I  would  have  ac- 
companied his  flight  with  the  greatest  pleasure, 
but  I  was  struck  with  horror  when  I  reflected 
that  this  was  only  the  prelude  to  a  wairr,  the  most 
dreadful  and  cruel  that  can  be  imagined,  and  its 
consequences  impossible  to  be  foreseen.  What 
menaces  were  thrown  out  against  the  municipal 
towns,  and  especially  against  the  best  of  our  pa- 
triots, and  against  all  who  staid  behind  ?  How 
frequent  was  that  saying  in  Pompey's  mouth, 
"  If  Sylla  had  power  to  do  so,  shall  I  be  unable 
to  do  it?"    I  own,  these  things  adhered  to  me. 

Tarquin 

which  he  was  perpetually  feeling  for  his  own  character.  His 
whole  reasoning,  in  this  letter,  turns  upon  the  same  principles, 
and  he  ingeniously  justifies  himself  to  himself,  and  to  his  friend 
from  his  friend's  letters,  and  from  prudential  considerations. 
But  to  say  the  truth,  if  Pompey  was  that  low,  mean-spirited 
wretch,  that  pitiful  politician,  and  that  despicable  general  our 
author  represents  him  to  be,  how  can  we  account  for  the  prefe- 
rence he  always  affects  to  give  his  person,  especially  as  he  tells 
us,  his  views  were  more  bloody  and  destructive  than  those  of 
Caesar  ?  The  truth  is,  a  great  part  of  our  author's  patriotism 
sprung  from  the  confidence  he  assumed  from  the  lenity  of  Cae- 
sar. He  was  extremely  cautious,  while  he  thought  that  Caesar 
would  proceed  on  the  same  bloody  plan  as  Sylla,  Marius  and 
former  tyrants  had  done,  of  coming  to  extremities  with  him,  by 
leaving  Italy  to  follow  Pompey.  But  when  he  found,  that  it 
was  impossible  for  him  to  offend  beyond  tJie  measures  of  Caesar's 
forgiveness,  he  then  resolved  to  follow  Pompey,  because,  he 
hereby  reconciled  patriotism  to  safety.  I  should  not  have  been 
so  bold  in  this  observation  upon  our  author's  conduct,  did  it  not 
;iaturally  rise  from  the  whole  tenor  of  these  letters. 


^'1 


\i 


U6 


CIi:ERO  S  EPISTLES 


Tarquin  acted  unnaturally,  when  he  armed  Por- 
s«na*  and  Octavius  Mamilius  against  his  coun- 
try; Coriolanus  was  a  traitor,  for  soliciting 
assistance  from  the  Volsci ;  Themistocles  be- 
haved like  a  patriot,  who  preferred  death  ;  Hip- 
pias  the  son  of  Pisistratus,  was  a  rebel,  for 
carrying  arms  against  his  country,  when  he  fell 
in  the  battle  of  Marathon.  But  Sylla,  Marius, 
and  Cinna,  acted  under  j^reat  provocation,  and 
perhaps,  with  some  colour  of  justice  2;  but  what 
could  be  more  cruel,  what  could  be  more  fatal, 
than  their  victories  were  ? 

I  wanted  to  avoid  a  repetition  of  the  same 
kind  of  war,  especially  as  I  saw  measures  of  a 
still  more  cruel  nature  in  agitation,  and  in  for- 
wardness. Shall  I  march  at  the  head  of  Goths, 
of  Arminians,  of  Colchians,  against  the  city,  of 
which  I  was  called  the  preserver,  of  which  I  was 
hailed  the  fatlier?  Shall  I  bring  famine  upon 
my  countrymen  ?  Shall  I  introduce  desolation 
into  Italy  ?  It  first  occurred  to  me,  that  Pom- 
pey  was  mortal  by  nature,  and  that  his  death 
might  be  occasioned  by  many  accidents,  but  tliat 

it 

1  The  persons  mentioned  here,  are  so  well  known  in  ancient 
history,  that  I  shall  not  describe  them.  It  may,  however,  be 
proper  to  inform  the  reader,  that  Hippias  was  a  Greek,  and 
upon  his  brother's  being  killed,  he  fled  to  the  king  of  Persia, 
and  persuaded  hira  to  make  war  upon  his  country. 

2  Orig.  At  Sylla,  at  Marius,  at  Cinna  recte,  immo  jure 
fortasse.  The  words  recte  &  jure  here,  are  too  strong  to  be 
translated  literally  into  English. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


247 


it  was  our  duty  to  do  all  we  could,  that  our  city 
and  our  country  should  remain  immortal,  and 
still  I  entertained  the  flattering  hopes  of  an  accom- 
modation, before  Caesar  should  so  far  advance  ia 
treason,  or  Pompey  in  blood. 

The  whole  scene  is  now  changed,  and  so  are 
my  sentiments.  The  sun,  to  make  use  of  an  ex- 
pression in  one  of  your  letters,  seems  to  be  extin- 
guished in  the  system  of  the  world.  As  there  are 
hopes  while  there  is  breath  in  the  body  of  a  sick 
man,  so  I  continued  still  to  hope,  while  Pompey 
remained  in  Italy.  Here,  here  I  was  mistaken ; 
and,  (to  speak  candidly)  in  this  decline  of  life, 
after  incessant  toils,  my  age  seeks  to  glide  into  the 
endearment  of  domestic  repose.  At  present, 
should  the  experiment  cost  me  my  life,  yet  I  will 
try  to  fly  from  hence.  I  perhaps,  make  this  expe- 
riment when  it  is  too  late,  but  I  was  detained  by 
the  reasons  I  wrote  you,  and  chiefly  by  your  opi- 
nion. 

For,  when  I  came  to  this  place,  I  perused  a 
bundle  of  your  letters,  which  I  preserve  most 
carefully  under  seal.  Now,  in  that  which  you 
wrote  me  the  23d  of  January  were  these  words: 
"But  let  us  see  how  Pompey  will  proceed,  and 
what  his  views  are.  Should  he  leave  Italy,  I 
think  he  will  act  very  wrong,  and  in  my  opinion, 
very  absurdly.  But.  we  cannot,  before  then, 
change  our  measures."  This  is  written  the  fourth 
day  after  I  left  Rome.     Afterwards  on  the  £5th 

of 


%  I 


248 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


'    249 


of  January,  you  write  me,  ''  Provided  our  friend 
Pompey  do  not  abandon  Italy,  as  he  has  most 
absurdly  abandoned  Rome."  There  is  another 
of  yours  of  the  same  date,  in  which  you  give  this 
direct  answer,  upon  my  asking  your  advice. 
Your  words  are,  **  But  I  come  to  that  concern- 
ing which  you  consult  me;  if  Pompey  should 
leave  Italy,  I  think  you  should  return  to  Rome,  for 
there  would  be  no  end  of  travelling  after  him  in 
foreign  countries."  This  I  own  to  you,  impressed 
me.  And  now,  I  see  that  an  endless  war  is  to 
attend  my  wretched  flight,  which  you  soften  by 
the  term  of  "  travelling  in  foreign  countries." 

Now  follows  your  prediction  on  the  27th  of 
January.  **  Should  Pompey  remain  in  Italy,  and 
should  there  be  no  accommodation,  I  am  of  opi- 
nion, the  war  would  last  a  long  time.  But 
should  he  abandon  Italy,  I  fear,  that  its  miseries 
will  rage  beyond  our  days."  Such  then  is  the  war,  in 
which  I  am  forced  to  partake,  to  act,  and  to  assist, 
an  endless  civil  war.  Afterwards  on  the  7th  of 
February,  after  seeing  a  little  farther  into  Pom- 
pey's  views,  you  conclude  your  letter  thus  :  "  I, 
for  my  part,  would  not  advise  you  to  leave  Italy, 
and  to  follow  him  in  his  flight ;  for  that  would 
expose  you  to  the  greatest  danger,  without  doing 
any  service  to  your  country,  which  you  may  here- 
after serve  if  you  should  stay  in  Italy."  Show  me 
the  patriot  or  the  citizen  of  public  spirit,  who 
would  not  be  swayed  by  such  an  admonition,  by 

sucl) 


such  an  advice  coming  from  a  man  of  sense,  and 

a  friend? 

Afterwards  on  the  11th  of  February,  upon  my 
a^^ain  applying  to  you  for  advice,  you  write  me 
as  follows,   *'  As  to  this,  you  ask  me,  whether  I 
think  a  flight  in  which  I  am  to  adhere  to  Pompey\ 
or  my  remaining  here,  by  which  I  abandon  the 
cause    of   our    patriots,     the    most    advisable. 
For  my  own  part,  I  think  at  present,  that  your 
sudden  and  precipitate  departure,  would  do  no 
service  either   to  you  or  to  Pompey,  and  would 
expose  you  to  danger.     I  think  it  more  safe,  that 
you  disperse,  and  be  on  the  watch  for  awhile. 
But  1  judge  it  at  any  rate,  truly  shameful  to  think 
of  flying.     Yet  this  is  a  shame  which  our  friend 
Pompey  has  been  meditating  for  these  two  years 
past.    So  much  has  his  mind  indulged  in  the  pro- 
scriptions of  Sylla  -.     After  this,  if  I  remember 
right,   after    writing  me    somewhat    in  general 
terms,  from  which  I  imagined,  I  could  gather 
some  hints,  that  you  wanted  me  to  leave  Italy, 
you  shew  your  detestation  of  that  in  more  express 
terms,  on  the  19th  of  February :  "  For  my  part,  I 
never  gave  you  the  least  intimation,  that  if  Pom- 
pey should  leave  Italy,  you  ought  to  leave  it  like- 
wise.    Or,  if  I  have  given  such  a  hint,  it  is  incon- 
sistent,   not  only  with  my  own  sense^  but  with 

common 

*  The  original  here  is  corrupted,  and  can  be  restored  only  by 
conjecture. 

2  Qj^g^  //^  sullaturit  animus  ejus  et  prescripturit  diu. 


250 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


1>51 


common  sense."     In  another  passage  of  the  same 
letter,  you  say,   *'  Pompey  has  now  no  shift  but 
to  fly,  but  as  to  your  leaving  Italy,  with  him,  I 
am  still  against  it,  and  ever  was  against  it"     But 
you  discuss  all  the  difficulties  that  can  occur  on 
this  subject,  more  accurately  in  your  letter  of  the' 
22d  of  February:     *'  If  Manius   Lepidus  and 
Lucius  Volcatius  should  stay,  I  think  you  ought 
to  stay  likewise.     But  still,  if  Pompey  can  pre- 
serve himself,   and  make  a  stand  somewhere ;   I 
think  you  ought  to  abandon  the  inanimate  crew 
around  you^,     and  prefer  to  die  sword  in  hand 
with  Pompey,  rather  than  to  reign  with  those 
harpies,  who  shall  flock  together  in  the  govern- 
ment of  Cagsar.     After  expatiating  a  great  deal 
to  the  same  purpose,  you  say  in  the  close  of  your 
letter,  "  But  if  Lepidus  and  Volcatius  should  leave 
Italy,  I  am  at  a  loss  how  to  advise  you.     Even 
in  such  an  event,  I  think  that  what  you  have 
done  is  right,  whatever  the  consequence  may  be." 
If  you  were  then  at  a  loss  how  to   advise,  you 
surely   can  be  at  none  now,  as  they  have  re- 
mained in  Italy. 

Afterwards,  on   the   25th  of  February,  when 
\  Pompey    was   flying,    you   tell  me,     "   Mean- 
while, you  will,  I  doubt  not,  remain  at  Formia?^ 

where 

*  iiixvtatv.  Literally  carcases,  meaning,  as  it  appears  to  me, 
those  idle,  vain  dependants,  whom  Cicero  had  now  about  him, 
as  Imperator.  Others,  however,  take  them  to  be  the  profli- 
gate and  needy,  who  flocked  to  the  standard  of  Caesar. — E. 


where  you  can  most  conveniently  hear  what  hap- 
pens."   On  the  1st  of  March,  when  Pompey  had 
been  five  days  gone  from  Brundusium,  you  write 
me,  *'  Then  we  can  deliberate,    not  that  I  say  ^ 
you  are  quite  free  from  engagements,  but  surely 
you  are  less- involved  than  you  would  have  been, 
had  you  precipitately  gone  after  Pompey.  After- 
wards on  the  4th  of  March,  when  you  had  a  fit 
of  the  ague,  you  write  me  a  few  lines  to  the  fol- 
lowing  effect.     ''  To-morrow   I  will  write  you 
more  fully  as  to  every  thing.     Meanwhile,  I  do 
not  at  all  repent  advising  you  to  stay  in  Italy. 
You  must,  indeed,  feel  great  anxiety,  but  much 
less  than  if  you  had  left  Italy.     I  therefore,  am 
still  of  the  same  sentiments,  and  I  am  glad  you 
have  not  changed  yours."     Afterwards,  while  I 
was  fretting  and  alarmed,  lest  I  had  exposed  my- 
self to  disgrace,  you  write  me  on  the  5  th  of  March. 
*'  And  yet  I  am  not  at  all  uneasy  at  your  not 
being  with  Pompey.    If  it  is  necessary  afterwards, 
you  will  have  no  great  difficulty  in  joining  him, 
and  you  will  be  most  welcome  to  him,  join  him 
when  you  will.     But  this  inmt  be  understood 
with  limitation.     For  should  Ciesar  proceed  in 
the  same  sincere,  moderate,  wise  manner,  he  sets 
Out  with,  I  see  we  shall  have  great  reason  to  ad- 
vise farther  upon  what  is  proper  for  us  to  do." 
On  the  9th  of  March  you  write  me,  that  my  re- 
maining inactive  is  greatly  approved  of  by  our 

friend 


I 


■  Iff 


252 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


friend  Peducius,  whose  opinion  has  a  great  weight 
with  me. 

These  expressions  comfort  me,  with  the 
thoughts  that  I  have  hitherto  done  nothing 
that  is  disgraceful.  I  leave  it  to  you  to  sup- 
port your  own  opinion,  not  that  I  require  to 
be  satisfied,  but  that  others  may  be  satisfied 
likewise.  If  I  have  not  erred  hitherto,  I  will 
take  care  of  what  is  to  come.  Exhort  me  to  per- 
severe in  this,  and  assist  me  with  your  thoughts 
on  that  head.  We  have  heard  nothing  concern- 
ing Cesar's  return.  I  am  rewarded  for  writing 
this  letter,  by  the  satisfaction  I  have  had  in  peru- 
sing all  yours. 


EPISTLE  XL 


You  must  know  that  our  friend  Lentulus  is  at 
Puteoli.  I  no  sooner  learned  this,  which  I 
thought  an  improbable  piece  of  intelligence, 
from  a  traveller,  who  said  that  he  saw  and  knew 
him  upon  the  Appian  way,  while  the  windows  of 
his  carriage  were  open.  I  then  sent  some  slaves 
to  Puteoli,  to  find  him  out  witli  a  letter  from 
me.  It  was  with  difficulty  that  they  found  bin^ 
skulking  about  his  country-house ;  and  he  re- 
turned an  answer  to  my  letter,  in  which  he  greatly 
magnifies  his  obligations  to  Csesar,  and  adds,  that 

he 


TO  ATTICUS. 


£53 


be  has  entrusted  Caius  Caecius  to  inform  me  of 
what  he  intends  himself  to  do.  I  expect  him  this 
day,  which  is  the  20th  of  March.  Yesterday 
Matius  paid  me  a  visit.  Upon  my  honour,  I 
think  him  a  discreet,  wise  man,  and  he  has  al- 
ways been  reckoned  an  adviser  of  peaceable  mea- 
sures. He  expressed  strong  disapprobation  of 
Gsesar's  present  proceedings,  and  his  dread  of  the 
vultures  around  him,  as  you  term  them. 

As  we  have  had  a  great  deal  of  conversation 
together,  I  showed  him  Cesar's  letter  to  me, 
of  which  I  sent  you  a  copy,  and  I  begged  to 
know  of  him  what  he  meant  by  the  expression, 
that  he  was  willing  to  be  directed  by  my  advice, 
interest,  authority,  and  assistance  in  all  things. 
His  answer  was,  that  he  made  no  doubt  Caesar 
applied  to  me  for  my  assistance  and  interest  in 
bringing  about  an  accommodation,  I  wish  to 
heaven,  that  in  the  present  distressful  state  of 
the  country,  it  were  practicable  to  serve  it  by  my 
wisdom,  or  my  exertion.  As  to  Matius,  he  wa$ 
very  positive  that  Caesar's  sentiments  were  pa- 
cific, and  he  promised  himself  to  recommencj 
parcific  measures  to  him.  But  Crassipes  had 
paid  me  a  visit  the  day  before,  who  said,  that  he 
had  left  Pompey,  upon  the  6th,  at  Brundusium, 
and  they  who  came  from  tlience  on  the  8th,  say 
the  same  thing.  All  of  them  and  Crassipes 
amongst  the  rest,  agree  that  Pompey's  followers, 
v<^y  imprudently,  you  must  be  sensible,  throw 

out 


I 


1 


o 


254 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


1 1 


out  threatening  speeches,  avow  themselves  foe^ 
to  the  nobility,  and  enemies  to  our  municipal 
towns ;  that  they  breathe  proscriptions,  and  pro- 
fess themselves  to  be  so  many  Syllas  !  This  is 
the  language  of  Lucceius,  of  all  Greece,  and  es- 
pecially of  Theophanes  ! — Yet,  upon  such  men, 
depend  all  the  hopes  of  our  country's  preserva* 
tion.  On  their  account  my  eyes  are  strangers  to 
sleep,  and  my  soul  to  rest,  and  yet  I  am  impa- 
tient till  I  associate  with  men  so  unlike  myself, 
that  I  may  avoid  the  public  pests  that  form  the 
other  partv.  Into  what  seas  of  blood,  do  you 
not  think  Scipio,  Faustus,  and  Libo  will  embark, 
now  that  their  private  aftairs  are  entirely  ruined  : 
should  they  prevail,  what  cruelties  will  tliey  not 
inflict  upon  the  citizens  of  Rome  ? 

What  pusilanimity  diey  impute  to  Pompey ! 
He  has  given  up  the  thought  of  going  to  Spain, 
and  intends  to  seek  concealment  in  Egypt,  Ara- 
bia Felix,  and  Mesopotamia.  But  there  may  be 
nothing  in  these  wild  reports.  It  is  however, 
certain,  that  the  schemes  of  Caesar  are  desperate, 
and  those  of  Pompey  dangerous ;  I  am  impatient 
for  a  letter  from  you.  Ever  since  I  left  Rome,  I 
have  not  permitted  a  day  to  pass  without  writing 
to  you :  I  have  sent  you  a  copy  of  my  letter  to 
Caesar,  and  I  imagine  that  it  will  have  some 
effect. 


Cictro, 


TO  AITICUS. 


^55 


Vicero,  Commander  in  Chief y  to  Casar,  Commander  in 

Chief,  uisheth  Prosperity. 


Havivg  read  your  letter,   which  I  received 
from  our  friend  Furnius,  in  which  you  propose  I 
should  return  to  Rome ;  I  was  not  surprised  at 
your  desiring  to  avail  yourself  of  my  advice  and 
authority,  but  I  was  at  a  loss  for  your  meaning  in 
requiring  my  interest  and  assistance.     I  however, 
flattered  mvself,  that,  consistently  with  your  ad- 
mirable  and  matchless  wisdom,  you  were  willing 
I  should  co-operate  with  you  for  re-iestablishing 
the  happiness,  the  peace,  and  the  tranquillity  of 
our  country,  for  which  I  am  qualified  both  by  my 
disposition  and  character.     If  this  be  your  wish, 
if  you  are  concerned  for  the  safety  of  our  friend 
Pompey,  and  for  a  reconciliation  with  him,  and 
with  the  country,  you  can,  indeed,  find  no  man 
more  proper  than  I  am,  to  be  employed  in  such 
a  cause.     I  took  the  most  early  opportunity  of 
recommending  pacific  measures  both  to  him  and 
the  senate,  nor  have  I  taken  the  least  concern  in 
the  war  ever   since    hostilities   commenced,   as 
judging  you  to  be  injured  by  a  war,  which  was 
kindled  by  those  enemies,  who  envied  you  the  ho- 
nours decreed  you  by  the  people  of  Rome.     But, 
as  on  that  occasion,  I  not  only  promoted  your 

pretensions 


I 

-» 


256 


CICEROS  EtlSTLES 


4 

pretensions  to  those  distinctions,  but  likewise 
solicited  others  to  join  your  party,  so,  at  thi^ 
tiiiie,  I  am  sensibly  concerned  for  the  dignity 
of  Pompey.  For  it  is  several  years  since  I  sin- 
gled you  both  out  as  the  objects  of  my  chief  re- 
ward, and  as  itiy  most  particular  friends,   which 

you  still  are. 

I  therefore  desire,  or  rather,  I  most  earnestly 
beseech  and  conjure  you,  that,  in  the  midst  of 
your  important  proceedings,   you  will  bestow  a 
moment's  attention  to  this  thought,  how  I  may 
acquit  myself  through  your  indulgence,  as  an  ho- 
nest,   grateful,   worthy  man,   towards   a  person 
whom  I  remember  to  have  imposed  upon  me  the 
greatest  obligation.     Had  this  request  regarded 
only  my  own  person,  I  flatter  myself  you  would 
grant  it.    But  I  am  of  opinion,  that  the  sincerity  of 
your  professions,  and  the  interest  of  our  country, 
require  that  you  should  select  me  out  of  thost^ 
few,  whose  situation  tits  them  to  endeavour  to  re- 
concile you  and  Pompey,  and  to  restore  the  pub- 
lic tranquillity. 

I  already  returned  you  my  thanks  for  your 
kindness  to  Lentulus,  and  for  thus  saving  the 
man  who  had  saved  me.  But  when  I  read  his 
letters  which  he  wrote  me  with  a  heart  full  of 
gratitude  for  your  generosity,  I  thought  that  the 
favour  done  to  him  was  done  to  myself.  If  you 
approve  of  my  gratitude  to  him,  I  beg  that  you 

will 


TO  ATTictra 


257 


Wilt  give  me  an  opportunity  of  shewing  the  like 
to  Pompey  ^ 


EPISTLE  XIL 


^r  HiLE  1  was  reading  your  letter'  of  the  SOth 
of  March,  I  received  one  from  Lepta,  with  an 
account  that  Pompey  was  surrounded,  and  that 

the 

*  This  is  the  Celebrated  letter  for  which  our  autlior  has  apo- 
logized beforCi    Notwithstanding  all  he  says  in  that  apology^ 
it  can  scarcely  be  denied,  that  he  goes  too  far  when  he  says,  that 
he  thout^ht  Caesar  had  the  juster  causei  if  be  was  sincere  in 
what  he  says  at  other  times,  of  his  abhorrence  of  Caesar's  pro- 
ceedings.    The  whole  letter^  however,  gives  us  a  most  beau- 
tiful picture  of  the  goodness  of  our  author's  heart,  and  at  the 
same  time,  of  his  exquisite  delicacy  and  good  breeding.    The 
worst  that  can  be  said  of  it  is,  that  it  is  not  written  in  the  spirit 
of  a  severe  patriot,  and  that  it  is  not  such  as  Cato,  Brutus,  Bibu- 
lus,  or  any  of  the  high  republicans,  would  have  dictated.     It 
was,  however,  conceived  in  the  most  proper  terms  for  conciliat- 
ing Caesar.     Our  author  was  indeed  mistaken,  and  so  have  all 
his  apologists,  and  none  more  than  Dr.  Middleton>  in  ima- 
gining that  either  Caesar>  or  the  patriots^  had  any  great  opinion 
of  our  author's  integrity  or  wisdom,  I  believe  they  despised  and 
distrusted  both,  but  that  did  not  prevent  his  being  of  great  im- 
portance to  either  party,  and^  in  fact,  he  was  of  a  character  very 
proper  for  acting  as  a  mediator,  if  either  party,  was  sincerely 
disposed  to  peace,  perhaps  much  more  so  than  he  could  have 
beeUi  had  he  been  less  pliable. 

VoL.IL  S 


258 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


the  entrance  of  the  harbour  was  occupied  by 
armed  boats  \  My  tears,  I  protest,  prevent  me 
from  thinking  or  writing  any  farther.  I  send 
you,  therefore,  the  copy  of  his  letter.  What 
WTetches  are  we  who  did  not,  all  of  us,  hazard 
ourselves  along  with  Pompey  !  And  now  the 
same  melancholy  news  are  confirmed  by  Matins 
and  Trebatius,  who  met  Caesar's  couriers  at  Miu- 
turnae.  My  misery  now  is  such,  that  I  wish  for 
the  fate  of  Mucins  \ 

But  how  generous,  how  clear,  how  well  digested 
were  your  advices  concerning  my  journey,  my 
voyage,  my  meeting,  and  my  conversation  with 
Caesar.  What  you  proposed  was  at  once  honour- 
able and  prudent.  But  as  to  the  invitation,  you 
give  me  to  Epirus,  it  is  the  act  of  a  friend,  of  a 
generous  friend,  and  a  brother ! 

I  am  surprised  at  the  behaviour  of  Dionysius ; 
Scipio  did  not  entertain  Panaetius  more  honour- 
ably that  I  did  him,  and  yet  he  basely  neglects 
me  in  my  present  degradation.  I  -hate,  and  ever 
shall  hate  the  man.  I  wish  I  could  be  revenged 
upon  him,  but  I  will  leave  him  to  be  his  own 
tormentor. 

Now,  now,  my  friend,  is  the  time  for  your  con- 
sidering what  I  am  to  do.     An  army  of  Romans 

besiege 


*  We  have  a  fuH  account  of  those  operations  in  Caesar's  first 
book  of  the  civil  war,  to  which  I  refer  the  reader. 

*  Quintus   Mucius   Scaevola    was  killed   by  order  of  the 
younger  Marius. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


^69 


besiege  Pompey.     He  is  blocked  up  by  a  ditch 
and  a  rampart ;  he  is  cut  off  from  flying.     Yet 
are  we  alive  ?     Does   Rome  still  stand  ?     Do 
her  praetors  sit  in  judgment?      Are  her  Ediles 
preparing    their    sports?       Are    her    men    of 
w^orth  laying  out  their  money  at  interest  ?     But 
what  am  I  doing  ?      Shall  I  madly  run  about  ? 
Shall     I   rouse    the   loyalty    of  our    municipal 
towns  ?      The    great  will  not  follow    me,   the 
mob  will  deride  me ;  they  who  aim  at  a  revolu-^ 
tion,    now    (especially   that   they  are    success- 
ful and  in  arms)  will  lay  violent  hands  on  me* 
What  then  is  your  opinion  ?     How  would  you 
advise  me  to  put  an  end  to  the  miseries  of  such 
a  life  ?     My  sorrows,  my  torments  are  redoubled, 
now  that  some  people  will  think  me  either  pru- 
dent or  happy,  for  not  having  followed  Pompey. 
My  sentiments  are  the  reverse,  for  I  have  always 
wished  to  be  with  Pompey,  not  to  share  in  his 
victory  but  in  his  distress.     Let  me  now  implore 
your  letters,  let  me  have  recourse  to  your  wis- 
dom or  your  kindness — All  is  now  desperate.— 
We  are  not  without  remedy.— I  have  not  now 
even  a  wish  to  form,  but  that  Pompey  may  be  de^ 
livered  by  the  clemency  of  his  enemy. 

The  report  concerning  the  blockade^  I  believe 

not 


^    Orig.    ovK  fr<    trvixos  Xoyoi.      This    seems  to  have 
been     the    beginning   of   another   letter,     written   by    our 

author 
S  2 


'^1 


^^M4.)hJOy>m 


'J 


i 


•  Is 


I , 


260 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


not  to  be  true.  Dolabella  indeed,  writes  lue, 
upon  the  13th  of  ]\Iarch,  from  Brundusium,  that 
Pompey  was  upon  the  point  of  sailing,  and 
the  day  of  his  flight  would  be  fortunate  for 
Caesar.  But  this  account  is  very  different  from 
that  contained  in  the  letters,  of  which  I  have  be- 
fore sent  you  copies.  Here  indeed,  it  is  rumoured 
that  Caesar  is  determined  to  pursue  and  extermi- 
nate him ;  but  the  intelligence  is  neither  later,  nor 
is  the  authority  better,  than  that  of  Dolabella. 


EPISTLE  XIIL 

On  the  22d  instant,  I  received  your  letter,  in 
which  you  postpone  the  giving  me  any  advice, 
until  we  can  know  what  has  been  done.  You 
are  certainly  in  the  right  of  it.  For,  indeed,  at 
present,  I  cannot  bring  myself  to  think,  far  less 
to  resolve,  upon  any  thing.  And  yet  Dolabella's 
letter  invites  me  to  resume  my  former  thoughts. 
For  the  wind  was  very  fair  on  tlie  18th,  and  Pom- 
pey, 1  suppose,  availed  himself  of  it.  The  quo- 
tations I  collected  from  your  letters,  were  not 

meant 


author  after  receiving  one  from  Dolabella.  The  Greek  here  is 
an  hemistic  of  the  first  line  of  a  poetical  recantation  written  by 
Stesichorus,  after  he  was  struck  blind  in  consequence  of  com- 
posing some  abusive  verses  upon  Helen,  and  is  mentioned  by- 
Plato  in  his  Phaedrus. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


261 


meant  in  the  way  of  complaint  of  you,  but  of 
comfort  to  mvself.  For  I  was  not  so  much  vexed 
by  my  distresses,  as  by  an  apprehension  that  my 
ill  conduct,  or  rashness,  may  have  given  offence. 
But  now,  my  apprehension  has  subsided,  be- 
cause my  proceedings  and  conduct  have  been 
agreeable  to  your  advices. 

You  write  me,  that  the  obligations,  I  seem  to 
be  under  to  Pompey,  are  magnified  by  my  own 
sense  of  gratitude,  beyond  his  real  merits.  It  is 
true,  I  have  always  exaggerated  them,  and  the 
rather,  that  he  may  not  think  I  retain  the  smallest 
memory  of  former  grudges.  But,  supposing  I 
did  remember  them,  yet  still  his  behaviour  to- 
wards me,  at  that  critical  juncture,  ought  to  be 
now  my  guide  with  regard  to  him.  When  it  was 
in  his  power  he  gave  me  no  assistance,  but  he 
was  afterwards  my  friend  to  an  excess,  for  what 
reason  I  know  not ;  I  therefore  ought  to  befriend 
him  in  my  turn.  In  one  circumstance  our  for- 
tunes are  alike,  that  both  of  us  have  been  de- 
ceived by  the  same  men  \  But  I  wish  that  it 
were  in  my  power  to  do  as  much  service  to  him, 
as  he  could  have  done  to  me ;  I  have,  however, 
the  most  grateful  sense  of  what  he  did.  But  at 
present,  I  know  not  how  I  can  serve  him  in 
any  respect,  and  if  I  could,   I  think  I  ought  to 

assist 

^  Meaning  the  optimates,  or  men  of  quality,  such  as  Bibulus, 
Hortensius,  and  Lucceius,  whom  Cicero  bitterly  complamed  of 
in  the  preceding  letters. 


1^ 


262 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


|.   j^-J 


assist  him  in  his  preparations  for  this  destructive 
'  war.  All  I  mean,  is  not  to  give  him  umbrage  at 
my  remaining  in  Italy.  But,  by  heavens,  I  cannot 
at  the  same  time,  be  an  eye  witness  to,  I  cannot 
bear  a  part  in,  those  calamities  which  you  may 
now  figure  to  yourself. 

But  I  have  been  th^  more  dilatory  in  my  de- 
parture, because  it  is  no  easy  task  for  a  man  to  re- 
solve voluntarily  to  leave  his  country  without  the 
smallest  hopes  of  seeing  it  again.  For  I  perceive 
Caesar  to  be  very  strong  in  infantry,  in  cavalry,  in 
shipping,  and  in  auxiliaries  from  Gaul ;  but  Ma- 
tins, I  believe,  exaggerated  their  number,  when  he 
said  they  had  engaged  to  maintain  for  him  at  their 
own  expence,  ten  thousand  foot,  and  six  thou- 
^nd  horse.  But,  supposing  this  to  be  a  boast, 
yet  it  is  certain  that  he  is  very  strong,  and  he  will 
not,  like  Pompey  be  obliged  to  maintain  them  by 
extraordinary  contributions,  for  he  will  have  the 
riches  of  all  Rome  at  his  command.  And  add  to 
this,  the  enterprizing  spirit  of  Cassar  ;  the  weak- 
ness of  our  patriots,  who  are  enemies  to  the  war, 
for  no  other  reason,  but,  as  you  write,  because 
they  have  given  him  just  cause  of  disgust.  Yet  I 
wish  you  had  pointed  out  the  persons  you  meant 
by  this  hint.  Ceesar,  however,  has  been  more 
moderate  than  he  appeared  to  be  at  setting  out, 
and  the  common  people  have  lost  the  great  affec- 
tion they  had  for  Pompey.  As  to  our  corpora- 
tions and  country  gentlemen,  they  dread  Pompey, 

and 


TO  ATTICUS. 


263 


and  hitherto  they  seem  to  be  fond  of  Caesar. 
The  situation  therefore  of  the  latter,  is  such,  that 
supposing  he  is  unable  to  conquer,  yet  I  cannot 
see  how  he  can  be  defeated. 

For  my  own  part,  I  dread  not  so  much  the  en- 
ticing persuasion,  so  much  as  the  coercive  power 
which  this  man  possesses.     For,  as  Plato  says, 
the  requests  of  princes  always  carry  the  necessity 
of  complying  with  them.      I  perceive,   you  are 
against  my  remaining  any  longer  in  an  inland  sit- 
uation.    This   indeed,   I  do  not  myself  like,  but 
I   am  here  undiscovered,   and   I  was  faithfully 
served.     Could  I  have  the  same  conveniences 
at   Brundusium,  I  would  choose  to  go  thither. 
But  I  could  not  there  remain  without  being  dis- 
covered.    However,  as  you  write,  we  can  come 
to  no  positive  resolution  till  we  are  farther  in- 
formed. 

I  am  not  very  anxious  about  apologizing  for 
my  conduct  to  the  patriotic  party.  What  a  de- 
scription did  Peduceus  give  me  of  the  long 
entertainments  they  gave  and  received  !  What 
elegancies,  what  luxuries  were  there  !  Well,  I 
will  allow  them  to  be  patriots,  but  not  better 
than  myself;  they  would  give  me  uneasiness  were 
they  in  reality  better. 

I  was  mistaken  with  regard  to  the  house  of 
Phameas  at  Lanuvinum ;  I  was  dreaming  of  that 

at 


i.i 


&b4 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


X 


at  Troy  ^  for  which  I  formerly  offered  five  hundred 
thousand  serteces,  but  that  is  worth  more.  I 
could,  however,  wish  that  you  would  buy  it,  if 
you  have  the  smallest  hopes  of  being  able  to  en- 
joy it.  You  perceive  from  this  long  letter  which 
is  swelled  into  a  pamphlet,  what  strange  things  we 
see  every  day.  Our  friend  Lentulus  is  quite  in-r 
consolable  at  Puteoli,  as  Caecius  tells  me.  He 
knows  not  how  to  proceed.  He  is  afraid  of 
incurring  infamy  from  what  happened  at  Corfi-. 
jiium.  He  thinks  he  has  done  as  much  as  he 
ought  for  Pompey;  he  is  impressed  with  the 
generosity  of  Caesar,  but  when  he  knows  the 
whole  truth,  the  impression  will  be  more  lively, 
Here  I  have  a  piece  of  news  that  will  surprise 
you.  This  is  the  worst  of  all  our  miseries. 
Pompey  has  sent  N.  Magiqs  to  treat  of  peace 
tvith  Caesar,  and  yet  he  continues  to  be  besieged, 
I  would  not  believe  this,  had  I  not  yet  received 
letters  from  Balbus,  of  which  I  send  you  copies. 
Read  them,  I  beg  of  you,  and  especially  the  last 
paragraph  from  Balbus,  that  most  deserving  per- 
son^, whom  our  friend  Pompey  presented  with 
the  ground  for  building  his  country  house,  and 
whom  he  treated  witli  more  distinction  than  he 
did  any  of  us.     It  is  on  that  account  the  poor 

gentleman 

'  This  was  a  place  in  Italy,  between  Ardea  Laurentura,  an4 
Antium,  so  called  from  a  colonj  established  there  by  iEneas. 
'-^  This  is  ijrony. 


TO  ATTICUS- 


£65 


gentleman  is  tormented.  But,  that  yod  may  not 
read  the  same  thing  twice  over,  I  refer  you  to 
the  letter  itself.  As  to  an  accommodation,  I 
have  lost  all  hopes  of  it.  Dolabella  s  letters  of 
the  15th  of  March,  breatiie  nothing  but  w  ar.  Let 
me,  therefore,  remain  fixed  to  my  resolution, 
wretched  and  desperate  as  it  is  ;  for  nothing  can 
be  more  wretched  than  my  present  situation. 


Balbus  to  Cicero,  Commander  in  Chief,  wisheth 

Froipcritif, 

V-/iESAR  has  sent  me  a  very  short  letter,  •  of 
which  I  transmit  yoit  a  copy.  From  its  short- 
ness, you  may  perceive  how  very  much  he  is  hur- 
ried, as  he  has  used  so  few  words  upon  so 
weighty  a  subject.  I  will  inform  you  farther 
when  I  receive  any  fresh  intelligence. 


•    ; 


CiRsar  to  Oppius  and  Balbus,  wisheth  Prosperity. 

k)^  the  9th  of  March,  I  arrived  at  Brundusium, 
and  have  invested  it,  Pompey  is  within  the  place. 
He  sent  N.  Magius  to  me  to  treat  of  peace.  I 
answered  him  as  I  thought"*  proper.  I  was  wil- 
ting you  should  be  instantly  informed  of  this. 
Wh§n  I  shall  have  any  prospect  of  an  accommo- 
dation, 


y 


p 


^66 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


267 


datipn,   I  will  let  you  know    without   loss    of 
time. 

Now  my  dear  Cicero,  it  is  impossible  for  you 
to  conceive,  how  much  I  am  tortured,  now  that 
I  have  again  hopes  of  an  accommodation,  lest 
some  accident  should  happen  to  prevent  it.  All 
I  can  do  at  this  distance,  is  to  express  my  wishes. 
Were  I  there  in  person,  I  might,  perhaps,  be  of 
some  use.  At  present,  I  am  on  the  rack  of  im- 
patience. 


EPISTLE  XIV. 

\Jn  the  24th,  I  sent  you  copies  of  the  letter  to 
me  from  Balbus,  and  from  Caesar  to  him,  and  the 
same  day  I  received  a  letter  from  Q.  Pedius,  at 
Capua,  informing  me,  that  Caesar  had  written  to 
him   on   the    14th   of  March,    in   the  following 

terms. 

"  Pompey  keeps  within  the  town.  I  am  en- 
camped before  the  gates.  We  are  attempting  a 
great  and  a  tedious  work,  on  account  of  the  depth 
of  the  sea ;  but  I  had  no  choice  left  me.  We 
are  casting  up  mounds  from  both  points  of  the 
harbour,  in  order  to  force  Pompey  to  pass  be- 
yond seas,  with  the  troops  he  has  at  Brundusium 
or  to  block  him  up  in   the  harbour." 

Where  is  now  the  accommodation,  which  Bal- 
bus said  had  put  him  upon  the  rack  of  impati- 
ence ? 


cnce  ?  What  can  be  more  bitter,  what  more 
cruei,  than  this  intelligence  ?  It  is  even  given 
out  for  certainty,  that  Caesar  says,  he  will  avenge 
the  blood  of  C.  Carbo,  of  M.  Brutus  \  and  of 
all  who  were  butchered  by  Sylla,  in  conjunction 
with  Pompey ;  that  Curio  does  nothing  by  his 
orders  which  Pompey  had  not  done  by  Sylla's, 
that  he  had  restored^  to  their  rights  of  standing 
for  public  offices,  those  who  could  not  by  the  old 
laws  have  suffered  banishment ;  but  that  Pom- 
pey had  restored  traitors  from  exile.  That  Cae- 
sar farther  complains  of  Milo's  being  banished ' 
by  force,  but  that  he  will  offer  no  violence  to 
any  who  9,re  not  in  arms  against  him.     One  Bae- 

bius, 


1  Carbo  was  killed  in  Sicily  by  Pompey's  order  5  and  Marcus 
JBrutus,  father  of  the  famous  Brutus,  who  headed  the  conspiracy 
by  which  Caesar  fell,  was  killed  by  the  same  orders,  after  sur- 
rendering  Modena  to  Pompey. 

2  The  original  here  is  desperate,  and  I  have  translated  it  ac- 
cording to  the  most  probable  conjecture  I  could  form.  It  is 
however  necessary  for  the  reader  to  know,  that  Pompey  was 
under  a  kind  of  a  necessity  of  proceeding  severely  by  some  new 
laws,  which  had  passed  against  those  who  were  guilty  of  public 
corruption,  which  was  then  excessive  at  Rome. 

3  It  has  been  objected  to  Caesar's  character,  notwithstanding 
Jiis  complaining  of  Milo's  banishment,  that  he  did  not  recall 
Mijo  when  it  was  in  his  power  to  have  done  it.  But  I  cannot 
see  how  this  affects  Caesar,  since  Milo  might  have  been  guilty, 
and  a  very  dangerous  citizen,  and  yet  the  measures  taken  by 
Pompey  to  over-awe  his  trial,  might  have  been  very  unjustifia- 
ble 3  and  in  fact,  our  author  tliought,  and  knew  them  to  be  so. 


•J      : 


268 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


269 


bius,  who  was  sent  hither  by  Curio,  on  the  13th, 
and  is  a  fluent  speaker,  talks  of  Caesar  in  a  quite 
different  strain,  but  nobody  knows  any  thing  of 
this  same  Baebius.  I  am  absolutely  at  a  loss 
how  to  proceed.  I  am  convinced,  Pompey  is 
embarked  before  this  time ;  but  we  shall  know 
all  in  two  days.  You  have  sent  me  no  letters, 
even  by  Anteros;  but,  I  am  not  surprised  at 
that,  for  what  can  we  write  ?  and  yet,  I  write  to 
you  every  day. 

P.  S.  Since  writing  the  above,  I  received,  be- 
fore  daybreak,  a  letter  from  Lepta  at  Capua, 
witli  an  account,  that  Pompey  embarked  the 
15th,  and  that  by  the  26th,  Caesar  would  be  at 
Capua. 


EPISTLE   XV. 

After  writing  you  the  letter  Avhich  brought 
you  the  account,  that  Caesar  was  to  be  at  Capua 
by  the  26th,  I  received  a  letter  from  Capua,  that 
he  was  to  be  at  Curio's  house,  in  Alba,  on  the 
28th.  As  soon  as  I  have  seen  him,  I  will  go  to 
Arpi.  Should  I  obtain  the  indulgence  I  ask  for, 
I  will  comply  with  his  terms ;  otherwise,  I  will 
follow  a  course  of  my  own.  He  writes  me,  that 
he  has  posted  one  legion  at  Brundusium,  another 
at  Tarentum,  and  a  third  at  Sipontum ;  and  the 

whole 


whole  seem  to  me  to  be  disposed  in  such  a  man- 
ner, as  to  block  up  every  passage  by  sea ;  while 
his  own  motions  point  towards  Greece   rather 
than  Spain.     But  those  are  distant  events.     At 
present,  I  am  uneasy  about  the  manner  of  my 
meeting  with  him ;  for  the  time  is  at  hand,  and 
I  tremble  with  the  dread  of  his  first  proceedings. 
I  suppose,  he  will  endeavour  to  obtain  a  resolu- 
tion of  the  senate  ;  and  a  sentence  from  the  Au- 
gural college  in   his  favour.     I  shall  be  either 
hurried  with  him  to  Rome,  or  plundered  in  my 
absence.     He  will  authorize  a  praetor,    to  create 
the   consuls,    or  name  a  dictator;    both  which 
proceedings  are  unconstitutional.     If  Sylla,  how- 
ever,  could  from  a  regent  procure  himself  the 
appellation  of  dictatoi',    why  may  not  Caesar  do 
the  same  ?     I  can  conclude  upon  nothing,    but 
that  I  am  in  danger  of  being  treated  as  a  Q.  Mu- 
cins by  the  one  party,    and  as  a  L.  Scipio  by  the 
other. 

By  the  time  you  have  read  this  letter,  I  shall 
perhaps,  have  had  a  meeting  with  Caesar;  You 
will  perhaps  reply,  you  have  suffered  heavier 
trials  than  these;  No,  not  by  my  banishment. 
For  tlien  I  was  supported  by  the  hopes  of  being 
speedily  recalled;  and  by  the  discontent  of  the 
public.  At  present,  I  intend  to  leave  Italy, 
without  the  smallest  encouragement  to  hope, 
that  I  shall  ever  return.  Our  corporations,  and 
country  gentlemen,  so  far  from  being  disconten- 
ted 


270 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


271 


ted  with  Caesar,  are  afraid  of  Pompey's  cruelty 
and  resentment.  Notwithstanding  all  this,  to  stay 
with  Caesar  is  what  I  most  dread,  and  to  be 
with  Pompey  is  what  I  most  desire ;  to  be 
his  companion,  not  in  fighting,  but  in  flyings 
Meanwhile,  you  delayed  giving  me  any  advice, 
till  we  should  know  what  had  happened  at  Brun-» 
dusium.  We  know  it  now  ;  dnd  yet  I  am  as  un- 
determined as  ever. 

I  can  scarcely  flatter  myself  that  Ca?sar  will 
give  me  the  indulgence  I  am  to  solicit,  notwith- 
standing all  the  strong  reasons  I  shall  urge  to 
obtain  it.  But  I  will  instantly  send  you  a  most 
exact  and  verbal  account  of  our  conversation,  as 
soon  as  it  shall  happen.  Do  you,  my  friend,  ex- 
ert all  your  affection  to  assist  me,  by  your  con* 
cern  and  wisdom.  Caesar  comes  on  so  fast,  that 
I  cannot  have  a  previous  meeting  with  T.  Rcbi- 
lus,  as  I  proposed.  I  must  proceed,  without  the 
smallest  preparation !  and  nmst  speak  what  my 
own  wisdom  may  dictate  without  the  dread  of 
that  Nestor.  Whatever  I  shall  do  you  shall  forth- 
with know.  I  have  no  copy  of  the  proposals  you 
ask  for,  sent  by  Caesar  to  the  consuls,  and  to 
Pompey.  While  I  was  upon  the  road,  I  sent 
you  those  brought  by  Egypta,  by  which,  I  sup- 
pose, you  may  gather  the  substance  of  the  others. 
Philip  is  at  Naples,  and  Lentulus  at  Puteoli. 
Endeavour  to  learn  where  Domitius  is,  and  what 
he  intends  to  do. 

You 


I 


I 


You  tell  me  that  I  have  written  in  a  harsher 
strain  of  Dionysius,  than  is  usual  with  my  natural 
temper;  but  you  see  by  this  how  nmch  I  retain 
in  me  of  the  old  Roman.  Indeed,  I  thought 
that  you  would  have  been  more  sensibly  affected, 
than  I  was,  by  his  behaviour.  For,  not  to  men- 
tion that  I  imagine  you  ought  to  resent  every 
injury  offered  to  me ;  that  fellow,  in  some  mea- 
sure, insulted  you  by  behaving  with  so  much  in- 
solence towards  me.  But  how  far  that  may  be 
any  concern  of  yours,  I  leave  to  yourself;  for  I 
will  not  impose  on  you  the  burden  of  resenting  my 
quarrels.  For  my  own  part,  I  hardly  thought  him 
in  his  senses,  but  now  believe  him  a  base  rascal : 
And  yet  he  has  done  more  harm  to  himself  than 
he  has  done  to  me.  You  have  managed  very 
well  concerning  Philargirus^  The  cause  you 
defended,  had  truth  andjustice  to  support  it,  for 
he  abandoned  me  rather  than  I  him. 

After  sending  oft'  my  letter,  of  the  25th,  the 
servants,  whom  I  had  sent  to  Matius  and  Tre- 
batius  brought  me  a  letter  from  them,  of  which 
the  following  is  a  copy. 


EPISTLE 


*  This  person  seems  to  have  been  one,  to  whom  Dionysius 
had  complained  of  our  author's  treatment  of  him,  and  was  set 
right  by  Atticus, 


:| 


f 

H    : 


if 


nt 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


279 


Matius  and  Trehatim  to  Cicero,  Commander  in  Chiefs 

wi&h  prosperity. 

Upon  our  leaving  Capua,  \vc  understood  oil 
the  road,  that,  on  the  17th  of  March,  Pompey 
sailed  from  Brundusium,  with  the  remaining 
part  of  his  forces ;  that,  next  day,  Caesar  entered 
that  town;  that  he  made  a  public  harangue  ;  that 
he  set  out  from  thence  to  Rome,  where  he  will 
arrive  some  time  this  month,  and,  after  staying 
a  few  days,  will  proceed  to  Spain.  As  we  have 
this  account  of  Caesar's  march  from  undoubted 
authority,  I  have  thought  proper  to  send  back 
your  servants,  with  the  most  early  information  of 
it  to  you.  I  have  what  you  recommended  to  me 
very  much  at  heart,  and  I  will  solicit  it  when  op- 
portunity offers.  You  will  see  Trebatius  Sca3- 
vola,  before  you  see  Csesar  or  me. 

P.  S.  Since  writing  what  is  above,  we  under- 
stand that  Caesar  will  be  at  Beneventum  on  the 
25th;  on  the  26th,  at  Capua;  and  on  the  27th, 
at  Sinuessa.  You  may  depend  upon  the  truth 
of  this. 


fcPISTLE 


EPISTLE  XVl. 

Though  I  h^ve  nothing  new  to  write  you,  yet 
i  write  this,  that  I  may  not  let  a  day  pass  with- 
but  sending  you  a  letter.  I  heard  that  Caesar 
was  to  spend  the  27th  at  Sinuessa  :  I  received  a 
letter  from  him,  the  d^y  before,  in  which  he  tells 
me,  he  hopes  to  be  assisted  not  by  my  property 
but  by  my  influence  \  After  I  had  written  him 
a  letter  of  compliment  upon  his  generous  beha- 
viour at  Corfinium,  he  sent  me  the  following 
answer. 


Ctesar,  Commander  in  Chiefs  to  Cicero,  Commander  in 

Chief,  uisheth  Prosperity, 

You  know  me  too  well  to  be  mistaken  in  the 
judgment  you  have  formed  of  my  hating  no- 
thing so  much  as  I  do  cruelty.  Now,  besides  the 
great  pleasure,  which  1  take  in  clemency  as  a  vir- 
tue, it  gives  me  triumph,  it  gives  me  joy,  that  yoa 
approve  of  my  conduct  I  am  not  in  the  least 
concerned  at  the  report,  th^t  they,  whom  I  re- 
stored 

1  There  is  a  low  jingle  in  the  original.     Jam  opes  meas,  non, 
ut  superiorilus  litteris,  opem  expectat.     • 

Vol.  IL  T 


■  V, 


274 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


275 


tored  to  liberty,  have  gone  off,  that  they  might 
renew  the  war  against  me.  For  I  wish  for  no- 
thing more  than  that  both  they,  and  I,  should 
act  like  ourselves.  I  earnestly  desire  you  to  be 
at  Rome,  that  I  may  continue,  in  all  my  mea- 
sures, to  make  use  of  your  counsels  and  your  aid. 
You  must  know  that  I  hold  in  high  estimation 
Dolabella  your  son-in-law.  I  hope  he  will  com- 
ply with  me  in  this  request,  and  indeed  such  is 
his  politeness,  his  good  sense,  and  his  kindncsj* 
for  me,  that  he  cannot  do  otherwise  ^ 


EPISTLE  XVn. 

\Js  the  28th,  the  date  of  this  letter,  I  expect 
the  arrival  of  Trebatius.  I  will  determine  upon 
the  manner  of  addressing  Caesar  by  wliat  I  shall 
learn  from  him,  and  from  the  letters  of  Matius. 
Mortifying  situation  !  for  he  doubtless  will  press 
me  to  come  to  Rome.  For  when  he  was  at  For- 
miae,  he  publicly  intimated  his  pleasure  for  a 
full  senate,  to  assemble  by  the  1st  of  April, 
Shall  I  then  refuse  him  ?— But  why  should  I  an- 
ticipate matters. — ^I  will  not  lose  a  moment  in 
♦  writing 

I 

*  It  is  hard  to  say  whether  the  magnanimity,. of  politeness  of 
Caesar,  in  this  letter  is  most  conspicuous,  or  wliether  our  au- 
thor's criticism,  which  we  observed  in  the  last  note,  or  his  dis^ 
trust,  if  he  did  distrust  Caesar,  is  most  absurd. 


writing  to  you.  I  will  resolve,  according  to  my 
conversation  with  him,  whether  I  shall  go  to 
Arpi,  or  to  some  other  place.  I  intend  to  give 
my  son  the  manly  robe  at  that  place.  I  beg  you 
to  turn  your  thoughts  to  what  I  shall  do  after- 
wards, for  vexation  has  rendered  me  quite  stupid. 
I  want  to  know  whether  Curius  has  written  any 
thing  to  you  concerning  Tyro.  For,  according 
to  what  Tvro  writes  to  me  himself,  I  am  appre- 
hensive  of  his  health.  They  who  have  seen  him 
give  me  little  satisfaction  ;  and  let  me  tell  you, 
that  even  this  is  no  small  addition  to  my  other 
great  afflictions  ;  for  his  care  and  assiduity  would  . 
be  extremely  useful  to  me  in  my  present  situ- 
ation. 


EPISTLE  XVIIL 

X  HAVE  followed  your  advice^  in  both  points. 
For  my  conversation  with  Caesar,  was  such  as 

might 

^  The  reader  cannot  but  observe,  from  this  letter,  how  much 
our  author's  stile  is  influenced  by  his  situation.  He  speaks  as  one 
out  of  breath,  after  a  terrible  fright  in  half  broken,  short  sen- 
tences. Meanwhile  I  am  still  confirmed  in  my  former  opinion, 
that  though  his  attendance  at  Rome,  would  have  been  of  use  to 
Caesar,  yet  that  Caesar  did  not  think  him  of  so  much  import- 
ance as'he  seems  to  imagine  himself  to  be.     Even  our  author's 

firmness, 

T2 


■I 


HI 

i 


|: 


276 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


277 


might  ratlier  induce  him  to  have  a  high  opinion 
of  my  integrity,  than  to  return  me  thanks  for  my 
compliance.  I  remain  firm  in  declining  to  go  to 
Rome.  I  was,  however,  mistaken  in  thinking  he 
would  be  compliable  \  Never  did  I  see  a  man 
less  so.  He  told  me,  that  my  refusal  was  a  con- 
demnation of  his  conduct,  and  that  my  not  going 
to  Rome  would  keep  others  back.  My  answer 
was,  that  my  case  and  theirs  differed  widely. 
After  much  talk ;  Then  come,  said  he,  and  set 
on  foot  an  accommodation.  What,  upon  my 
own  terms  ?  You  are  sure,  replied  he,  I  will  not 
prescribe  to  you.  Then,  I  will  endeavour,  said 
I,  to  persuade  the  senate  to  oppose  your  going 
to  Spain,  and  your  transporting  your  army  into 
Greece.     I  will  enlarge,  continued  I,  in  the  most 

pathetic 

firmness,  and  Cacsar*s  behaviour  to  him,  confirm  the  suspicion. 
For  if  he  talked  in  the  steady  manner  he  here  represents,  and 
if  it  was  of  such  importance  for  Caesar  to  have  him  at  Rome, 
and  not  to  join  Pompey,  we  cannot  imagine  he  would  have  suf- 
fered him  to  depart  at  liberty.  The  truth  is,  there  is  a  wide 
difference  between  the  compliments,  and  the  sentiments,  of  so 
great  a  man  as  C?esar  was.  It  is  possible  Pompey  would  have 
been  a  little  more  serious  with  our  author 5  but  Caesar,  who 
had  a  passion  for  that  true  glory  which  descends  to  posterity, 
wanted  to  win  Cicero,  rather  than  make  him  his  enemy,  if  k 
could  be  done  without  prejudice  to  his  ambition. 

^  Orig.  Facilis.  If  Caesar  was  so  very  ineompliable,  ho>f 
came  he  to  leave  our  author  at  liberty  to  act  as  he  pleased,  after 
he  had  so  fr;uikly  declared  his  sentiments  to  be  against  all  his 
measures. 


pathetic  manner,  upon  the  fate  of  Pompey. 
These  are  matters,  says  Caesar,  which  I  will  not 
have  mentioned.  So  I  thought,  answered  I ;  but 
I  will  not  be  present^  because  1  must  either  men- 
tion these  matters,  and  many  others,  M'hich  I 
shall  indispensably  be  obliged  to  do,  if  I  should 
appear  at  Rome,  or  I  must  not  go  thither.  At 
last,  to  get  rid  of  the  subject,  he  desired  me  to 
take  time  to  consider.  1  could  not  refuse  that, 
and  thereupon  we  parted.  I  am,  therefore,  con- 
vinced, that  Caesar  does  not  love  me.  But  I  love 
myself,  and  that  is  more  than  I  have  been  used 
to  do  for  a  long  time  \ 

But  to  change  the  subject,  what  a  train  accom- 
panies him.  In  the  deadly  band,  as  you  used  to 
call  his  adherents,  was  the  freedman  of  Eros 
Celer.  In  what  a  ruinous  cause  is  he  embarked ! 
What  desperate  troops  he  heads  !  There  might 
be  seen  the  son  of  Servius,  here  the  son  of  Titi- 
nianus.  What  a  crew  was  there  in  the  camp  which 
blockaded  Pompey !  Caesar  was  there  at  the  head 
of  six  legions ;  he  is  vigilant,  he  is  daring,  I  see 
ho  end  of  our  calamities.     Now,  if  ever,  you  are 

to 


^  This  is  one  of  the  many  beautiful  reflections  which  arise 
from  nature  and  the  honesty  of  the  heart,  and  distinguish  our 
author's  letters  to  Atticus  beyond  any  epistolary  compositions, 
either  ancient  or  modem.  For  my  own  part,  I  cannot  help 
wishing  that  he  had  oftener  than  he  did,  laid  aside  the  man  of 
learning,  and  the  statesman,  for  he  is  always  the  great  man, 
when  uninfluenced  by  fear  or  vanity. 


278 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATITCUS. 


279 


to  give  me  your  advice,  for  this-  is  the  last  crisis. 
Caesar  threw  out,  however,  at  the  close,  an  alarm- 
ing situation,  I  had  almost  forgotten  "  if  he  was 
debarred  from  the  advantage  of  my  counsels,  he 
would  take  advice  from  others  w  here  he  could 
get  it,  and  that  he  would  hesitate  at  nothing. 

You  will  ask  me,  have  you  then  seen  the  man  ? 
I  have  seen  him  just  as  you  had  described  him. 
Did  you  not  sigh?  I  certainly  did.  Well,  tell 
the  rest  of  the  sequel.  I  have  nothing  farther  to 
add.  He  instantly  went  to  Pedum  ^,  and  I  to 
Arpi.  There  I  will  wait  for  the  return  of  the 
swallows^  Meanwhile,  you  will  say,  you  ought  not 
to  harass  yourself  with  what  cannot  be  helped. 
But  alas  !  I  am  about  to  follow  a  leader  who 
has  committed  many  gross  blunders.  Well,  I 
wait  for  your  letters.  We  have  not  now  the  re- 
source we  used  to  have,  of  examining  how  things 
will  turn  out.  My  meeting  with  Caesar,  was  to  be 
the  period  of  our  deliberation,  and  as  I  doubt 
not  of  his  being  much  dissatisfied  with  it,  we  are, 

consequently, 

1  This  was  a  city  of  Latium,  lying  between  Tybur^.Praeneste 
and  Tusculanum. 

*  Orig.  hatXaytv<Ta,v.  Garrientem  sup.  hirundinem.  There  is 
some  ambiguity  in  the  Greek  phrase,  and  uncertainty  in 
the  reading.  I  have  translated  it  according  to  the  most 
probable  opinion,  that  Cicero  means,  he  would  take  the  advice 
of  Atticus  in  waiting  till  summer  was  pretty  far  advanced,  that 
is,  till  the  swallows  began  to  chatter,  before  he  went  to  join 
Pompey. 


consequently,  to  be  the  more  speedy  in  resolving 
and  acting.  As  you  love  me,  therefore,  you  will 
w  rite  me  a  letter,  and  that  too  upon  w4iat  ought 
to  be  my  conduct  in  regard  to  the  common- 
wealth. I  am  extremely  impatient  for  a  letter 
from  you. 


EPISTLE  XIX. 

L  HAVE  chosen  to  invest  my  son  Cicero  at 
Arpi,  with  the  manly  robe,  because  we  were  absent 
from  Rome,  and  indeed,  my  neighbours  of  that 
corporation  regard  this  as  a  high  compliment; 
but  yet  I  felt  great  sorrow  and  dejection,  both 
amongst  them,  and  in  all  the  places  through  which 
I  passed  ;  so  dismal,  so  gloomy  is  the  prospect  of 
the  impending  convulsion.  Levies  are  raising, 
and  taking  up  their  winter  quarters.  If  such 
proceedings  are  burdensome,  even  when  occa- 
sioned by  true  patriots,  when  the  war  is  just,  and 
its  prosecution  moderate,  how  intolerable  must 
they  be,  when  carried  on  by  the  most  furious  ruf- 
fians, and  in  the  prosecution  of  a  most  unna- 
tural civil  war. 

Now,  you  are  not  to  imagine,  that  there  is  in 
all  Italy  one  unprincipled  man,  who  has  not 
joined  Caesar.     I  saw  the  general  rendezvous  of 

them 


I 


280 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


them  at  Formias.     I  was  well  acquainted  with 
them  beforehand  (nor,  indeed,  did  I  ever  look 
upon  them  as  any  other  than  beasts  of  prey,) 
but  I  never  before  saw  theni  in   one  group — 
Let  me  be  gone  theo,  go  where  I  will — Let  me 
bid  adieu  to  all  my  concerns — Let  me  be  gone,  I 
say,  to  Pompey,  who  ^ill  be  mqre  thankful  for  my 
having  joined  him,    than  if  I  had  fled  with  him. 
We  had  then  great  hopes;  at  present  (I  speak  for 
myself)  we  have  none  \  and  I  am  the  oqly  man  of 
the  party  who  has  not  left  Italy,  because  he  was 
afraid  of  Caesar.     And  yet,  I  call  heaven  to  wit- 
ness, I  do  not  act  thus  for  the  sake  of  my  coun- 
try, which  I  take  to  be  entirely  ruined,  but  to 
avoid  the  imputation  of  ingratitude,   towards  a 
man  who    relieved   me    from    the   misfortune^ 
which,   indeed,  himself  inflicted,   and  because  I 
cannot  be   a  witness  to  the  present  or  future 
measures,  that  must  certainly  be  in  agitation  at 
Rome. 

I  suppose,  by  this  time,  some  resolutions  have 

passed 


*  Orig.  Turn  enim  eramus  in  maxima  spe;  nunc,  ego  quidem, 
in  nulla.  Monsieur  Mongault  translates  this,  Car  alors  nous 
avoins  de  grandes  esperances,  tS^  il  ne  nous  en  reste  plus.  I 
have  in  another  place  observed,  {^Vide  translation  of  the  ora- 
tions. Vol.  II.)  that  no  translator  or  commentator  has  attended 
to  the  meaning  of  the  particle  quidem.  And  this  passage 
from  so  excellent  a  translator  as  Monsieur  Mongault^  is  a  fresh 
proof  of  it. 


,    9 

MP 


TO  AtTICUS. 


281 


passed  the.  senate  ;  I  wish  Volcatius  ^  may  have 
had  the  direction  of  them,  but  that  will  be  of  no 
avail     All  will  be  compelled  to  be  of  one  mind. 
Servius,  however,  will  be  the  most  untractable, 
for  he  i^ent  his  son  with  Pontius  Titinianus  to  the 
army,  in  order  to  kill,  or  at  least,  to  take  Pom- 
pey.    Titianinus  was,  indeed,  influenced  by  fear. 
But  as  to  Servius — But  let  me  desist  from  pas- 
sion— Let  us  come  to    some  resolution,   even 
though  it  were  burdensome,  and  to  me  the  most 
forlorn  of  all,  that  of  continuing  to  breathe-, — 
As  the  ports  of  the  Adriatic  sea  are  shut  up,  I 
will  embark  at  a  port  from  the  Tuscan  sea ;   if  I 
find  difficulty  at  Puteoli,  I  will  go  to  Croto,  or  to 
Thuriae',   and   thus  we,  excellent  citizens,   and 
eminent    patriots,    must  act  as    professed    pi- 
rates. 


-'il 


8; 


'  He  was  of  a  moderate  character,  and  one  of  the  most  an- 
,  cienf  amongst  the  consulars. 

2  I  cannot  see,  admitting  the  reading  laid  down  by  Graevius, 
and  followed  by  Monsieur  Mongault  himself,  why  both  of 
them  should  look  upon  this  passage  as  irrecoverable  and  irre- 
<onciieable  to  sense.  I  imagine,  that  whoever  compares  it,  as 
I  have  translated  it,  with  other  passages  of  our  author's  works, 
will  think  it  contains  a  sentiment  very  agreeable  to  Cicero's 
manner.  It  was  no  new  tiling  in  our  author,  when  pressed 
by  misfortunes,  as  he  is  in  this  place,  to  deliberate  both  with 
himself  and  his  friends,  whether  or  not  he  should  live.  The 
reader  may  consult  Vol.  I.page  ISl,  183,  184,  196,  and  almost 
the  whole  of  the  third  book  of  these  epistles. 

3  This  sea-port  lay  upon  the  gulf  of  Sarentum^  and  is  like- 
wise called  Cybaris. 


282 


CICERO'S  .EPISTLES 


rates  ^  For  I  can  see  no  other  method  by  which 
we  can  carry  on  this  war.  We  are  now  skulking  to 
Egypt ;  we  are  not  in  a  condition  to  face  our  ene- 
my, and  there  is  no  depending  upon  the  pro- 
spect of  an  accommodation  ;  but  I  have  already 
sufficiently  bewailed  these  melancholy  circum- 
stances. 

I  beg  you  will  inform  me  in  your  letters  by 
Cephalio,  of  all  that  is  done  or  spoken  at  Rome  ; 
if,  indeed,  I  can  suppose  people  there  still  to 
retain  the  use  of  speech.  I  followed  your 
advice,  especially  as  to  the  dignity  I  kept  up  in 
my  interview  with  Caesar,  and  in  my  continuing 
firm,  not  to  go  to  Rome.  Finish  what  you  have 
begun.  Write  me  punctually  (for  matters  are 
now  come  to  a  crisis  with  me)  all  that  you  want, 
and  all  that  you  wish  to  have  done.  And  yet  I 
see  no  choice  that  is  left. — Write  to  me,  if  any 
thing  of  consequence  occur  to  you;  write  to 
me  even  things  of  no  consequence. 


CICERO'S 


1  We  have  already  seen,  that  he  accused  Pompey  of  a  de- 
sign  to  famish  Italy,  by  cutting  off  all  provisions  by  sea. 


Hi 


'I  I 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO 


ATTICUS. 


BOOK  X. 


EPISTLE    L 


O.v  the  third  of  April,  after  coming  to  my 
brothers  house  at  Laterium',  I  received  your 
letter,  which  soothed  my  sorrow  more  than  any 
other  circumstance  since  these  troubles  began. 
It  is  of  great  consequence  to  me,  that  you  ap- 
prove of  my  firmness  of  resolution,  and  the  man- 
ner of  my  behaviour.  As  to  the  approbation 
which  you  say  I  have  received  from  our  friend 
Sextus,  it  gives  me  as  much  joy,  as  if  I  had  re- 
ceived it  from  the  judgment  of  his  father,  of  whom 
I  always  had  the  greatest  opinion.     Well  do  I 

remember, 


*  This  place  lay  near  Arce. 


/«! 


I* »  t 


284 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


remember,  on  that  day,  it  was  the  5th  of  Dc- 
cember,  what  he  said  to  me  when  I  was  conver- 
sing with  him  on  a  certain  subject.  His  words 
were. 


Vet  in  a  mighty  deedy  I  shall  expii^e, 
Let  future  ages  hear  it,  and  admire  ^  ! 

His  authority  therefore  is  still  alive  with  me,  and 
his  son,  who  is   his  express   image,  succeeds  to 
'  my  regard  for  him.     I  desire  that  you   will  re- 
member me  to  him  most  sincerely. 

Though  the  time  you  mark  out  for  my  coming 
to  some  determination,  cannot  be  far  off  (for  that 
venal  speaker '  has,  I  suppose,  before  now,  closed 
his  harangue,  and  something  I  suppose,  has  been 
done  in  the  convention  of  the  senators,  for  I  can- 
not call  it  a  senate),  yet  still  you  hold  me  in 
suspense  ;  though  I  am  the  less  so,  as  I  am  per- 
fectly convinced  that  you  are  fixed  in  your  opin- 
ion how  I  ought  to  proceed.  What  else  can  be 
the  meaning  of  your  telling  me,  that  Flavins  is 
to  go  for  Sicily  at  the  head  of  a  legion,  and  that 

he 

^   Orig.     l^■r^  (Mut  »<T7fovlu  ye  Kj  atxXttus  a7roXo/^»j», 

A\\xf^eyx  f  f  Jaf  ri,  kJ  i<T(TO(jt.£yoi(n  'TrvQea-Qxi. 

This  is  a  verse  taken  from  Homer,  who  puts  it  in  the  mouth 
of  Hector  when  he  saw  that  his  deatli  by  Achilles  was  inevita- 
ble.   The  translation  is  Mr.  Pope*s.  » 

*  Several  characters  in  Rome  answer  to  this  expression,  but 
we  are  not  certain  ivho  the  particular  person  was,  whom  Cice- 
ro meant. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


285 


he  has  entered  upon  his  commission ;  that  many 
wicked  schemes  are  in  readiness  or  in  agitation, 
and  that  more  will  follow  ?  For  my  own  part, 
I  pay  no  regard  to  the  law  of,  Solon,  our  country- 
man ^  which  made  it  death  for  any  person  in  a 
civil  commotion,  not  to  take  one  party  or  the 
other ;  and  unless  you  differ  in  opinion  from  me, 
both  I,  and  the  young  men,  will  retire  from  this 
scene  of  tumult.  But  I  am  more  inclined  to  the 
other  resolution.  However,  I  will  do  nothing 
with  precipitation,  but  wait  for  your  advice, 
and  (unless  you  may  have  written  another  letter 
before)  for  the  letter  which  I  desired  you  to  send 
me  by  Cephalio. 

You  write  me  not,  as  a  thing  you  have  heard, 
but  as  a  suggestion  of  your  own,  that  I  must  be 
drawn  to  Rome,  if  an  accommodation  should  be 
set  on  foot.  For  my  part  I  cannot  see  what 
room  there  can  be  for  any  such  proposal,  since 
Caesar  appears  to  be  entirely  determined  to  strip, 
if  he  can,  Pompey,  both  of  his  army,  and  his 
government,  unless  the  same  venal  orator  can 
persuade  him  to  be  quiet,  while  the  mediators 
are  passing  and- repassing.  I  see  nothing  now  to 
hope  for,  of  that  can  be  done.  It  is  a  political 
question  of  moment,  whether  a  good  patriot 
ought  to  deliberate  with  a  tyrant,  even  when 

virtuous 


I 


*9 


1  Alluding  to  his  own  fondness  and  that  of  his  friend  for 
Athens.    , 


£86 


CICi:RO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


287 


virtuous  measures  are  the  subject  of  deliberation* 
Should  I  therefore,  chance  to  be  invited  (which^ 
indeed,  is  very  improbable,  after  his  disgust  at 
the  freedom  with  which  I  spoke  my  mind  re- 
specting an  acconunodation)  ;  but,  I  say,  should 
it  so  happen,  write  me  in  what  manner  you  think 
I  should  behave ;  for  this  will  be  one  of  the  most 
critical  periods  in  my  whole  life.  I  am  extremely 
glad,  that  you  are  pleased  with  what  you  hear 
from  Trebatius  w^ho  is  a  worthy  man,  and  a  good 
patriot,  and  your  repeated  exclamation  of  most 
excellent  !  gives  me  a  satisfaction,  that  is  unsual 
to  me  in  my  present  situation*  I  am  extremely 
impatient  for  your  letter,  which,  I  suppose,  by 
this  time  you  have  sent  off. 

Your  ^  friend  Sextus  and  you,  have  preserved 
the  same  dignity  of  behaviour  which  you  recom- 
mended to  me.  Your  cousin  Celer  is  not  so  wise 
as  he  is  witty.  What  my  daughter  told  you  con- 
concerning  the  young  men,  is  true.  Your  remark 
concerning  JMarcus  Antonius  is  not  in  reality  so 
sad  as  is  reported.  The  agony  I  am  now  in,  is 
like  that  of  death.  I  nmst  either  possess  freedom 
amongst  rebels,  or  join  the  patriots  at  the  risk 
of  my  life.     I  must  either  follow  the  latter  in 

tlieir 


^  This  probably  was  the  beginning  of  another  letter,  and 
which  is  often  the  case  with  those  letters,  it  has  probably  slipt 
into  this  through  accident,  or  carelessness. 


their  madness,  or  oppose  the  former  in  their 
treasons.  Either  measure  is  attended  with  dan- 
ger, but  what  I  am  about,  is  neither  safe  nor 
shameful. 

I  am  not  of  opinion,  that  the  person  who  sent 
his  son  to  Brundusium  with  proposals  of  peace, 
will  be  employed  as  a  deputy  \  I  have  heard  no 
mention  of  him,  and  I  think  so  much  the  better. 
As  to  peace,  my  sentiments  are  the  same  with 
yours,  that  their  pacific  overtures  have  no  since- 
rity, but  that  their  preparations  for  war  are  in 
good  earnest  Should  I  therefore  happen  to  be 
deputed,  I  shall  have  the  less  reason  to  write,  or 
even  to  consider  about  my  behaviour  \ 


£PiSTLE 

^  Monsieur  Mongault  has  translated  this  in  a  different  sense 
and  upon  a  reading  from  Graevius,  which  I  do  not  find  to  be 
warranted,  nor  indeed  has  either  Graevius  or  he  admitted  it  into 
tlieir  text.  Meanwhile,  I  have  retained  the  common  readino-. 
because  I  think  it  makes  as  good,  if  not  better,  sense  as  that 
adopted  by  the  French  translator.  The  person  alluded  to  here, 
seems  io  have  been  either  the  elder  Balbus,  or  the  elder  Sulpi- 
cius,  most  probably  the  latter. 

^  The  reason  of  this  is,  because  he  knew  that  Caesar's  party 
were  not  in  earnest,  as  he  mentions  immediately  before,  and 
not  because  (as  Monsieur  Mongault  is  fond  of  supposing)  nq 
body  spoke  of  our  author  for  a  mediator.  For  both  Ciesar  and 
Balbus,  and  many  others,  had  mentioned  him  as  the  most  pro- 
per  person  to  be  employed.  I  likewise  think  Monsieur  Mon- 
gault is  a  little  mistaken  in  the  latter,  as  well  as  in  the  former, 
part  of  this  paragraph  ;  but  it  is  of  no  great  importance. 


883 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


lA ,, 


EPISTLE  II. 

X  WAS  to  go  to  Mintume,  t\  hen  I  received  yOuf 
letter  from  Cephalio,  the  5th  of  April,  and,  after 
staying  there  the  next  day,  I  intended  to  leaVe  it 
widiout  delay.  I  have,  however,  remained  ill 
my  brother's  house  at  Arce,  it  being  a  more  pri- 
vate place,  till  I  can  hear  soniethipg  mpre  cer- 
tain, and  in  the  meanwhile,  all  may  be  done,  that 
can  be  done  without  me.  The  chattering  of  the 
swallows  notifies  the  approach  of  summer.  I  am 
in  a  fever  till  I  am  gone,  but  how,  or  where,  is 
still  a  question. — Upon  this  I  shall  deliberate, 
and  will  be  determined  by  those  who  are  quali- 
fied to  advise. — Meanwhile  do  you,  my  friend^ 
continue,  as  hitherto,  to  assist  me  as  far  as  you 
can  with  you  advice.  My  situation  is  so  inextri- 
cable, that  I  must  leave  all  to  chance.  My 
endeavours  are  hopeless ;  and  it  would  be  next 
to  a  miracle,  should  they  be  successful. 

I  am  against  that  visit  from  Dionysius,  witll 
which  I  am  tlireatened  in  my  daughter's  letter. 
It  would  be  very  improper  at  this  time,  and 
I  should  be  sorry  that  a  fellow,  who  hates  me 
so  much,  should  entertain  himself  with  my  mis- 
fortunes, especially  as  they  are  so  great  at  pre- 
sent But  I  think  vou  have  little  reason  to  resent 
Uiy  quarrel  with  him.  * 

EPISTLE 


to  ATTICUS. 


^89 


EPISTLE   III. 

1  HAVE  nothing  to  write,  though  I  am  desirous 
of  writing  to  you.     There  are  some  things,  how- 
ever,   that  I   am  curious   to  know.— Is  Caesar 
trone? — In  what  state  has  he  left  Rome? — Whom 
has  he  left  to  command  in  Italy  ?— Who  are  the 
officers,  to  whom  he  has  assigned  particular  go- 
vernments,   and   the    administration   of    public 
affairs  ?— Has  he  sent,  and  was  he  sanctioned  by 
the  senate  in  sending,  any  deputies  to  Pompey 
and  the  consuls  to  treat  of  peace  ?— These  are  the' 
points  I  desire  to  know  of  you,  and,  for  that  pur- 
pose,  I   trouble  you  with   this  letter.     It  will 
therefore  be  kind,  and  obliging  in  you,  to  inform 
me  of  these  matters,  and  of  whatever  else  may 
concern  me  to  know.     I  will  wait  at  Arce  for 
your  answer.     This  is  the  second  letter  I  have 
written  you  on  the  7th  of  April;  and  yesterday  I 
wrote  you  one  longer  with  my  own  hand.     I  am 
told  you  have  been  seen  in  the  pontifical  palace \- 
I  cannot  blame  you.     For  if  it  is  a  fault  to  ap- 
pear in  public,  I  have  been  guilty  of  it  myself. 
I  am  impatient  (yet  I  know  not  for  what  rea- 
son) 

1  Ong.  Regia.  This  was  a  place  in  which  the  greatest  men 
in  Rome  used  to  assemble  in  public,  for  the  sake  of  company 
and  conversation,  as  we  do  at  court,  or  other  public  places. 

Vol.  II.  U 


^. 


^i' 


290 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


To  ATTICUS. 


291 


son)  for  a  letter  from  you.  I  beg,  however,  you 
will  write  to  me,  even  though  you  have  nothing 
to  write ;  only  let  me  be  assured  of  this  from 
your  own  hand.  Caesar,  in  his  letters,  for- 
gives me  for  not  coming  to  Rome,  and  tells  me 
that  he  is  very  far  from  being  disgusted  with  my 
refusal.  I  am  not  at  all  sorry  at  what  he  writes 
me,  that  TuUus  and  Servius  complain  to  him, 
that  he  has  not  shown  to  them  the  same  indul- 
gence which  he  has  to  me.  How  ridiculous  these 
men  are  to  send  their  sons  to  an  army,  which 
besieges  Porapey,  and  yet  scruple  to  assist  in  a 
senate,  that  is  called  by  Caesar.  Meanwhile,  I 
have  sent  you  the  copy  of  Caesar's  letter. 


EPISTLE  IV. 

V 

X  RECEIVED  several  letters  from  you  the  same 
day,  all  of  them  most  accurately  penned,  but  I 

never  shall  be  tired  of  reading  that  which  ap- 
proaches the  size  of  a  volume.  The  pains  you 
took  in  writing  it,  I  assure  you,  were  not  lost,  if 
you  meant  thereby  to  oblige  me  in  the  most  sen- 
sible manner.  I  therefore,  earnestly  desire  you 
to  repeat  your  favours  as  often  as  you  can,  and 
while  you  can,  that  is,  as  long  as  you  know  how 
to  direct  to  me. 

It  is  now  time,  if  possible,  for  me  to  fii)ish,  or 

if 


If  1  cannot  finish,  t»  moderate,  which  is  no  more 
than  I  can  do,  these  my  daily  lamentations  over 
the  state  of  the  public.     I  bid  adieu  to  all  re- 
flections upon  the  dignity,   the  honours,  and  the 
exalted  station  of  life  I  have  forfeited.     I  am 
now  only  to  reflect  by  w^hat  means  I  rose  to  them, 
how  I  discharged  them,  and  in  what  estimation 
I  lived  with  the  public.     In  short,  it  is  a  consi- 
deration with  me  in  my  present  calamities,  what 
difterence  there  is  between  me  and  the  men,  for 
whose  sakes  I  have  lost  my  all.    I  mean  the  men, 
who  thought  they  could  not  have   a  sufficient 
rantre  for  ambition,  without  driving  me  from  my 
country.     But  you  see  what  has  been  the  catas- 
trophe of  their  coalition  and  iniquitous  associa- 
tion.    Caesar,  who  was  one  of  the  parties,  in  the 
glow  of  resentment  and  treason,  is  so  far  from 
relenting,  that  he  is  every  day,   making  new  ac- 
cessions of  power.     After  driving  Pompey  from 
Italy,   he  now  endeavours  to  pursue  his  person 
in  one  country,   and  to  strip  him  of  his  govern- 
ment in  another.     He  is  so  far  from  declining, 
that,  in  some  measure,  he  arrogates  to  himself   ,j 
the   appellation    of  tyrant,    which,    in  fact,    he 
merits.     Pompey,  the  other  party,  who  could  sec 
me  crawling  at  his  feet  without  raising  me,  who 
said,   that  he  could  do  nothing  against  the  will 
of  Caesar,,  this  man,   I  say,  after  escaping  from 
the  power  and  the  sword  of  his  father-in-law, 
makes  preparations,  by  sea  and  land,  to  carry  on 

Us  a  war. 


%■■ 


292 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


293 


a  war,  not  indeed,  unjust  in  itself ;  but  not  sanc- 
tified by  the  love  of  country,  not  justified  by  ne- 
cessity, yet  still,  a  war,  which,  if  he  be  conquered, 
would  prove  fatal ;  and  even  should  he  conquer, 
it  would  be  pernicious  to  his  country. 

Yet,  glorious  as  were  the  previous  actions  of 
these  mighty  generals,  I  cannot  give  them  the 
preference  to  mine ;  nor  can  I  think  them 
greater  in  all  their  enjoyment  of  the  pomp  of 
fortune,  tlian  I  was,  when  I  encountered  her 
storms.  For  what  enjoyment  can  a  man  haye 
6f  himself,  who  either  abandons  or  oppresses  his 
country  ?  And  if  I  am  right,  as  you  say  I  am, 
in  what  I  have  written  in  my  philosophical  trea- 
tises, that  the  only  source  of  happiness  is  virtue, 
and  that  nothing  can  be  wretched  but  what  is 
dishonest ;  both  these  great  men  must  surely  be 
wretched  to  the  last  degree,  who  never  thought 
of  the  interest  and  honour  of  their  country,  but 
sacrificed  them  to  their  love  of  public  power, 
and  private  emolument.  What  peace,  what 
comfort  therefore,  do  I  feel  within  myself !  Con- 
scious as  I  am,  that,  while  it  was  in  my  power, 
I  served  my  country  with  success;  that  at  least 
I  ever  judged  of  her  affairs,  as  if  I  had  the  spirit 
of  divination,  and  that,  fourteen  years  ago,  I 
foresaw  the  very  tempest  in  which  she  is  now 
overwhelmed. 

I  will  go  then,  attended  with  a  good  conr 
science,  as  uiy  companion.     ^ly  heart,  ind^d,  is 

heavy, 


heavy,  but  not  so  much  on  my  own  and  my  bro- 
ther's'account,  for  both  of  us  are  in  the  decline 
of  life,  as  on  account  of  our  children,  whom  I 
sometimes  look  upon  as  pledges  deposited  in  our 
hands,   and  to  whom  we  ought  presently  to  en- 
trust the  guardianship  of  our  country.     One  ot 
them,  at  least,   is  endued  with  filial  piety,   and 
therefore  he  does  not  give  me  so  much  pam\ 
—But  as  to  the  other— surely  nothing  in  life  ever 
oave  me  such  sorrow  and  concern,— he  has  been 
so  far  spoiled  by  his  father's  and  my  indulgence, 
that  I  dare  not  mention  what  he  dares  to  do ; 
besides,  1  am  impatient  for  your  letters ;  for  you 
informed  me,   that  you  would  write  me  more  at 
large,  when  you  had  seen  him.    i  never  showed 
him  any  indulgence  but  what  was  tempered  with 
much  severity,  and  have  even  checked  him,  not 
in  single  or  trifling  errors,  but  in  great  and  nume- 
rous offences.     But  his  father's  indulgence  ought 
rather  to  have  endeared  him   to    him,  than  to 

be  so  monstrously  abused  by  him. 

We 

»  Ong.  Quorum  quidem  alter,  non  tam  (quia  majore  pietalc 
est)  me  miralititer  excruciat.  I  have  here  supplied  a  paren- 
thesis, which  the  sense  evidently  demands,  rather  than  intro- 
duce a  sense  not  to  be  warranted.  Monsieur  Mongault  trans- 
lates this  passage,  Vun  m'afflige  wfinimenl,  mains  parce  quHl  est 
monsfds  qucepas  quejelui  vols  un  hon  naturel.  It  is  impossible 
this  excellent  translator  could  have  niistaken  the  passage  as  he 
has  done,  had  he  attended  to  the  signification  of  the  particle 
quUem,  the  mistaking  which,  I  have  so  often  observed,  has  led 
all  translators  into  gross  blunders. 


i 


\ 


/ 


294 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


295. 


We  were  so  much  concerned  at  the  letters  ho 
wrote  to  Caesar,  that  we  even  concealed  them 
from  you,  but  I  perceive  that  he  has  rendered 
his  father's  life  miserable.  I  dare  not  express  to 
you,  the  affection  which  he  pretended,  when  he 
set  out  upon  his  journey.  All  I  know  is,  that, 
after  he  had  been  with  Hirtius,  he  was  sent  for 
by  Caesar ;  that  he  informed  him  of  my  being, 
at  heart,  an  utter  enemy  to  all  his  schemes,  and 
that  I  intended  to  leave  Italy.  Thus  much  I 
write,  though  with  a  trembling  hand.  But  our 
indulgence  could  never  have  brought  him  to  that; 
it  must  be  owing  to  his  own  perverse  nature.  It 
was  this,  and  not  their  father's  conduct,  that  cor- 
rupted Curio,  and  the  son  of  Hortensius.  The 
concern  which  my  brother  feels,  renders  him 
ashamed  to  shew  his  face ;  nor  is  he  so  anxious 
about  his  own  life,  as  about  mine.  He,  my 
Atticus,  is  the  object  to  whom  you  are  to  admi^ 
nister  comfort,  if  you  can.  All  tlie  comfort  that 
suggests  itself  to  me  is,  the  possibility  that  our 
information  may  be  either  false  or  exaggerated. 
But,  supposing  it  to  be  true,  what  caq  be  done, 
situated  as  I  am,  and  ready  to  take  my  flight? 
For  did  our  government  still  subsist,  I  should 
be  at  no  loss  how  to  proceed  in  the  proper  terms 
either  of  severity  or  mildness.  Either  resent- 
ment, grief,  or  fear,  may  have  given  my  pen  a 
severer  edge  in  this  matter,  than  is  consistent  with 
either  your  or  my  affection  towards  the  young 

man. 


man.  But  if  the  allegations  are  true,  you  will 
pardon  me :  if  they  are  false,  you  will  gratify 
in  undeceiving  me.  But,  however  the  matter 
may  turn  out,  you  are  to  impute  nothing  either 
to  the  uncle  or  the  father. 

Having  written  thus  far,  I  received  a  message 
from  Curio,  that  he  was  about  to  pay  me  a  visit, 
he  having  arrived  at  Cumae  last  night,  being  the 
1 3th  of  this  month.  If  his  conversation  with  me 
should  disclose  any  thing  that  you  ought  to  know. 
I  will  subjoin  it  in  the  sequel  of  this  letter. 

Curio  has  gone  past  my  house,  and  sent  me 
notice,  that  he  would,  very  soon,  wait  upon  me. 
He  hastened  to  Puteoli ;  there  he  harangued  the 
people  :  when  this  harangue  was  over,  he  came 
to  me  and  staid  with  me  a  long  while.     How 
shameful  was  his  conduct !— You  know  the  man. 
—He  was  as  frank  as  ever.— In  the  first  place, 
he  asserted  as  a  fact,   that  all  who  had  been  ba- 
nished by  the  Pompeian  law,  would  be  recalled, 
with  the  view  of  employing  them  in  Sicily.     He 
made  no  doubt  of  Caesar's  becoming  master  of 
both  Spains ;  that  after  that,  he  would  lead  his 
army,   in  person,   against  Pompey,  wherever  he 
may   be,    and   that  Pompey's  destruction   alone 
could  put  a  period  to  the  war ;  that  w  hat  passed 
nearer  Rome  was  of  little  consequence,  and  that 
Csesar  was  so  much  provoked  at  the  opposition 
he  met  with  from  the  tribune  Metellus,  that  he 

intended 


I 


^96 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


297 


intended  once  to  have  killed  him\  which,  if  he 
had  done,  it  would  have  occasioned  the  slaughter 
of  many  others  ;  that  many  advised  him  to  adopt 
cruel  measures;  that  he  was,  neither  by  principle, 
nor  by  nature,  averse  to  shed  blood,  but  because 
he  thought  clemency  would  strengthen  his  in- 
terest with  the  people ;  and  that,  if  he  once  lost 
their  confidence,  he  would  manifest  his  thirst  for 
blood,  and  that  he  was  alarmed,  when  he  under- 
stood that  the  populace  took  offence  at  what  he 
had  done  in  regard  to  the  public  treasure. 
Curio  added,  that  it  was  for  this  reason  he  had 
not  ventured  to  effect  the  firm  resolution  which 
he  had  formed  of  convening  the  people,  and 
that  when  he  left  it,  he  was  greatly  confused  and 
disconcerted. 

I  next  came  to  question  Curio  what  prospect 
he  had,— where  were  the  forms,  where  the  sub- 
stance of  our  constitution  ?  He  frankly  told  me, 
that  all  his  thoughts  of  that  kind  were  at  an  end. 
He  was  afraid  of  Pompey's  fleet,  and  he  said,  if  it 
should  act  that  he  must  abandon  Sicily.  What, 
said  I,  is  the  meaning  of  those  ^  six  lictors  who  at- 
tend you?     If  you  received  them  from  the  senate, 

why 

*  This  was  for  opposing  C«sar's  seizing  the  public  treasure 
at  Roipe. 

*  He  reserved  them  from  Caesar,  as  being  pro-praetor  ^  none 
but  consuls  and  proconsuls  were  attended  with  twelve,  and 
none  had  them  encircled  with  laurel,  but  those  who  had  gained 
a  victory. 


why  do  they  wear  laurel  ?  And,  if  from  Caesar, 
why  are  they  so  few  ?  I  was  content  to  have 
them,  replies  he,  from  a  clandestine '  resolution 
of  the  senate  for  he  had  no  other  means  to  get 
them.  But,  continues  he,  Caesar  hates  the 
senate  more  than  ever,  and  told  me,  /  will  be 
the  source  of  public  honours.  I  still  urged  hmi, 
why  have  you  no  more  than  six  lictors  ?  I  might 
have  had  twelve,  replied  he,  but  I  declined  it 

How  desirous  said  I  to  him,  was  I  to  request 
of  Csesar,  the  favour,  I  hear,  he  has  granted  to 
Philip  ^     But  I  feared  I  should  not  prevail  with 
him,  because  he  did  not  prevail  with  me.     He 
would  have   granted  it,  answered  Curio,   with 
pleasure,  and  you  may  consider  yourself  as  hav- 
ing already  gained  it;  for  I  will  write  him  in  any 
terms  you,  please,   that  you  and  I  have  settled 
that  matter  between  ourselves.     What  signifies 
it  to  him  where  you  are,  if  you  are  not  in  the 
senate-house  ?     You  could  have  given  him  no 
manner  of  disgust  by  leaving  Italy.     Upon  this 
I  told  Curio,  that  I  wanted  to  retire  and  live  in 
solitude,    and  the  more  so,  because  I  was  at- 
tended by  lictors.     He  approved  of  the  resolu- 
tion.    Well  then,   said  I,  I  must  go  to  Greece 
through  your  province,  because  the  coasts  of  the 

Adriatic 


1  SeeVol.  I.p.293,  294. 

2  Though  he  was  nearly  related  by  marriage  to  Caesar,  yet 

Jie  gave  him  leave  to  remain  neutral. 


i' 


fl 


298 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


H 


|;# 


Adriatic  are  guarded  by  soldiers.  Nothing, 
said  he,  in  the  world  can  give  me  greater  plea- 
sure ;  and  here  he  profusely  complimented  me. 
Thus  far  therefore  I  have  succeeded,  that  I  shall 
be  able  to  embark,  not  only  openly,  but  with 
safety. 

He  has  deferred,  till  another  time,  all  conver- 
sation about  other  matters;  and  if  any  thing  worth 
writing  should  occur,  then  I  will  communicate 
it  to .  you.  There  are  some  things,  however,  I 
have  forgotten  to  mention ;  such  as,  whether 
Caesar  expects  an  interregnum.  Whether — but 
what  am  I  talking  about  ? — Curio  t©ld  me,  Caesar 
had  offered  the  consulship  to  him,  but  that  he 
refused  it  for  the  next  year.  There  are  other 
things  besides,  that  I  must  learn  of  him.  In 
short,  he  swore,  (but  oaths  cost  him  nothing) 
that  Caesar  is  extremely  well  pleased  with  me. 
I  appeal,  said  he,  to  what  he  wrote  to  Dolabella. 
Well,  what  was  that  ?  said  I.  Curio  then  as- 
sured me,  that  when  Dolabella  was  desirous  I 
should  come  to  Rome,  Caesar,  in  answer,  re- 
turned him  many  thanks,  and  told  him,  that  he 
was  not  only  satisfied,  but  pleased  at  my  not 
coming.  What  can  I  say  more?  I  begin  to  be 
more  at  ease,  and  my  concern  at  my  family's 
treachery,  and  my  nephew's  conversation  with 
Hirtius,  is  now  abated.  How  desirous  I  am, 
that  the  young  man  were  worthy  of  his  family, 
and  how  very  unwilling  I  am  to  suspect  him. — 

But 


TO  ATTICUS. 


299 


But  still,  where  was  the  occasion  for  his  meeting 
Hirtius?  There  must  be  something,  though  I 
hope  not  much,  in  the  report.— And  yet,  I  am 
surprised  that  he  is  not  returned.— It  cannot  be 
long  ere  we  know  the  whole  truth. 

You  are  to  pay  the  money  due  to  me  from  the 
Opii,  to  my  wife ;  for  there  is  now  no  security 
to  be  had  at  Home  for  money.  Do  you,  how- 
ever,  assist  me  by  your  advice,  whether  I  shall 
travel  to  Rhegium  by  land,  or  embark  directly 
here.  As  it  will  be  some  time  before  I  depart, 
I  shall  have  new  matter  to  write  to  you  as  soon 
as  I  see  Curio.  I  beg  you  will  continue  your 
inquiries  concerning  Tyro,  that  I  may  know  wh&t 
h^  is  about. 


-t 


ji 


EPISTLE  V. 


1 


If  I  mistake  not,  I  wrote  you  very  fully  before 
concerning  my  future  plan.  As  to  the  day  of  my 
departure,  all  I  can  say  for  certain  is,  that  it  will 
-nbt  be  before  the  change  of  the  moon.  Curio's 
converaation  with  me  the  day  after  I  last  wrote 
to  you,  was  pretty  much  in  the  same  strain  as 
before,  only  he  was  more  frank  in  owning,  that 
he  could  not  foresee  the  end  of  the  present  dis- 
orders.    What  you  mention  concerning  the  ma- 


4" 


If 


nai^emeut 


J  i 


1 


500 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS, 


301 


nagement  of  my  nephew,  is  hardly*  practicable ;  I 
will,  however,  do  all  in  my  power ;  and  I  wish 
you  ^ould  do  the  same.  But,  I  shall  deal  with 
him  with  all  the  strictness  which  you  propose  to 
do.  I  have  written  directly  to  Vestorius  concern- 
ing my  daughter,  who  was  very  importunate  to 
me  on  that  head. 

Vectenus  was  more  reasonable  in  his  conversa- 
tion with  you  than  in  his  letters  to  me,  but  I  am 
extremely  surprised  at  the  inaccuracy  of  his  ac- 
count. For,  after  Philotimus  told  me,  that  that 
messuage  might  be  bought  of  Canuleius  for  fifty 
thousand  serteces,  and  even  cheaper,  if  I  should 
apply  to  Vectenus,  I  accordingly  wrote  to  desire 
Vectenus  to  abate  the  price,  if  he  could,  which 
he  promised  to  do.  Pie  lately  wrote  to  me,  that 
he  had  purchased  it  for  thirty  thousand  serteces^ 
and  desired  me  •  to  let  him  know  the  per- 
son to  whom  I  had  a  mind  it  should  be  con- 
veyed, and  that  the  13th  of  November  was  the- 
day  of  payment.  I  answered  him  too  angrily, 
though  my  language  was  tempered  with  face- 
tiousness.  But  now,  that  he  acts  as  a  man  of 
honour,  I  have  nothing  to  accuse  him  of,  and  I 
have  written  to  let  him  know,  that  you  have  in- 
formed me  of  the  whole  affair.     I  desire  you  to 

give 

^  The  original  here  is  a  Greek  proverb.  A^xxlixy  yn  atretSi 
Yqu  ask  Arcadia  ofinCs  you  solicit  of  me  a  difficult  task. — E. 


give  me  every  information  about  your  journey, 
iiow,  and  when,  it  is  to  be.     April  the  17th. 


EPISTLE  VI. 

Nothing  but  the  weather  detains  me,  in  this 
place.     I  will  act  an  open  part,  whatever  revo- 
lution may  take  place  in  Spain*     Do  not  you, 
however,  divulge  a  syllable.     I  have,   in  my  for- 
mer letters,   opened  to   you   all  my  schemes; 
w^hich  is  the  reason  why  this  letter  is  so  short, 
besides  my  being  hurried  in  getting  ready  for 
my  departure.     As  to  the  younger  Quintus,  / 
have  given  him  a  severe  lecture. '     You  know  the 
passage  to  which  I   allude.      The  advices  you 
give  me  afterwards,   are  both  wise  and  friendly. 
But  every  thing  will  be  practicable  with  me,  if  I 
can  be  sufficiently  guarded  in  respect  to  him. 
This    is  a    difficult    point.— He  is    a  strange 
medley ;  he  has  nothing  about  him  that  is  inge- 
nuous,   nothing  that  is  sincere.     I  wish  you  had 
undertaken  the  management  of    him,   for   hi^ 
father  is  too  indulgent  to  him,   and  slackens  the 
severity  of  my  discipline.     I  could  manage  the 
youth,  were  it  not  for  the  father  :   this  you  mighf 
do ;  but  I  cannot  blame  you  for  not  attempting 

it 

1  This  expression  is  from  Terence. 


;3 

lit 


■i 

'A 


it 


3oe 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


303 


it — it  is  a  great  task.  We  are  authentically  iit-» 
formed,  that  Pompey  goes  through  lUyria  to 
Gaul.  I  must  now  see  how,  or  which  way  I  ant 
to  escape. 


EPISTLE  VII. 

P  OR  my  part,  I  approve  of  your  going  by 
Apulia  and  Sipontum,  and  of  all  the  caution  you 
use,  for  I  think  your  situation  is  different  from 
mine.  Not  but  we  are  under  the  same  ties  to 
our  country,  but  our  country  is  now  out  of  the 
question.  The  dispute  is,  who  shall  be  our 
sovereign  ?  In  this  dispute,  the  most  mode- 
rate, the  most  virtuous,  and  the  most  upright 
commander,  whose  success  hereafter,  is  con- 
nected with  the  very  existence  of  the  Roman 
people,  has  been  worsted.  But  should  this  man 
be  sovereign,  he  will  use  his  power  with  the  inso- 
lence and  cruelty  of  Sylla.  In  such  a  dispute, 
therefore,  you  ought  to  declare  yourself  opeijy 
for  neither,  but  consult  your  own  interest.  But 
my  case  is  far  different;  for  I  am  so  tied 
down  by  obligations  to  Pompey,  that  I  cannot 
be  ungrateful ;  but  yet,  I  think,  I  need  not  to 
attend  him  in  the  field,  but  retire  to  Malta,  or 
some  other  little  town.  You  will  tell  me,  that 
is  doing  no  service  to  the  man,   to  whom  I  am 

unwilling 


unwilling  to  appear  ungrateful.  But  give  me 
leave  to  say,  that  it  is  more  than  Pompey  him- 
self, perhaps,  would  have  required.  But  time 
will  prove  this.  Let  me  at  any  rate  be  gone, 
nor  need  I  hurfy  before  the  fine  season  comes 
on,  since  Dolabella  commands  the  Adriatic  sea, 
and  Curio  the  streights  of  Sicily. 

I  entertained   some  hopes   that  Servius  Sul- 
picius  would  give  me  some  explanation,  I  there- 
fore sent  him  a  letter  by  my  freedman  Philo- 
timus.     If  he  will  behave  as  a  man,   I  cannot 
wish  for  a  better  companion  ;  but  whatever  may 
be   his     conduct,    I  will   still   act  like  myself. 
Curio  staid  some  time   with  me ;    he  thought, 
that  Caesar  was  dejected  by  the  disapprobation  of 
the  populace,  and  felt  little  hope  of  Sicily,  if 
Pompey  should  sail  there  with  his  fleet.     I  re- 
ceived  the  younger    Quintus  with  great  affec- 
tion ;  I  see,  that  his  whole  motive  was  his  love 
of  money,    and   the  hope  of  obtaining  a   sum 
from  Caesar.     Even  that  is  very  bad,  but  I  am 
in  hopes  there  is  no  foundation  for  the  crime  of 
which     we    suspected  him.      But  his   conduct, 
viewed  in  this  favourable  light,  is  unpardonable. 
Now,  as  to  his  present  offence,  I  suppose,  you 
will  not  impute  it  to  our  indulgence,   but  to  his 
natural   disposition,    which    we    endeavour    by 
every  means  to  correct.     You  may  settle  to  your 
own  mind  the  business  of  the  Opii  Velienses. 

1  shall 


♦ 


i 


304 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


I  shall  look  upon  your  house  at  Epirus,  as  upon 
my  own ;  bu^  I  believe^  I  shall  not  go  near  that 
quarter. 


EPISTLE  VIII. 


X  HERE  is  now  an  end  of  corresponding  upon 
subjects  which  may  be  dangerous,  as  our  letters 
may  be  intercepted ;  and  this  is  no  more  than 
the  thing  itself  manifested ;  that  you  hinted,  and 
I  foresaw.  But  a&  my  daughter  often  writes  to 
entreat  me  to  wait  the  event  of  what  is  doing 
in  Spain  ;  as  she  always  tells  me,  that  you  are  of 
the  same  opinion,  and  as  I  understand  so  much 
from  your  own  letters,  I  think,  it  is  very  proper 
for  me  to  acquaint  you  with  my  sentiments  on 

that  head. 

I  should  deem  that  measure  extremely  ad- 
visable, if  I  could  agree  with  you  in  thinking, 
that  my  conduct  ought  to  be  regulated  by  the 
event  of  the  war  in  Spain.  One  or  the  other  of 
these  events  must  happen ;  that  Caesar  (as  I  wish 
he  may)  will  be  beaten  out  of  Spain;  or  the  war 
will  be  protracted  ;  or  if  Caesar,  as  he  bids  fair 
to  do,  will  reduce  that  country.  Should  Caesar 
be  beaten,  I  leave  you  to  judge,  what  a  welcome^ 
what  an  agreeable  guest,  I  must  be  to  Pompey; 
for  in  this  case,  I  believe  Curio  himself  would 

forsake 


TO  ATTICUS.  ' 


305 


forsake  him  if  the  war  be  protracted*  1  see  neither 
an  object,  nor  an  end  of  my  waiting.  The  event 
will  be  that  I  must  submit,  if  we  be  beaten  in 
Spain.  My  opinion  is  directly  the  reverse ;  for, 
I  think,  I  ought  to  leave  Caesar  when  he  is  vic- 
torious, rather  than  if  he  is  vanquished,  while  he 
is  sure,  rather  than  while  he  is  doubtful,  of  sue* 
cess.  Should  he  be  victorious,  1  foresee  a  gen- 
eral massacre,  the  plunder  of  private  property, 
the  return  of  exiles,  a  general  bankruptcy,  th« 
advancement  of  the  most  profligate  to  the  highest 
places  of  government,  and  a  tyranny  insupport- 
able, not  only  to  Roman  citizens,  but  to  Eastern 

slaves. 

Could  I  behold  such  indignities  in  silence  ! 

could  I  hold  up  my  head,  and  deliver  my  vote 
on  the  same  side  with  Gabinius,  or  that  he  should 
have  the  precedence  !  Could  I  see  your  client 
Clffilius,  the  Plaguleius  of  Caius  Atticus,  and 
such  fellows,  mingling  on  the  same  bench  with 
me  !  But  why  do  I  name  my  enemies  only,  I 
could  not  see  even  the  friends  I  have  defended 
in  the  senate-house  without  indignation,  nor  con- 
verse with  them  without  dishonour.  But  what, 
if  there  is  reason  to  apprehend,  that  I  shall  not 
be  at  liberty  even  to  enter  the  senate-house  ? 
For  Csesar's  friends  write  me,  that  he  is  by  no 
means  satisfied  with  my  reasons  for  not  being 
there  at  the  last  meeting.  Shall  I  then  force  my- 
self upon  him,  when  I  cannot  do  it  but  with 
Vol.  IL  X  danger, 


! 


306 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


307 


danger,  after  having  rejected  his  friendship, 
when  I  might  have  had  it  with  advantage  ? 

In  the  next  place,  you  are  to  consider,  that 
the  affairs  of  Spain  will  not  be  decisive  of  the 
whole  war,  unless  you  imagine,  that  if  Pompey 
should  be  beaten  there,  he  will  lay  down  his 
arms.  Now  he  proceeds  wholly  upon  the  plan  of 
Themistocles  ;  for  he  thinks,  that  whoever  are 
masters  of  the  sea,  must  be  consequently  masters 
of  the  world.  He  therefore,  never  made  it  a  prin- 
cipal point  to  defend  the  two  Spains  in  person, 
but  he  made  it  an  object  from  the  very  beginning, 
to  have  a  strong  fleet  at  sea.  When  the  time 
comes,  therefore,  he  will  set  sail  for  Italy  with  a 
mighty  naval  armament.  And  then,  what  a  figure 
shall  I  make  by  being  thus  neutral;  for  then  I 
must  declare   myself    on   one    side    or    other. 

Should  I  declare  myself*  against  the  naval  force, 
this  would  not  only  involve  me  in  misery,  but 
reflect,  the  greatest  dishonour  on  my  character. 

What  my  friend,  you  will  ask,  wasit  for  this  that 
you  did  not  join  Pompey  ?  No,  I  will  not  follow 
the  fortunes  of  Pompey,  and  our  other  leaders. 
For,  I  find,  I  am  either  way  in  danger ;  froni 
the  one  party,  by  not  doing  my  duty,  and  from 
the  other  by  doing  it;  and  so  distracted  are  pub- 
lic affairs,  that  I  can  steer  no  course  but  Avhat  is 
full  of  perils.     Let  me  therefore  at  once  resolve 

not 

• 

*  All  this  passage  is  irretrievable  in  the  original,  and  transla- 
ted only  upon  conjecture. 


not  to  pursue,  with  danger,  the  measure  that  I 
might  avoid  with  safety. 

Then,  say  you,  why  did  you  not  sail  with  Pom- 
pey ?     I  tell  you,  it  was  out  of  my  power  to  do 
it,  and  I  refer  you  to  the  days  and  dates  of  our 
letters.     At  the  same  time,  I  will  frankly  con- 
fess what  I  might  easily  have  concealed  ;  I  was 
perhaps  in  the  wrong,  in  laying  too  great  a  stress 
upon  a  certain  circumstance  in  which  I  was  de- 
ceived.    I  flattered  myself  with  the  hopes  of  an 
accommodation,    which,   if  it  had  taken  place, 
would  occasion  me,  however  unwilling,  the  en- 
mity of  Caesar,  even  when  in  friendship  with  Pom- 
pey.    This  evil  I   had   previously  experienced, 
when  they  acted  in  harmony,    with  each  other. 
It  was  the  dread  of  this  that  occasioned  my  in- 
decision.   But  if  I  instantly  determine,  I  shall  re- 
medy the  whole ;  if  I  delay,  every  thing  is  at  stake. 
And  yet,  my  friend,  I   own   I   am  swayed   by 
maxims  of  high  authority,  which  I  gather  not  from 
the  collection,  that  Appius  has  made  for  the  use 
of  our  Augural  college,  but  from  Plato  in  his  trea- 
tise  upon  tyrants ;  for  I  can,    by  no   means  see 
how  Caesar  can  stand  much  longer   without  fal- 
ling, even  though  he  should  receive  no  opposition 
from  us.     When  he  had  the  advantage  of  success^ 
and  novelty  to  recommend  him  to  a  needy,   des- 
perate populace,  he  incurred  their  bitter  displea- 
sure  in  six  or  seven  days.     Add  to  this,    that> 
in  two  favourite  measures,  he  was  forced  to  throw 
off  the  mask  ;  for  he  laid  aside  his  gentleness,  in 

X  2  his 


308 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


gv 


his  behaviour  to  Metellus,  and  he  confessed  his 
poverty  when  he  plundered  the  treasury.  Con- 
sider, besides,  the  character  of  his  associates  or 
servants  in  power,  for  not  one  of  those,  to  whom 
he  must  entrust  the  management  of  provinces 
abroad,  and  of  the  government  at  home,  was 
able,  for  two  months,  to  manage  his  own  pri- 
vate concerns. 

Your  own  sagacity  will  supply  other  reflections, 
which  I  cannot  here  collect  together.  Take  a 
cool  survey,  however,  of  what  I  have  laid  before 
you,  and  you  must  conclude  that  Caesars  reign 
can  scarcely  last  for  six  months.  But  should  I 
be  deceived,  1  will  bear  with  my  disappoint- 
ments, as  many  other  illustrious  Republicans  have 
done  before  me,  unless  you  should  suppose  that, 
like  another  Sardanapalus,  I  should  choose  to 
die  upon  my  couch,  rather  than  go  into  a  glorious 
exile,  like  Themistoclcs,  who  according  to  Thu- 
cydides,  could  form  the  most  accurate  judgment 
of  present,  and  the  most  probable  conjecture  of 
future  events.  And  yet  had  this  great  man  been 
mistaken,  he  might  have  avoided  the  misfortunes 
he  afterwards  encountered.  Yet  he  was  mista- 
ken, though,  according  to  the  same  historian,  he 
could  discern,  beyond  other  men,  the  right  and 
wrong  in  conduct,  while  yet  veiled  in  their  ef- 
fects. Notwithstanding  his  superior  discernment, 
be  could  not  find  out  means  to  escape  the  envy 
of  the  Lacedaemonians,  and  his  own  countrymen, 

or 


TO  ATllCUS. 


109 


or  to  get  rid  of  his  engagements  with  Artaxerxes. 
Never   had  that  night  been   fatal   to   Africanus' 
though  the  wisest  of  men,  or  the  victories  of  Syl- 
la  so  bitter  to  the  artful  Marius,  if  neither  of  them 
had  ever  been  mistaken  in  his  measures. 

Meanwhile,  I  remain  firm  in  my  belief  of  the 
oracular  maxim   above-mentioned.     Never  will 
it  deceive  me,    never  can  it  happen   otherwise : 
Ceesar  must  fall,  either  by  his  enemies  or  of  him- 
self ;  for  he  is,  to  himself,  the  greatest  of  all  ene- 
mies ;  I  am  in  hopes  to  live  to  see  that  day.     But 
it  is  now  time  for  me  to  think  upon  an  immortal 
rather  than  a  perishable   life.     For,    should  my 
days  be  abridged,  it  makes  but  little  difference 
with  me,  whether  I  see  this  tyranny  already  es- 
tablished,   or  foresee  its  establishment  in  a  time 
yet  long  to  come.     As  these  are  my  sentiments, 
my  chief  concern  should  be  not  to  obey  those  men, 
against  whom  the  senate  has  armed  me,    by  en- 
trusting to  me,  the  commonwealth  in  a  season  of 
extreme  danger  \ 

You  are  now  possessed  of  all  the  particulars 
which  give  me  concern  ;  and  such  is  your  affec- 
tion for  me,  that,  had  I  not  requested  it,  you 
would  have  interested  yourself  in  them.     Indeed 

I  know 


1  He  was  privately  strangled  upon  his  couch,  in  the  night  time, 
but  the  murderer  was  never  found  out. 

^  Because  he  had  not  entered  Rome  after  his  return  fron  Cae- 
licia,  and  was  supposed  to  be  one  of  those  commanders  in  chief 
to  whom  that  commission  was  addressed. 


310 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


311 


I  know  of  nothing  farther  I  have  to  write  you ;  I 
wait  only  for  a  fair  wind  to  sail.  And  yet  I  can- 
not  help  saying,  that  I  never  had  more  reason  to 
write,  than  when  I  am  to  tell  you,  as  I  do  now, 
that,  of  all  your  expressions  of  friendship  to  me, 
none  gives  me  greater  pleasure,  than  that  most 
endearing  kindness  and  concern  you  have  taken 
with  regard  to  my  daughter.  It  gives  her,  as 
well  as  me,  the  most  sensible  pleasure,  and  let  me 
tell  you,  that  her  firmness  of  mind  is  worthy  of 
admiration.  With  what  fortitude  does  she  bear 
the  misfortunes  of  the  public,  and  with  what  in- 
difference the  little  asperities  in  her  domestic  con- 
cerns. But,  above  all,  what  spirit  does  she  shew, 
at  this  time,  when  I  am  obliged  to  leave  her. 
Notwithstanding  our  mutual  attachment  and 
sympathy,  yet  still  her  main  concern  is,  that  I 
should  act,  and  that  mankind  should  speak  of 
me  with  honour. — But  not  too  much  of  thiS;  lest 
I  should  begin  to  melt. 

While  I  am  here,  I  beg  that  you  will  write  me 
what  you  hear  from  Spain,  or  concerning  other 
matters,  and  I  perhaps,  may  send  you  some  news 
before  my  departure,  especially  as  my  daughter 
believes  that  you  have  not  left  Italy  on  this  occa- 
sion. I  must  try  to  obtain  from  Antony  the 
same  favour  I  obtained  from  Curio,  and  get 
liberty  to  retire  to  Malta,  upon  my  promising  to 
take  no  part  in  this  war.     I  wish  I  can  find  hini 

as 


as  condescending,  and  as  obliging  to  me,  as  Curio 
was.  It  is  reported,  that  he  was  to  arrive  at 
Mycenum  the  2d  of  May,  but  he  sent  me  before- 
hand, a  letter,  which  is  far  from  giving  me  plea- 
sure,  and  of  which  the  following  is  a  copy. 


Antoninus,  Tribune  of  the  People,  Froprcetor,  to  Cicero, 
Commander  in   Chief,  wisheth  Prosperity. 

If  my  affection  for  you  were  not  even  greater 
than  you  imagine,    I  should  not  have  been  so 
alarmed  at  a  rumour  which  prevails  respecting 
you,  especially  as  I  think  it  to  be  false.     But, 
because  I  love  you  beyond  measure,  I  am  forced 
to  own,  that  I  think  report  is  of  great  conse- 
quence,  even  though  it  be  unfounded.     I  cannot 
believe  that  you  are  about  to  go  beyond  sea,  as 
you  have  such  a  value  for  Dolabella,  and  for 
Tullia,  your  excellent  daughter,  and  as  you  are 
held  in  such  high  estimation  by  us  all,  that,  your 
dignity  and  honour,  are,  I  solemnly  aver,  almost 
dearer  to  us,  than  they  are  to  yourself.     And  yet, 
I  did  not  think  myself  at  liberty,  as  a  friend,  to 
disregard  the  talk,   even  of  worthless  men,  be- 
cause I  thought  my  conduct  towards  you  ought 
to  be  the  more  delicate,  on  account  of  our  for- 
mer differences,  which  arose  rather  from  jealousy 

in 


i 


312 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


SIS 


in  me,  than  from  any  demerit  in  you.  I  there- 
fore beg  you  will  believe,  that,  excepting  my 
friend  Caesar,  there  is  no  man  whom  I  hold  more 
dear  than  yourself;  and  you  may  be  convinced, 
at  the  same  time,  that  Caesar  has  a  particular 
regard  and  friendship  for  Marcus  Cicero. 

Therefore,  my  dear  Cicero,  1  beg  that  you  will 
enter  into  no  engagements,  and  that  you  will 
disregard  the  friendship  of  a  man  who  first  did 
you  an  injury,  that  he  might  afterwards  put  you 
under  obligations  to  him ;  and  on  the  other  hand, 
that  you  will  not  fly  from  the  man,  who,  suppo- 
sing him  (which  is  impossible)  not  to  love  you, 
desires  you  to  remain  in  safety,  and  in  full  pos- 
session of  your  honours.  I  have  sent  my  veiy 
good  friend  Calphurnius,  as  my  special  messen- 
ger, to  let  you  know  how  very  great  my  concern 
is  about  your  life  and  dignity. 

The  same  day  Philotimus  brought  me  a  letter 
trom  Caesar,  in  the  following  words  : 


Casar,  Commander  in  Chief,  to  Cicero,  Commander  in 

Chiefs  wisheth  Prosperity. 

JL  HOUGH  I  am  convinced  you  will  do  nothing 
that  is  rash,  nothing  that  is  imprudent,  yet  so 
much  am  I  impressed  with  public  report,  that  I 
thought  proper  to  write  to  you,  to  beg  of  you, 

by 


/ 


by  our  mutual  affection,  that  you  will  make  no 
advances  in  a  cause  that  is  now  tottering,  after 
declining  to  make  any,  even  while  it  stood  firm. 
My  successes,  and  the  defeats   of  my  adversary 
have  been  so  very  great,   that  you  will  both  sen- 
sibly  violate  my  friendship,   and  hurt  your  own 
interest,  if  you  do  not  follow  fortune.  It  will  not 
be  thought  that  you   embrace  their  cause  (for 
that  is  the  same  as  when  you  declined  to  assist 
in  their  counsels)  but  that  I  have  done  something 
which  you  have  condemned ;  which  is  the  most 
severe  thing  that  can  happen  to  me  from  you ; 
and  I  conjure  you,  by  that  friendship  which  you 
owe  to  me  not  to  do  it     In  the  last  place,  what 
is  more  suitable  to  the  character  of  a  worthy, 
peaceable  man,  and  a  good  citizen,  than  to  take 
no  concern  in  civil  dissentions  ?     This  is  a  con- 
duct which   some  approved  of,    but  could  not 
follow     because  of    danger.      After  you   have 
seriously  reflected  on  the  tenor  of  my  actions, 
and  the  evidences  of  my  friendship,  you  will  find 
no  course  more  safe,   or  honourable  for  you  to 
pursue,  than  to  decline  having  any  hand  in  this 
dispute.  Dated  the  l6th  of  April  on  the  road. 


EPISTLE  IX. 


JL  HE  arrival  of  Philotimus,  whose  repeated  false- 
hoods in  behalf  of  Pompey,   prove  his  want  of 

prudence 


i 


314 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


prudence  and  regard  for  truth,  has  overwhelmed 
me  and  all  my  friends.  As  to  myself,  I  am  pe- 
trified. We  were,  all  of  us,  persuaded,  that 
Caesar  had  slackened  his  progress,  but  now  he 
is  said  to  have  given  it  wings.  We  heard  that 
Petreius  had  joined  Afranius,  but  that  news  is 
now  far  from  being  confirmed.  In  short,  we 
are  here  of  opinion,  that  Pompey,  at  the  head  of 
a  great  army,  has  passed  through  lUyria  to 
Germany,  and  this  news  is  said  to  be  founded  on 
indisputable  authority.  I  am  therefore  of  opi- 
nion, that  I  ou^t  to  retire  to  Malta  till  matters 
come  to  a  crisis  in  Spain  ;  and  I  can  find  it,  from 
Caesar's  letters,  to  be  pretty  much  his  sense  that 
I  should  do  so,  for  he  tells  me,  that  I  can  do  no- 
thing more  honourable,  or  safe,  than  to  decline 
having  any  hand  in  the  dispute.  Where,  say 
you,  is  all  the  spirit  you  showed  in  your  last 
letters?  I  possess  it  still  undiminished.  But  I 
wish  to  heaven  that  my  difficulties  reached  no 
farther  than  exposing  my  own  life.  I  am  some- 
times melted  by  the  tears  of  my  family,  who 
entreat  me  to  wait  for  news  from  Spain.  I  have 
a  letter  from  Marcus  Cajlius  containing  the  same 
request ;  it  is  written  in  a  most  pathetic  strain, 
conjuring  me,  not  rashly,  to  betray  to  misery, 
my  fortunes,  my  only  child,  and  all  my  friends ; 
our  boys  could  not  help  crying  bitterly  when 
they  read  this  letter.  My  son  is,  indeed,  the 
most  resolute,  and,  for  that  reason,  he  gives  me 

with 


TO  ATTICUS. 


515 


y 


with  the  greater  concern,  for  his  chief  care  is, 
that  I  may  act  with  honor.     To  Malta  therefore, 
let  me  go,   and  from  thence — where  you  please. 
Do  you,  however,  even  at  this  time,  continue  to 
write  me,  especially  if  you  hear  any  thing  con- 
cerninty  Afranius.     If  I  shall  have  any  conversa- 
tion with  Antony,   I  will  write  to  you  what  has 
passed,  but  I  will  take  your  advice,  not  hastily  to 
believe  him.     It  would  be  both  difficult  and  dan- 
gerous for  me  to  conceal  myself  in  Italy.     I  wait 
for  Servius,    till  the  7th,  at  the  request  of  his 
wife  and  the  younger  Servius.     I  am  glad  that 
your  ague  is  abated.     I  have  likewise  sent  you 
the  copy  of  my  letter  from  Caeliu% 


Cg^Uus  to  Cicero,  Health. 

Becoming  quite  distressed  by  your  letters, 
which  discover  that  you  think  of  nothing,  but  what 
is  very  dismal,  without  fully  explaining  what  it 
is,  (though  I  cannot  say  that  you  have  not  given 
me  a  hint  as  to  the  nature  of  what  troubles  you) 
I  immediately  wrote  you  this  letter. 

My  dear  Cicero,  I  beg  and  conjure  you,  by 
your  fortunes  and  by  your  children,  to  form  no 
resolution  inconsistent  with  your  welfare  and 
dignity.  I  assure  you  by  all  that  is  solemn,  that 
l^v'hat  I  have  foretold  you  was  no  groundless  inti- 
mation. 


:.i 


f  >i 

i 


316 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


317 


mation,  but  the  result  of  undoubted  intelligence 
upon  my  having  an  interview  with  Caesar,  and 
learning  what  his  sentiments  would  be,  should 
he  be  successful.  If  you  imagine  that  Caesar 
will  hereafter  follow  the  same  maxims  of  con- 
duct, by  releasing  his  enemies  and  offering  terms 
of  peace,  you  are  mistaken.  He  now  meditates, 
he  now  speaks,  nothing  but  what  is  terrible  and 
vindictive.  He  has  left  the  senate  in  a  passion, 
and  it  is  certain,  he  is  stung  with  the  opposition 
he  has  met  with ;  nor,  indeed,  will  there  be 
hereafter  any  means  left  of  appeasing  him.  If 
therefore,  you  love  yourself,  if  you  love  your 
only  son,  your  family,  if  your  hopes  of  what  is 
to  come  are  dear  to  your  mind,  if  we,  if  your 
excellent  son-in-law  have  any  influence  with  you, 
vou  will  not  desire  to  ruin  our  fortunes,  or  to 
force  us,  upon  the  cruel  alternative  of  hating 
and  forsaking  the  party  upon  whose  success  our 
own  safety  depends,  or  of  impiously  harbouring 
a  thought  prejudicial  to  your  welfare.  You  are 
likewise  to  reflect,  that  you  have  already,  by  your 
hesitation,  incurred  all  you  can  incur  of  Pom- 
pey's  displeasure;  and  to  declare  yourself  against 
Caesar,  now  that  his  success  is  certain,  after  re- 
fusing to  oppose  him  when  it  was  doubtful ;  to 
follow  a  party  that  is  routed,  after  declining  it 
tvhen  it  made  a  stand,  is  the  height  of  madness. 
Take  care  my  friend,  lest,  while  you  are  afraid 

of 


of  not  appearing  patriotic,  you  mistake  the  na- 
ture of  true  patriotism. 

But  if  I  cannot  bring  you  wholly  over  to  my  sen- 
timents, let  me  prevail  with  you,  at  least,  to  wait 
the  result  of  what  passes  in  Spain ;  which,  I  fore- 
tel  to  you,  will  fall  into  our  hands  as  soon  as 
Caesar  appears  there ;  and  what  hopes  the  other 
party  can  have,  if  they  lose  Spain,  I  am  no  more 
able  to  discover,  than  I  am  your  object  in  join- 
in»  those  who  are  defeated.     Caesar  had  heard 
what  you  declined  communicating   to  me,   and 
our  first  compliments  were  scarcely  over,   when 
he  informed  me  of  all  he  had  heard.     I  pretended 
to  be  ignorant,  yet  I  begged  of  him  to  write  to 
you  in  such  a  manner,  as  might  induce  you  to 
remain  in  Italy.     He  carries  me  with  him  into 
Spain,   which  is  the  only  reason  why,  before  I 
came  to  Rome,   I  did  not  hasten  to  you  where- 
ever  you  might  be,  and  in  person  labour  with  the 
greatest  earnestness  for  your  continuing  in  Italy. 
Think,  my  dearest  friend,  again  and  agam,  be- 
fore you  utterly  ruin  yourself  and  your  family, 
nor  deliberately  plunge  into  a  ruin,  from  whence 
you  can  see  no  means  to  escape.     If  you  are  im- 
pressed by  what  the  nobility,  on  the  one  side,  may 
say;  if  you  are  unable  to  bear  the  insolence  and 
arrogance  of  certain  persons  on  the  other  side,  my 
opinion  is,  that  you  should  choose  some  town 
that  is  not  affected  by  this  war,  and  reside  there 
till  the  present  dispute  is  over,  which  will  soon 

take 


i 


318 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


319 


take  place.  Should  you  do  this,  I  shall  tliin^k 
you  have  acted  wisely,  and  at  the  same  time,  you 
will  give  no  offence  to  Caesar. 


EPISTLE  X. 


JjLow  blind  was  I  not  to  foresee  what  has  now 
happened  !  I  send  you  Antony's  letter.  I  fre- 
quently assured  you  by  letter  that  I  was  not 
opposing  the  views  of  Caesar ;  that  I  would  have 
joined  Pompey,  if  it  were  not  for  the  regard 
which  I  feel  for  my  son-m-law,  and  for  the 
friendship  of  Caesar ;  that,  nevertheless,  I  had 
some  thoughts,  though  not  a  fixed  resolution : 
of  leaving  Italy,  because  I  hated  to  be  parading 
about  with  my  lictors.  Now  you  will  see  what  a 
surly  answer  he  returns  me. 

"  Your  conduct  is  by  no  means  candid  and 
explicit.  For  that  man  who  desires  to  be  neu- 
tral, remains  in  his  country ;  the  man  who  goes 
abroad,  seems  to  have  formed  some  judgment  of 
the  one  party  or  the  other.  But  I  am  not  any 
longer  at  liberty  to  judge  whether  it  is  right  or 
wrong  for  you  to  leave  Italy.  My  charge  from 
Caesar  is  to  suffer  no  man  to  leav^  it  on 
any   account.      There   is,    therefore,    no   merit 

and 


and  no  importance  in  my  approving  of  your 
resolution,  since  I  must  act  up  to  the  letter 
of  my  orders.  My  opinion  is,  that  you  should 
send  to  Caesar,  and  ask  that  favour  of  him ;  I 
have  no  doubt  of  your  obtaining  it,  especially  as 
you  promised  to  have  a  regard  for  my  friendship." 
TTiis  is  the  whole  of  his  laconic  ^  epistle  \  I 
must,  by  all  means,  elude  this  man  ^  He  was  to 
arrive  here  in  the  evening  of  the  3d  instant,  and 
therefore,  perhaps,  he  will  come  to  my  house  to- 
morrow.    I  will  endeavour  to  mislead  him*.     I 

will 


0  ^  Or  Laconic  Mandate,  both  because  it  was  short,  and  be- 
cause the  Lacedaemonians  had  a  peculiar  way  of  conveying  their 
orders  to  their* generals. 

.*  Orig.  (rxvTaXijvAaxwvixrv.  The  Lacedaemonian  /Scy/aZ^  which 
appears  to  be  the  parent  of  our  Schedule  is  accurately  described 
by  A.  Gellius,  lib.  xvii.  9.  and  also  by  Plutarch,  whose  account, 
as  being  shorter,  I  will  here  copy.  "  The  Lacedaemonians 
commanded  Lysander  home  by  their  Scytale,  the  nature  and 
use  of  which  was  this:  When  the  magistrates  gave  their  com- 
mission to  any  admiral  or  general,  they  took  two  round  pieces 
of  wood,  both  exactly  equal  in  breadth  and  thickness:  one 
they  kept  themselves,  the  other  they  delivered  to  their  officer, 
so  that  when  they  had  any  thing  of  moment  which  tliey  would 
secretly  convey  to  him,  they  cut  a  long  narrow  scroll  of  parch- 
ment, and  rolling  it  about  their  own  staff,  one  fold  close  upon 
another,  they  wrote  their  business  on  it.  When  tiiey  had  writ- 
ten what  they  had  to  say,  they  took  off  the  parchment,  and 
sent  it  to  the  general — he  applied  it  to  his  o^n  staff. — E. 
^  Orig.  Omnino  excipiam  hominem. 

4  Orig.  The  original  here  is  very  perplexed,  and  nothing  cer- 
lain  can  be  made  out  of  it. 


:  ■ 


320 


CICERO'S  EPIStLES 


TO  ATTICU6. 


3S1 


will  tell  him,  that  I  am  far  from  being  in  any 
hurry,  and  try  to  persuade  him  that  I  will  write 
to  CzBsar.  I  will  tlien  withdraw  privately  with 
a  very  small  retinue,  and  I  make  no  doubt  of 
getting  off,  and  eluding  their  most  vigilant 
searches.  I  wish  I  knew  where  to  find  Curio. — ■ 
With  the  assistance  of  fortune  I  shall  succeed. 
My  anguish  is  very  great,  but  I  hope  my  conduct 
will  be  worthy  of  myself. 

I  am  greatly  concerned  at  your  complaint*,  I 
beg  you  will  take  some  remedy  for  it  in  the 
infancy  of  the  disease.  I  am  pleased  with 
what  you  write  me  concerning  those  of  Mar- 
seilles ^  Continue,  I  pray  you,  to  inform  me  of 
whatever  you  learn.  I  could  wish  to  go  to 
Sicily,  if  I  could  do  it  in  the  public  manner  I  had 
concerted  with  Curio.  Here  I  wait  for  Servius 
Sulpicius,  at  the  request  of  his  wife  and  son,  and 
I  think  it  will  be  necessary  for  us  all. 

As  to  Antony,  he  carries  about  with  him  the 
actress  Cytheris'  in  one  open  carriage,  and  his 
wife  in  another;  he  has  likewise  seven  close 
carriages,  in  which  are  conveyed  his  female,  or 
perhaps,  his  male  favourites.  You  see  what  a 
melancholy  death  we  are  likely  to  meet;  nor,   I 

think, 

1  The  complaint  was,  as  the  original  implies,  ^uaov^tx  a  dif- 
ficulty of  urine,  in  consequence  of  the  stone  or  the  gravel. — E. 

2  They  had  their  gates  shut  agauist  Caesar. 

3  She  was  a  tamous  courtezan,  and  the  same  whom  Virgil 
mentions  under  the  name  of  Lycoris. 


think,  can  th^re  be  a  doubt  of  Caesar's  making  a 
general  massacre  upon  his  return,  whether  he  ^ 
returns  victorious  or  vanquished.  '  For  my  own 
part,  if  I  cannot  find  a  ship,  I  will  escape  in  a 
bark  from  these  assasins  of  their  country  ;  but  I 
will  write  you  farther  after  seeing  Antony. 

I  cannot  help  loving  my  nephew ;  but  I  can 
plainly  see  that  I  am  not  beloved  by  him.  Never 
did  I  see  any  creature  so  perverse  in  his  dispo- 
sitions, so  regardless  of  his  relations,  and  so 
unaccountable  in  his  notions.  The  torrent  of 
my  affliction  is  intolerable.  But  I  take  care  of 
iiim,  and  shall  do  so,  as  you  require  me ;  his 
genius  is  wonderful,  and  pains  must  be  takers 
to  form  his  morals* 


EPISTLE  XT. 

,M^Y  last  letter  for  you  being  sealed,  I  did  not 
choose  to  send  it  by  the  bearer  I  proposed,  be- 
cause he  was  a  stranger  •  I  therefore  did  not 
deliver  it  that  day.  Meanwhile,  Philotimus  ar- 
rived and  brought  me  a  letter  from  you.  As  to 
my  brother's  character  which  you  mention  in  that 
letter,  I  know  him  to  be  somewhat  irresolute, 
but  he  has  ^nothing  about  him  that  is  insincere, 
nothing  that  is  deceitful,  nothing  that  is  incapa- 
ble of  being  directed  to  the  best  purposes,  and 
Vol.  II.  Y  nothing 


-1.1 


"^1 

I 


322 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


•nothing  that  you  may  not  set  to  right  with  one 
fair  word.  In  short,  though  he  is  very  often  in 
a  passion  with  his  friends,  yet  he  love&  them  all 
dearly,  and  mc,  he  loves  beyond  himself.  As 
to  his  writing  to  you' of  your  nephew,  in  a  diffe- 
rent strain  from  what  he  wrote  to  your  sister  of 
her  son,  I  think  there  is  nothing  in  that.  What 
you  write  me  concerning  the  young  man  s  jour- 
ney, and  your  sister,  is  the  more  vexatious,  be- 
cause the  juncture  is  such,  that  it  is  not  in  my 
power,  as  it  would  otherwise  be,  to  remove  the 
inconveniences  you  mention.  But  you  see  how 
wretched  is  our  situation,  and  how  desperate  are 

our  affairs. 

As  to  the  money  matter  between  you  and  my 
brother  (who  often  speaks  of  it  to  me)  he  does 
not  want  the  inclination,  but  the  means,  to  pay 
you.  But  if,  now  that  I  am  flying,  Q.  Axius  does 
not  pay  me  the  thirteen  thousand  serteces,  which 
I  lent  hi3  son  when  he  was  going  to  be  married, 
and  excuses  himself  on  account  of  the  times  ;  if 
Lepta,  if  others  do  the  same,  I  own  I  cannot  help 
bemg  surprised  at  your  pressing  my  brother 
so  hard,  for  the  paltry  sum  of  twenty  thousand 
serteces.  For,  take  my  word  for  it,  he  is  as  much 
straightened  as  he  appears  to  be,  and  yet  he  has 
aiven  orders  for  that  payment  to  be  made  to 
you.  Do  you  ascribe  his  delay  to  the  love  of 
'money,  and  his  unwillingness  to  part  with  it? 

No 


TO  ATTICUS. 


323 


No  man  is  less  so.     But  enough  concerning  my 

brother. 

As  to  his  son,  the  father,  no  doubt^  indulged 
him  always  too  much ;  but  then  indulgence  does 
not  instil  the  principles  of  falsehood,  avarice, 
and  hatred  of  relations ;  of  haughtiness,  arro- 
gance, and  intractability.  But  he  likewise  pos- 
sesses the  bad  qualities  which  arise  from  indul- 
gence ;  but  these  are  to  be  forgiven :  for  some 
allowances  should  be  made  for  his  being  so  young 
a  man.  As  to  his  other  bad  qualities,  I  love  him 
so  well,  that  they  give  me  more  disquiet  than 
my  own  present  calamities.     They  do  not  arise 


from  my  indul 


b 


ouce. 


--By  no  means. — They  are 


rooted  in  his  nature,  and  yet,  were  I  at  liberty, 
I  could  eradicate  them.  I3ut  so  unfortunate  are 
the  times,  that  I  must  bear  with  every  thing. 
As  to  my  own  boy,  I  manage  him  with  great  ease; 
for  nothing  can  be  more  tractable  than  he  is. 
It  was  from  compassion  to  him,  that  my  conduct 
has  been  hitherto  so  unactive,  and  the  more  de- 
sirous he  was  that  I  should  exert  myself,  I  was 
the  more  afraid,  lest  my  resolution  might  be 
cruelty  to  him. 

Antony  came  to  this  place  last  evening.  Per- 
haps he  will  pay  me  a  visit,  and  perhaps  not,  be- 
cause he  signified  his  mind  to  me  in  writing. 
But  vou  shall  know  without  delay  what  happens. 
At  present  I  keep  myself  very  retired,  but  what 
shall  I  do  with  the  boys?  Should  I  put  them  on 

Y  2  board 


524. 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


325 


board  a  small  bark,   what   anxiety  must  I  feel 
on  their  voyage  ;  for  I  remember  what  pangs  I 
felt,  even  in  the  summer  time,  when  they  sailed 
in  a  flat-bottomed  Rhodian  boat'.     Then  what 
must  be  now  my  concern  should  they  be  at  sea 
in  the  severe  season?     I  am  surrounded  with 
miseries.    Trebatius  was  with  me.    He  is  a  kind 
friend,  and  a  good  patriot;  what  dreadful  ac- 
counts, good  heavens,  did  he  give  me!    Even 
Balbus  aspires  to  a  seat  in  the  senate.     But  I 
will  give  Trebatius  himself  a  letter  for  you  to- 
morrow.    You  tell  me,  Vectenus  is  my  friend,   I 
therefore  believe  him  to  be  so ;  though  I  joked 
a  little  too  severely  with  him  upon  his  writing  to 
me    in    a  peremptory   manner    concerning   his 
money.     If  he  took  that  otherwise  than  I  meant 
it,  I  beg  you  will  soften  him.     In  the  address  of 
my  letter  to  him,   I  call  him  no   other  than  a 
monied  man,   and  in   return  he  addressed  me 
only  as  proconsul.     But  as  he  is  a  man  of  sense, 
and  has  an  affection  for  me,   I  cherish  the  same 
for  him.  -Farewel. 


EPISTLE  XII. 

W^HAT  will  become  of  me  ?    Is  there  a  wretch, 
is  there  a  man,  on  earth,  I  will  not  say  more  dis- 
tressed,, 

1  «^«xr«  in  an  open  boat. 


tressed,  but  more  disgraced  than  I  am  ?    Antony 
says,  that  Caesar  gave  him  a  particular  charge 
concerning  me,  and  this  he  told  to  Trebatius,  for 
as  yet  he  has  not  seen  me.     What  shall  I  do  ? 
For  nothing  prospers  with  me,  and  my  best  con- 
certed schemes  are  frustrated.     For,  in  gaining 
Curio,  I  thought  I  had  succeeded  in  every  thing. 
He  had  written  in  my  favour  to  Hortensius ;  the 
commanding  officer  at  Rliegium  was  entirely  in 
my  interest,  but  little  did  I  think  that  Antony 
had  the  least  notion  of  my  designing  to  escape 
by  sea.     Whither  now  shall  I  turn  me  ?     I  am 
hemmed  in  on  every  side.— But  no  more  tears- 
Let  me  embark,  unfavourable  as  the  season  is ; 
let  me  privately  creep  into  some  transport  vessel, 
for  I  must,  by  all  means,  take  care  not  to  afford 
any  pretence  for  saying,  that  my  voyage  is  stop-  * 
ped  from  a  concerted  plan  of  my  own.     I  must 
sail  for  Sicily,  and  after  reaching  it,  I  shall  de- 
termine what  farther  views  to  pursue,  provided 
that  matters  succeed  in  Spain.     At  the  same  time, 
I  wish  that  what  we  heard  from  Sicily  may  be 
true,  though  I  cannot  say  it  is  as  yet  very  pro- 
bable.    It  is  said,  that  the  Sicilians,  in  crowds, 
resorted  to  Cato,  and  entreated  him  to  make  a 
stand,  and  promised  they  would  give  him  all  the 
assistance  in   their  power;  that  roused  by  their 
patriotism,  he  began   to  raise  men.     I  do  not 
believe  this  news,  for  the  authority  on  which  it 
rests  is  very  doubful     I  am,  however,  entirely 

convinced, 


,326 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


convinced,  that  that  province  is  tenable.    But  we 
must  hear  news  from  Spain. 

Caius  INIarcellus  is  in  this  neighbourhood,  in 
the  same  predicament  with  myself,  unless  indeed, 
he  greatly  dissembles.  I  have  not,  however, 
seen  him,  but  I  have  heard  of  him  from  one  of 
his  most  intimate  friends.  I  beg  you  will  write 
me,  if  you  have  any  news ;  and  as  soon  as  I  come 
to  any  fixed  resolution,  I  will  instantly  %vrite  to 
you.  I  will  exercise  a  stricter  discipline  than 
ever  over  the  younger  Quintus.  I  beg  you  will 
destroy  the  letters  in  which  I  have  mentioned 
him  to  you  in  too  harsh  a  manner,  and  I  will  do 
the  same  by  yours,  for  fear  any  thing  should 
transpire.  I  wait  for  Servius,  but  I  expect  no 
firmness  from  him.  You  shall  know  what  passes 
between  us,  whatever  it  may  be. 

It  is  but  just,  that  I  should  acknowledge  my- 
self in  an  error.  But  did  I  mistake  only  in  one 
instance  ?  Or  rather,  have  not  all  my  measures, 
however  deliberately  planned,  proved  unsuc- 
cessful. But  let  me  forget  my  past  misfortunes, 
and  endeavour  only  to  prevent  future  miscar- 
riages. You  desire  me  to  weigh  all  the  conse- 
quences of  my  flight  What  consequences  ? — 
All  that  can  happen  are  so  plain,  that  should  I 
avoid  them,  I  must  here  remain  in  disgrace  and 
,  distress;  and  should  I  despise  them,  lam  in  dan- 
ger of  falling  into  the  hands  of  ruffians.  But 
consider  in  what  misery  I  am.     Sometimes  I  am 

tempted 


TO  ATITCUS, 


S£7 


tempted  to  wish  to  receive  some  injurious  treat- 
ment from  Cesar's  party,  that  I  may  appear  to 
be  hated  by  the  tyrant     But,  if  the  way. which  1 
wished  to  escape  by,  had  been  open  before  me, 
I  might  then  have  done  somewhat,  which,  ac- 
cording to  your  wish  and  desire,  might  have  jus- 
tified my  dUatoriness.     But  I  am  watched  with 
surprising  strictness,   and  I  suspect  even  Curio 
himself"-      I  must,  therefore,  proceed  either  by 
force  or  cunning;  if  by  force,  I  may  encounter 
a  storm  in  my  passage;  if  by  cunning,   I  may  be 
overreached  by  them ;  and  in  case  1  do  not  suc- 
ceed what  a  stigma  would  it  fix  on  my  repu- 
tation.   Honour  impels  me  to  Pompey,  nor  must 
1  decline  the  most  hazardous  enterprises. 

I  often  revolve  with  myself  the  example  of 
CfElius  Caldus.  Could  I  act  any  way  like  him,. 
I  would  lay  aside  my  resolution  of  flying.  I  hope 
that  Spain  is  still  firm  in  our  interest  The  beha- 
viour of  those  of  Marseilles  is  not  only  of  great 
advantage  to  our  cause,  but  a  proof  to  me,  that 
things  go  well  in  Spain  ;  because  if  they  did  not, 
and*  if  the  Marseillians  knew  so  much,  they 
would  not  venture  to  act  as  they  have  done ;  for 
they  lie  near  Spain,  and  have  good  intelligence.  I 
agree  with  you,  that  what  happened  in  the  theatre 
was  a  sure  proof  of  the  people's  hatred  of  Caesar. 
I  perceive,  that  the  legions,  which  he  raised  m 
Italy,  are  very  ill  disposed  to  him.  But  he  has 
Bot  a  greater  foe  than  he  is  to  himself     You 

.      rightly 


3&S 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


329 


rightly  fear  his  abandoning  himself  to  all  ex- 
cesses, which  he  certainly  will  do,  if  he  grows 
desperate.  This  is  the  reason  why  I  ought  to 
attempt  something  in  the  spirit  of  Caelius,  but  I 
hope  with  better  success.  But  you  shall  instantly 
know  the  step  which  I  shall  first  take. 

I  will  discipline  the  younger  Quintus,  and 
decline  no  trouble  in  reforming  him ;  for  he  has 
good  dispositions,  and  if  he  had  not ;  yet  they 
might  be  acquired  by  cultivation,  unless  indeed, 
you  maintain  tliat  virtue  is  not  an  acquired,  but 
an  instinctive  principle. 


EPISTLE  XIIL 

JL  OUR  letter  was  most  agreeable  to  my  daugh-^ 
ter,  and  indeed,  to  myself;  every  thing  you  writo 
affords  me  jJeasure;  continue  therefore,  to  write 
whatever  can  give  us  hope.  You  have  no  reason 
to  dread  the  lions  ^  of  Antony.  Surely  no  man 
ever  affords  more  merriment  I  will  give  you  a 
sketch  of  his  conduct  as  a  statesman.  He  had 
issued  letters  for  the  Decurions'^  of  the  corpora- 
rations 

*  It  appears  from  this  passage,  that  Pliuy  and  Plutarch  were 
mistaken  in  saying,  that  Antony  did  not  drive  his  chariot  with 
lions  before  the  battle  of  Pharsalia. 

*  There  is  a  great  variety  of  readings  ;  here  I  have  followed 
that  of  Minutius,  as  making  the  better  sense. 


to  attend  him,  and  accordingly  the  four  magis- 
trates went  to  his  villa  early  in  the  morning.   But, 
in  the  first  place,  Antony  slept  till   it  was  nine 
oVlock,  and  afterwards,  when  he  was  told  that 
the  Neapolitans  and  Cumeans  (for  Caesar  is  most 
incensed  at  them)  were  attending  him,  he  or- 
dered  them  to  return  next  day,  because  he  was 
about    to   bathe,    and  to  take  physic.       This 
past  yesterday.     Now,  to-day  he  intends  to  go 
over  to  the  island  Anaria.^     He  is  very  positive, 
that  all  exiles  will  be  recalled.     But  I  will  leave 
that  subject,  for  somewhat  that  concerns  my- 
self. 

I  received  a  letter  from  Axius.  Thanks  con- 
cerning Tyro.  Vectenus  has  acted  like  my  friend. 
Vestorius,  I  have  paid.  Servius  is  said  to  have 
lain  at  Minturnae  the  6th  of  May:  to-day  he  was 
to  be  at  the  house  of  Caius  Marcellus,  in  Liter- 
num'.  Early  to-morrow  morning  he  will  visit 
me,  and  furnish  me  with  fresh  matter  for  a  letter, 
and  now  I  have  written  you  all  I  have  to  say  \ 

One  thing  I  am  surprised  at,   that  I  have  not 
received  so  much  as  one  messenger  from  Antony, 

especially 

1  This  lay  upon  the  coast  of  Campania.    Its  modern  name  i% 

Jschia. 

2  This  lay  on  the  sea  side,  between  Cumae  and  Minturnae. 

3  The  conciseness  of  this  paragraph  is  very  remarkable, 
though  very  natural  to  a  man  in  Cicero's  condition,  who  hur- 
ries  over  the  mention  of  private  affairs,  because  of  his  attention 
to  tliose  of  the  public. 


830 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


331 


especially  as  he  has  been  so  complaisant  to,me  hi-» 
tljierto.  Perhaps  he  is  unwilling  to  deny  to  my  face, 
that  he  has  received  some  inore  severe  orders  with 
regard  to  me.  But  I  neither  would  have  asked 
his  favours,  nor  would  I  have  trusted  them,  if  he 
granted  any.  I  must  thmk  of  somewhat.  I  be- 
seech you  to  let  me  know,  if  you  hear  any  thing 
from  Spain;  for  now  is  the  time  for  receiving  in- 
telligence from  that  quarter,  and  the  expectation 
of  every  body  here  is  so  great,  that  if  good  news 
should  come,  they  think  every  thing  would  be 
over  with  Caesar.  For  my  part,  I  think,  that  by 
our  keeping  Spain,  the  war  will  neither  be 
finished  in  our  favour,  nor  will  our  losing  it  ren- 
der our  affairs  desperate.  I  believe  somewhat 
has  happened  to  keep  back  Silius,  Ocella,  and 
some  others.  I  perceive,  that  you  likewise,  are 
detained  by  Curtius,  though,  if  1  mistake  not, 
you  have  a  passport 


EPISTLE  XIV, 

W  HAT  a  miserable  life  this  is !  The  evil  we 
fear  is  less  tormenting  than  is  the  long  continu- 
ance of  that  fear.  Servius,  as  I  wrote  you  be- 
fore, after  coming  to  Literna  the  7th  of  May, 
paid  me  a  visit  the  next  day.  That  I  may  not 
keep  you  in  suspense,  we  have  not  agreed  upon 

the 


execution  of  any  one  measure,     ^ever  did  I  see 
a  man  in  such  a  dreadful  consternation.     And 
vet  indeed,  all  his  fears  are  well  grounded.-That 
Pompey  was  incensed  at  him-that  Caesar  was 
not  his  friend— that  the  consequences  of  victory 
to  either  of  them  would  be  terrible— that  the  one 
was  cruel,  the  other  audacious;  but  above  all 
that  both  of  them  must  be  in  want  of  money,  and 
that  it  was  impossible  for  them  to  be  supplied, 
but  by  the  plunder  of  private  property.     During 
all  this  conversation,  he  wept  so  much,  that  I  was 
suprised  the  long  continuance  of  his  sorrows  did 
not  exhaust  his   tears.     As  to  myself,  the   de- 
fluxion  of  my  eyes,  which  hinders  me  to  write  to 
you  with  my  own  hand,  is  not  occasioned  by  weep- 
m<r  ■  but  it  is  very  often  troublesome,   because  I 
cannot  sleep.     Therefore,  collect  every  circum- 
stance that  can  give  me  comfort,  and  write  it  to 
me   not  in  the  way  of  speculation  and  argument, 
for  I  have  those  comforts  at  home;  but,  I  know 
not  how  it  happens,  the  disease  is  too  strong  for 
the  remedy.     Let  your  information  to  me,  there- 
fore, be  concerning  Spain  and  Marseilles ;  and 
indeed,  Servius  gives  me  great  hopes  from  thence,- 
and  likewise  tells  me,  that  there  is  good  founda- 
tion for  the  report  concerning  the  two  legions. 
You  are  to  entertain  me,  therefore,  with  these 
and  similar  occurrences,  and  indeed,   a  few  days 
must  bring  us  some  information. 


332 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


But  I  now  return  to  Servius.  *  We  put  the 
conversation  entirely  off  till  the  next  day ;  but 
he  shewed  himself  very  loath  to  leave  Italy,  and 
expressed  himself  more  inclinable  to  wait  peace- 
ably at  home  for  the  event,  whatever  it  may  be. 
He  reflected  bitterly  upon  his  son  for  servincr  at 
Brundusium  against  Pompey.  He  remained  de- 
termined in  one  resolution,  which  was,  to  go 
himself  into  banishment,  if  the  exiles  should  be 
recalled.  My  answer  to  all  this  was,  that  he 
might  be  sure  they  would,  and  that  other  mea- 
sures equally  pernicious,  and  of  which  I  gave  him 
many  instances,  were  executing  every  day.  All 
this  served  only  to  increase  his  apprehensions, 
and  not  to  raise  his  spirits,  so  that  I  think,  I 
ought  rather  to  keep  my  purpose  from  him,  than 
advise  him  to  follow  the  same  resolution.  I 
therefore,  place  no  reliance  in  him.  I  have  been 
still  thinking  of  imitating  the  conduct  of  Cselius, 
ever  since  you  mentioned  him. 


EPISTLE  XV. 

W  HEN  Servius  was  at  my  house  on  the  10th 
instant,  Cephalio  arrived  with  your  letter,  which 
gave  me  great  hopes  of  seeing  better  days  from 

what 

1  Notwithstanding  all  that  our  author  mentions  here  of  this 
nobleman,  he  actually  went  over  to  Pompey,  and  after  the  bat- 
tle 


TO  ATTICUS. 


338 


what  you  tell  me  concerning  the  eight  cohorts, 
for  even  those  who  are  quartered  in  this  neigh- 
bourhood, are  said  to  be  deserting  Caesar.  Funi- 
sulanus,  that   same   day,    brought    me   another 
letter  from  you,   confirming  the  same  news.     I 
gave  him  full  satisfaction  as  to  his  ow^n  affair, 
and  you  have  the  merit  of  making  me  his  friend. 
He  has  not  yet  paid  what  he  owes  me,  which  is 
a  considerable  sum,  neither  is  he  reckoned  rich. 
He  promises  indeed,  to  pay  me  at  this  time,  and 
only  waits  for  another  person's  paying  him.     If 
he  shall  be  with  you,  and  deposit  the  money  in 
your  hands,  you  may  give  it  to  the  letter-carriers 
for  my  use.     Eros,  the  freedman  of  Philotimus,. 
will  tell  you  how  much  the  sum  is.     But  let  us 
proceed  to  matters  of  more  importance. 

The  time  approaches  for  following,  as  you  ad- 
vise, the  example  of  Coelius.  I  am  therefore  upon 
the  rack,  whether  I  ought  to  wait  for  a  fair  wind. 
A  standard  ought  to  be  erected,  and  then  people 
will  flock  to  it.  I  am  entirely  of  your  opinion 
as  to  declaring  myself  openly,  and  therefore  that 
I  ought  to  be  gone.  But,  in  the  meanwhile,  I 
expect  a  letter  from  you.  I  act  not  in  concert 
with  Servius:  all  his  plans  are  attended  with 
dangers  and  difficulties.  He  is  the  only  man  I 
have  known  to  be  more   timorous  than  Caius 

Marcellus, 


tie  of  Pharsalia,  he  made  his  p^ace  with  Caesar,  who  gave  him 
the  com  maud  of  Greece. 


934 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


335 


Marcellus,  who  repents  of  his  having  been  consul, 
and  who,  to  his  dishonour,  is  said  to  have  insti- 
gated Antony  to  prevent  my  departure,  to  keep 
himself,  I  suppose,  in  countenance  for  my  re- 
maining in  Italy.  As  to  Antony,  he  went  on  the 
10th  to  Capua.  He  sent  me  word,  that  he  was 
ashamed  to  visit  me,  because  he  believed  I  was 
angry  with  him.  I  will  therefore,  be  gone,  and 
in  the  manner  you  propose,  unless  I  am  pre- 
vented with  the  hopes  of  acting  in  a  more  impor- 
tant character  \  But  that  can  scarcely  happen 
so  soon.  Allienus,  the  praetor,  however,  thinks, 
that  if  I  do  not,  one  of  his  colleagues  may ;  I  wish 
the  thing  w  ere  done,  it  matters  not  by  whom. 

I  approve  of  what  you  tell  me  concerning  your 
sister,  and  I  spare  no  pains  upon  the  younger 
Quintus,  of  whom  I  hope  for  the  best.  As  to 
my  brother  Quintus,  you  must  know  he  is  distres- 
sed about  the  money  he  owes  you,  but  he  has 
not  as  yet  been  able  to  obtain  any  money  from  L. 
Egnatius.  That  was  a  modest  proposal  of  Axius 
concerning  the  twelve  thousand  serteces,  for  he 
has  several  times  written  me,  desiring  me  to  an- 
swer all  the  demands  of  Gallius  for  money.  But 
if  he  had  not  written  to  me,  I  could  not  have 
done  otherwise.  And  indeed,  I  often  promised 
to  do  this.     But  he  was  for  my  doing  it  instantly. 

Are 

^  Meaning  his  imitating  Ccelius,  by  declaring  himself  the 
head  of  a  party  against  Caesar  in  Italy. 


Are  these  the  people  who  are  to  help  me  in  my 
difficulties?  But  may  heaven  reward  them  as 
they  deserve  ;  I  w  ill  however,  let  you  know  more 
another  time.  I  am  glad  that  you  and  Pilia  have 
got  rid  of  your  ague;  I  intend  to  make  an  excur- 
sion to  Pompeianum,  while  my  ship  is  taking  in 
victuals  and  other  necessaries.  Pray  return  my 
thanks  to  Vectenus  for  his  zeal  to  serve  me.  If 
you  can  get  a  bearer,  send  me  a  letter  before  I 
depart. 


EPISTLE  XVI. 

1  HAD  delivered  a  letter  for  you  upon  a  variety 
of  subjects,  when,  early  in  the  morning,  Diony- 
sius  paid  me  a  visit.  I  would  not  only  have 
been  civil  to  him,  but  would  have  pardoned  him 
all  that  is  past,  had  he  come  to  me  in  the  same 
disposition,  which  you  intimated  in  your  letter 
to  me  at  Arpinum.  I  mean  that  he  would  come 
and  do  all  that  I  should  desire  him.  Now,  what 
I  desired,  or  rather,  what  I  wished  for,  was,  that 
he  would  give  me  his  company.  Ilis  refusing 
that  so  flatly  as  he  did  at  Formiae,  was  the  reason 
why  I  sent  you  so  many  bitter  letters  against  him. 
Last  time  I  saw  him,  (after  using  a  very  few 
•words)  the  whole  of  what  he  said  came  to  this, 
that  I  must  pardon  him,  because  the  situation  of 

his 


km 


336 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


his  affairs  did  not  suffer  him  to  attend  me.  I  was 
greatly  mortified,  but  I  said  very  little  to  him  in 
answer.  The  conclusion  I  have  formed,  is,  that 
he  looks  with  contempt  upon  my  fallen  fortunes. 
What  shall  I  say  more  ?  You  will  be  perhaps, 
surprised  that  I  am  afflicted  upon  his  account,  at 
a  time  when  I  am  overwhelmed  with  such  a  weight, 
and  such  a  variety  of  distress.  When  I  wish 
that  he  may  be  your  constant  friend,  I  am  wish- 
ing that  you  may  be  always  happy ;  for  while  you 
are  so,  Dionysius  will  be  your  friend. 

1  am  in  hopes  to  execute  my  design  without 
danger.  For  I  will  dissemble  deeply,  and  observe 
narrowly,  so  far  as  I  can,  provided  I  can  have 
such  an  opportunity  to  sail  as  I  wish  for.  As  to 
every  tiling  else,  it  shall  be  taken  care  of  as  far  as 
human  foresight  can  avail.  I  beg  that  you  will 
WTite  while  I  am  here,  not  only  what  you 
know  and  hear,  but  what  you  foresee  will  happen. 
Curio  writes  me  that  Cato,  who  might  have 
kept  his  ground  in  Sicily  with  great  ease  (and  had 
he  kept  it,  he  would  have  been  joined  by  all  our 
patriots)  has  left  Syracuse  on  the  24th  of  April. 
I  wish  the  news  to  be  true  that  Cotta  maintains 
his  ground  in  Sardinia.  If  he  should,  how  scan- 
dalous will  Cato's  behaviour  appear.  - 

I  wentlo  Pompeianum  on  the  12th,  as  a  blind 
to  my  departure,  and  to  my  having  even  any 
thoughts  of  it,  and  that  the  necessary  prepara- 
rations  for  my  voyage  might  be  made  while  I 

was 


TO  ATTICUS. 


337 


was  there.  When  I  came  to  my  villa,  application 
was  made  to  me,  that  the  centurions  of  the  three 
cohorts,  which  were  atPompeianitm,  wanted  to  see 
me  next  day,  and  (for  our  friend  Ninnius  told  me) 
that  they  intended  to  surrender  both  themselves 
and  the  town,  into  my  hands.  But,  betwixt  you 
and  me,  I  left  my  villa  next  morning  before  day- 
break, that  they  might  have  no  means  of  seeing 
me.  For  what  would  three  cohorts  have  avail- 
ed ?  Supposing  them  to  have  been  more,  how 
would  they  have  subsisted,  or  even  been  kept  on 
foot?  I  even  reflected  on  the  fate  of  Caelius 
which  you  mentioned  in  the  letter  I  received 
from  you,  the  day  on  which  I  arrived  at  Cumae, 
and  1  thought,  at  the  same  time,  that  his  offer 
might  be  made  with  a  view  to  betray  me.  I 
therefore  cleared  myself  of  all  grounds  of  sus- 
picion \ 

But  before  I  returned,  Hortensius  was  come 
to  my  house,  out  of  his  road,  to  pay  his  compli- 
ments 


1  It  is  inconceivable,  after  this  behaviour  in  our  author,  that, 
any  body  should  be  found  so  unreasonably  partial  to  his  me- 
mory, as  to  endeavour  to  defend  him  on  the  head  of  self-consis- 
tency and  resolution.  We  have  seenhim  in  former  letters,  again 
and  again,  proposing  vast  glory  to  hinaself,  from  imitating  th© 
conduct  of  this  Caelius,  and  he  said,  in  his  last  letter  but  one, 
that  were  a  standard  erected  in  Italy  against  Caesar,  great  num- 
bers would  flock  to  it.  But  when  a  much  fairrer  opportu- 
nity than  he  could  expect,  presents,  we  see  how  shamefully  h« 
abandons  it. 

Vol,  II.  Z 


333 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


ments  to  my  wife.  He  spoke  of  me  in  very  ho- 
nourable terms.  I  think  however,  I  shall  see 
him  in  person,  for  he  has  sent  a  servant  to  inform 
me,  that  he  will  pay  me  a  visit.  This  however, 
is  a  more  genteel  behaviour  than  that  of  Antony, 
my  brother  augur,  whose  mistress,  the  actress, 
is  carried  about  in  a  sedan  amongst  his  lictors. 
As  you  have  got  rid  of  your  ague,  and  with  your 
ague  all  your  uneasiness,  I  expect  you  will 
pay  me  a  visit  in  Greece,  now  that  you  are  quite 
recovered,  and  in  the  meantime,  that  you  will 
send  me  letters. 


EPISTLE  XVII. 


jrioRTENSius  paid  me  a  visit  on  the  14th,  after 
my  last  letter  was  written ;  I  wish  that  he  had 
acted  on  other  occasions  as  he  does  at  this  time. 
How  strong  were  his  assurances  that  he  w  ould 
serve  me,  and  1  design  to  take  him  at  his  word. 
Serapio  afterwards  came  with  your  letter,  and 
before  I  opened  it,  Ltold  him  what  was  true,  that 
you  had  written  to  me  concerning  him.  After 
reading  your  letter,  I  entertained  him  greatly  to 
his  satisfaction,  and  indeed  I  approve  of  the 
man,  for  he  appears  to  mc  to  be  both  learned 

and 


TO  ATTICUS. 


S39 


and  virtuous  \  I  have  even  some  thought  of  using 
his  ship,  and  to  engage  him  as  a  fellow-passenger. 
The  disorder  in  my  eyes  recurs  very  often,  and 
though  it  is  not  excessively  painful,  yet  it  pre- 
vents me  from  writing  with  my  own  hand.  I  am 
extremely  glad  that  you  are  quite  recovered  from 
your  old  complaint,  and  that  you  have  no  fresh 
symptoms  of  it.  I  wish  I  had  Ocella  here,  for 
the  measures  I  propose,  appear  to  be  pretty  prac- 
ticable. We  are  retarded  by  the  Equinoctial  winds, 
which,  at  present,  are  very  boisterous^  When 
the  mild  season  returns,  my  wish  is,  that  Horten- 
sius  may  remain  in  his  favourable  disposition 
with  regard  to  me;  for  as  to  his  behaviour 
hitherto,  nothing  could  be  more  like  that  of  a 
gentleman. 

As  to  the  passport,  you  appear  amazed,  as  if  I 
had  accused  you  of  some  gross  crime.  You  tell 
me,  that  you  cannot  conceive  how  such  a  thing 
could  come  into  my  mind.  With  regard  to  my- 
self, as  you  had  witten  me  that  you  intended  to 
go  abroad,  and  as  you  had  taken  out  a  passport 

for 

^  Probably  he  meant  that  he  should  succeed  Dionysius  as 
tutor  to  his  son  and  nephew. 

2  Because  of  the  intercalations  which  we  have  already  men- 
tioned, and  the  same  disagreement  between  the  seasons  and 
the  months,  in  which  they  ought  to  have  fallen,  continued  till 
it  was  removed  by  Caesar.  The  vernal  Equinox  ought  to  have 
fallen  about  the  20th  of  March,  and  yet  this  letter  is  dated  the 
J  6th  of  May. 

Z2 


340 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS, 


341 


for  your  retinue,  I  thought  you  might  have  taken 
out  one  for  yourself,  having  heard  that  no  body 
could  leave  Italy  without  a  passport^  You  have 
now  the  ground  of  my  opinion  ;  and  yet  I  w  ish 
to  know  what  you  intend  to  do,  and  above  all 
things,  wTite  me  if  there  is  any  thing  new.  Dated 
the  l6thof  May. 


EPISTLE  XVIII. 

J\xY  daughter  was  brought  to  bed  in  her  seventh 
month,  on  the  19th  of  May,  of  a  boy,  and  I  have 
the  pleasure  to  inform  you,  that  she  is  in  the  way 
of  recovery,  but  the  child  is  very  weakly.  The 
dead  calms  that  have  happened,  have  detained 
and  hindered  me  more  than  the  guards,  who 
watch  me,  have  done.  All  the  promises  Horten- 
sius  made  me,  are  come  to  nothing.  I  therefore, 
look  on  him  as  a  very  unprincipled  man.  His 
freedman,  Salvius,  has  biassed  him.  Therefore 
what  I  write  you  afterwards,  shall  not  inform  you 
of  what  I  intend  to  do,  but  wliat  I  have  done; 
for  I  seem  to  be  surrounded  by  the  Coryca^ans ". 

I  beg 

*  Atticus  could  not  have  taken  a  passport  from  Caesar's 
party,  and  in  his  own  name,  without  tacitly  recognizing  their 
right  to  give  one. 

*  These  people,  so  called  from  Cory  cum,  a  promontory  of 
Pamphylia,  were  remarkable  for  prj^ing  into  the  secret  move- 

meuts 


I  beg  you,  however,  to  continue  to  write  to 
me  what  news  you  hear  from  Spain,  or  from  any 
other   quarter,  without  expecting  a  letter  from 
me  before  I  arrive  at  my  wished-for  harbour, 
unless  I  shall  write  to  you  when  I  am  on  my 
voyage.     But  even  that  shall  be  with  great  cau- 
tion.    For  hitherto  all  is  heavy  and  dark.     My 
first  movements  have  been  wrong,  and  so  must 
the  rest  be  of  course.     I  am  now^  bound  for  For- 
mise,   and  perhaps  the  furies  of  ambition',  will 
follow    me   thither  likewise.      But   from   what 
passed  between  you  and  Balbus,   I   have  laid 
aside  all  thoughts  of  retiring  to  Malta.     Are  you 
still  in  doubt  that  Csesar  looks  upon  me  as  one  of 
his  enemies?     1  have    written    to  Balbus  that 
vour  letter  informed  me  of  his  kindness,  and  of 
the  suspicion  I  am  under.     I  have  thanked  him 
for  the  former ;  do  you  clear  me  with  him  as  to 
the  latter.  Did  you  ever  know  a  man  so  w  retched 
as  I  am  ?     I  will  add  no  more,  lest  I  should  give 
you  pain  likewise ;  I  am  myself  tormented,  that 
the  time  is  come  when  I  can  do  nothing  that  is 
either  brave  or  prudent. 

* 

CICERO'S 


ments  of  their  neighbours.    Hence  the  name  became  a  proverb 
expressive  of  those,  who  distinguished  themselves  by  their  assi- 
duity, in  learning  and  divulging  the  affairs  of  otliers — E. 
1  Orig,  Furies.  Meaning  Caesar's  party. 


!  -i 
i  i 

a 


J| 


j 

I. 

f 

i 


11 

4 


i 
I 


44 


n         I  nf' 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO 


ATTICUS. 


! 


'U. 


;r 


^l? 


'  I 


BOOK  XI. 


EPISTLE   I. 


I  received'  your  sealed  parcel'  from  Ante- 
ros,  but  it  gave  me  no  kind  of  information  as  to 
m/ domestic  affairs,  which  renders  me  the  more 

sensible  as  the  person  who  managed  them  is  not  at 

Rome, 


1  Almost  nine  months  passed  between  the  date  of  the  last 
letter  of  the  last  book,  and  that  of  the  first  letter  of  this  book. 
Our  author  embarked  about  the  middle  of  June  for  Pompeii, 
and  the  first  four  letters  of  this  book  are  dated  from  Macedo- 
nia,  and  the  second  must  have  been  written  about  the  begin- 
ning of  February.  ^ 

2  Orig.  Ohsignatum  lihellum.  This  principally  was  a  deed 
by  which  Cicero  was  appointed  heir  to  an  estate,  and  trans- 
mitted  to  him  for  his  signature. — E. 


4 


Awf:  >.lti*i' 


344 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


345 


Rome,  nor  do  I  know  where  he  is.     Therefore 
all  my  hopes  of  keeping  my  credit,  and  retriev- 
ing my  private  affairs,  must  rest  on  your  kind- 
ness, which  I  have  so  much  reason  to  be  con- 
vinced of.     Should  you  continue  to  afford  me 
that,  at  this  critical  season,  which  is  so  full  of 
misery  and  distress,  I  can  bear  with  the  greater 
courage  all  those   dangers  which  are  in   com- 
mon to  me  with  others.    I  therefore  implore  and 
beseech  the  continuance  of  your  friendship.     I 
have  in  Asiatic   coin  two  million  two  hundred 
thousand  serteces*.     By  getting  that  money  ex- 
changed for  the  coin  current  in  our  country,  you 
may  easily  support  my   credit.      If  I  had  not 
confided  in  a  man^  whom  you  long  ago  mistrust- 
ed, that  my  credit  was  unquestionable  when  I 
eft  Italy,  I  should  have  taken  some  more  time, 
and  not  have  left  my  affairs  in  such  disorder ; 
and  the  reason,    why  I  have  been  so  long  in 
writing  to  you  is,    because,    I  have   but  lately 
learnt  the  confusion  they  are  in.     I  conjure  you 
in  the  most  earnest  manner,  to  take  upon  your- 
self the  whole  weight  of  maintaining  my  credit. 
So,  that  if  the  party  to  which  I  am  joined  should 
be  successful,  I  may  be  restored  with  them  to 
all  my  honours,  and  may  have  an  opportunity 

to 

^  In  Cistophoro  in  Asia.  Vide  vol.  i.  page  113,  for  an  ex- 
planation of  the  word  Cistophorus.  This  Money  was  part  of 
the  arreara  due  to  our  author  as  governor  of  Silicia. 

•  This  was  Philotimus. 


to  own,  that  for  that  enjoyment  I  am  obliged  to 
your  friendship. 


EPISTLE  II. 

On  the  4th  of  February  I  received  your  letter, 
and  that  very  day  I  executed  the  deed,  by  which 
1  accepted  the  heirship^  I  am  now  freed  from 
one  of  my  many  distresses,  if,  as  you  write,  that 
estate  is  sufficient  to  preserve  me  in  credit  and 
reputation,  though,  I  perceive,  that  had  it  not 
happened,  you  would  have  done  the  same  out 
of  your  own  private  purse.  As  to  what  you 
write  concerning  my  daughter's  portion-,  I  con- 
jure 

1  Or'i^  Eoque  ipse  die  ex  testamento  crevi  kereditatem. 
Atticus  li'ad  informed  our  author  that  a  certain  person  had 
made  him  (Cicero)  his  heir ;  and  in  that  case,  the  law  required 
that  Cicero  should  accept  of  the  heirship  in  a  certain  time, 
which  was  done  by  a  special  deed,  in  the  following  form;  Cum 
me  N.  hceredem  instituerit,  earn  hareditatem  adeo  cernoque. 

2  When  Cicero^s  daughter  was  divorced  from  Crassipes, 
the  latter  was  at  liberty  by  law,  to  return  her  fortune  at 
three  payments,  which  was  to  go  to  Dolabella  her  second  hus- 
band. Dolabella  having  sided  with  Caesar,  and  being  so  exces- 
sively profuse,  that  he  had  spent  his  whole  private  estate,  our 
author  was  in  great  perplexity,  whether  he  should  pay  the  re- 
mainder of  his  daughter's  fortune,  which  was  to  be  returned 
by  Crassipes  to  Dolabella,  or  not ;  because,  in  case  of  a  di- 
vorce, which  was  very  probable,  between  her  and  Dolabella, 

she 


\ 


r.  Km 


% 


46 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATXICUS. 


347 


jure  you,  by  all  that  is  sacred,  to  take  the  whole 
of  that  affair  upon  yourself,  and  to  supply  my 
daughter,  who  is  rendered  unhappy  through  my 
misconduct  and  heedlessness,  out  of  my  estate, 
if  I  have  any  remaining,  or  out  of  yours,  so 
far  as  you  can  do  it  without  distressing  yourself. 
You  write  me,  that  she  wants  even  the  neces- 
saries of  life,  I  entreat  you  let  her  do  so  no 
longer.  How,  or  upon  whom,  have  the  rents 
of  my  estates  been  employed.  No  body  ever 
told  me,  that  the  sixty  thousand  serteces  were  de- 
ducted out  of  her  restored  fortune.  It  was  what 
I  never  would  have  suffered.  But  this  is  the 
least  of  the  many  wrongs  I  have  received,  and 
which  my  grief  and  my  tears  prevent  my  men- 
tioning to  you  in  writing.- 

I  have  taken  up  one  moiety  of  the  money 
which  I  had  in  Asia;  I  thought  it  would  be 
more  safe  where  it  is,  than  with  the  farmers  of 
the  revenue.  You  exhort  me  to  keep  up  my 
spirits ;  I  wish  you  could  give  me  some  motive 
to  enable  me  to  do  so.  But  if,  to  crown  all  my 
other  distresses,  the  news  which  Chrysippus  told 
me  concerning  my  house  (and  of  which  you 
mentioned  nothing)  should  be  true,   is  there  a 

man 

she  must  be  left  destitute.  Mean^\h^le,  Terentia,  Cicero's 
■viife,  who  was  a  very  bad  manager,  had  laid  her  hand  upon 
some  part  of  the  money  returned  by  Crassipes,  so  that  Dola- 
bella  had  not  received  the  full  first  payment,  which  farther 
added  lo  our  author's  uneasiness. 


I2ian  on  earth  more  wretched  than  I  am  ?  I  be- 
seech you  to  forgive  me,  but  I  can  write  no  far- 
ther.    You  surely  are  now  sensible  with  what  a 
weight  of  affliction  I  am  pressed.     Were  it  in 
common  to  me  with  others  who   are  embarked 
in  the  same  cause,  my  misfortune  would  admit  of 
some  alleviation,  and  therefore  would  not  affect 
me  so  much ;  but  now  I  have  no  manner  of  con- 
solation, except  the  hopes  that,   by  your  means, 
if  such  a  thing  is  yet  practicable,  there  will  be 
nothing  peculiarly  affecting  and  distressing  in  my 
case. 

My  delay  in  sending  off*  this  bearer  was  una- 
voidable. I  received  from  your  people  seventy 
thousand  serteces,  with  the  apparel  I  had  occa- 
sion for.  I  beg  that  you  will  write  in  my  name 
(as  you  are  acquainted  with  all  my  friends)  to 
all  you  think  proper.  If  they  should  require 
their  letters  to  be  under  my  hand  and  seal,  you 
may  tell  them,  that  I  avoid  these  tokens,  because 
I  am  so  narrowly  watched. 


EPISTLE  III. 

JL  ou  may  know  from  the  person  who  delivered 
me  Vour  letter  the  state  of  affairs  here.  I  de- 
tained  him  the  longer,  because  we  were  every 
day  looking  for  something  new ;    nor,   indeed, 

have 


■I 

Is: 


i\ 


5  - 


;*■ 


\ 


348 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


349 


have  I  any  reason  for  dispatching  him  off  now, 
but  to  reply  to  what  you  wanted  to  know.  With 
regard  to  the  first  of  July^,  how  hard  is  it  in 
these  hard  times  to  risk  so  much  money,  and  in 
the  present  state  of  our  uncertainty,  how  can 
the  divorce  you  speak  of  take  place  ?  There- 
fore, I  commit  this  amongst  my  other  concerns 
in  a  more  special  manner  to  your  friendship  and 
kindness,  and  to  my  daughter's  prudence  and 
inclination.  I  might  have  prevented  some  part 
of  her  unhappiness,  had  I  at  a  certain  time 
consulted  with  you  concerning  my  welfare  and 
fortune  in  person  rather  than  by  letters. 

You  deny  that  there  is  any  thing  in  these  im- 
pending calamities  peculiar  to  myself.  Not  to 
mention  that  this  consideration  gives  a  man  no 
relief;  I  have  many  misfortunes,  and  those  too 
heavy  ones,  and  such  as  I  might  very  easily 
have  avoided,  that  are  peculiar  to  my  case,  as 
you  must  be  sensible".  But  they  will  diminish, 
if  you  continue,  as  hitherto,  to  take  off  some 
part  of  their  weight  by  your  address  and  ma- 
nagement 

'  This  probably  was  the  term  for  payhig  part  of  his  daugh- 
ter's fortune  to  Dolabella^  who  was  in  great  favour  with  Cae- 
sar. 

'  If  any  thing  were  yet  wanting  to  give  the  reader  a  despi- 
cable idea  of  our  author's  resolution  and  firmness,  it  would  be 
his  writing,  as  he  often  does  to  Atticus  in  this  manner,  after 
all  the  high  sentiments  of  patriotism  he  expresses^  and  the 
prudent  maxims  he  lays  down  in  the  last  book. 


nagement     I  have  money  in  the  hands  of  Egna- 
tins.     And  let  it  even  rest  where  it  is.      For 
things  cannot  long  remain  in  their  present  situa- 
tion, before  I  may  know  what  I  shall  principally 
have  occasion  for.     Though  I  myself  am  in  want 
of  every  thing,  the  person  whom  I  follow  bemg 
likewise  straitened,  yet  I  have  lent  him  a  large 
sum,  with  a  view  of  its  turning  to  my  honour, 
when  public  matters  shall  be  settled.     Do  you 
continue,  I  beg  of  you,  to  write  in  my  name  to 
such   persons  as    you  think    proper   I    should 
write  to  them.     My  compliments  to  your  family. 
Be  careful  of  your  own  health.   Above  all  thmgs, 
I  recommend  to  you  what  you  have  promised 
me,  that  you  take  care  and  provide  in  all  re- 
spects, so  that  nothing  may  be  wanting  to  the 
person,  on  whose  account  you  know  I  feel  most 
anxiety.     From  the  camp,  June  the  13th. 


EPISTLE  IV, 

I  RECEIVED  a  letter  from  Isidorus,  and  two  of 
a  later  date,  from  which  I  understood  that  my 
farms  were  not  sold.  The  favour,  therefore,  of 
furnishing  my  daughter  with  all  necessaries  de- 
volves  upon  you.  It  will  be  very  agreeable  for 
me,  to  redeem  the  estate  at  Fusinum,  provided 
I  shall  be  in  a  condition  to  enjoy  it     You  desire 

me 


uh.l 


i  *l 


\n 


■♦u 


350 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


351 


me  to  write,  but  I  am  prevented  from  doing  it, 
because  I  have  no  subject  worth  your  notice.  I 
absolutely  disapprove  of  every  thing  that  is 
done,  and  every  thing  tiiat  happens,  here.  I 
wish  at  a  certain  time,  that  I  had  rather  seen 
you  than  corresponded  with  you  by  letters.  I 
stand  up  for  you  with  our  party,  as  well  as  I  am 
able.  I  refer  the  rest  to  Celer.  I  have  myself 
hitherto  declined  all  employment,  and  the  rather, 
because  I  saw  none  in  which  I  could  act  consist- 
ently with  my  character  and  situation. 

You  ask  me  for  news.  You  may  learn  all 
that  I  know  from  Isidorus ;  we  shall  probably 
have  no  great  difficulty,  during  the  rest  of  the 
^  campaign  ^  I  entreat,  that  you  will  be  as  good 
as  your  word,  in  continuing  to  take  care  of  that 
affair  which,  you  know,  I  have  chiefly  at  heart. 
My  anxiety  so  preys  upon  me,  that  I  am  re- 
duced to  a  very  low  state  of  health ;  when  I  am 
somewhat  recovered,  I  shall  join  our  general, 
who  is  very  sanguine  in  his  hopes.  Our  friend 
Brutus  acts  in  this  cause  with  very  great  spirit. 
Thus  far,  and  no  farther,  does  prudence  war- 
rant 

1  Pompey,  who  was  an  able  but  an  enterprising  general,  had 
given  Caesar  a  defeat  before  Dyrrachium,  which  might  have 
been  decisive  in  his  favour,  had  he  known  how  to  improve  it. 
But  unhappily  he  not  only  gave  Caesar  leisure  to  recover  him*- 
self,  but  grew  so  confident  of  success,  that  he  afforded  Caesar 
many  advantages  before  the  battle  of  Pharsalia  decided  the 
contest  between  them. 


rant  me  to  write  to  you.  Farewel.  I  have  al- 
ready written  to  you  in  the  letter  you  received 
from  PoUex,  entreating  you  most  carefully  to 
consider  how  I  am  to  manage  this  second  pay- 
ment. 


EPISTLE  V. 

♦ 

X  CONFESS  to  you,  with  the  deepest  sorrow, 
that  1  have  been  governed  more  by  the  impulses 
of  blind  passion  than  by  cool  deliberation.  But 
the  causes,  which  forced  me  upon  a  conduct 
thus  irrational,  are  so  new,  bitter  and  powerful 
as  to  compel  me  to  act  under  their  influence.  I 
therefore,  neither  know  what  to  write  to  you 
concerning  my  own  situation,  nor  do  I  know 
what  favour  to  ask  of  you.  You  are  sensible  of 
the  whole  of  my  situation.  I  have  understood 
by  your  letters,  (those  which  you  wrote  me  in 
common  wdth  my  other  friends,  and  those  signed 
by  yourself  alone),  what  indeed  I  must  myself 
have  been  sensible  of,  that  you  were  so  much  ex- 
hausted as  to  be  obliged  to  provide  new  means 
to  maintain  my  reputation.  You  advise  me  to 
come  nearer  to  Rome,  and  to  travel  in  the 
night-time  through  the  towns  that  are  upon  the 
road.  But,  I  protest,  I  do  not  see  how  that 
can  be  done.  For  the  stages  are  neither  so  con- 
veniently 


I  i'.i 

I  It] 


€ 

^ 


352 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


veniently  disposed  as  that  I  can  reach  them  sO 
as  to  pass  a  whole  day  in  each,  nor  in  my  pre- 
sent situation,  is  there  so  much  difference,  whe- 
ther I  am  seen  by  people  in  a  town,  or  on  the 
road.  But  I  shall,  amongst  other  things,  con- 
sider how  tliis  may  be  most  conveniently  or- 
dered. 

I  am  in  such  disorder  both  of  body  and  mind, 
that  I  cannot  write  you  often,  and  I  have  only 
answered  such  of  yours  as  have  come  to  my 
hands.  I  beg  that  you  will  write  in  my  name  to 
Basilus,  and  to  such  other  persons  as  you  think 
proper,  not  forgetting  Servilius  as  you  see  occa- 
sion. As  to  my  being  so  long  without  writing, 
you  are  to  understand,  it  w  as  not  owing  %o  my 
want  of  inclination,  but  want  of  matter.  With 
regard  to  Vatinius,  whom  you  mention,  neither 
he  nor  any  body  else  would  be  wanting  to  do 
me  service,  if  they  could  find  out  how  they 
could  serve  me.  My  brother  Quintus  has  been 
at  Patrae,  where  he  was  joined  by  his  son  from 
Corcyra,  and  has  expressed  himself  with  great 
bitterness  against  me.  I  suppose,  they  have  left 
that  place  with  the  rest  of  Cajsars  party. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


SS3 


ETISTLE 


EPISTLE  VI. 

I  AH  perfectly  sensible  how  much  you  are  affect- 
ed by  your  own,  and  the  public  situation,  and  in  a 
more  special  manner,  by  my  misfortunes  and  dis- 
tress. Your  becoming  my  companion  in  sorrow,  is 
so  far  from  diminishing  that  it  increases,  my  grief. 
Your  wigdom  has  directed  you  to  find  oujt  the 
topic  that  can  chiefly  give  me  comfort ;  for  you 
approve  of  my  measures,  and  you  are  of  opi* 
nion,  that  at  such  a  juncture  I  could  not  have 
acted  more  advisedly  than  I  have  done.  You 
even  add  a  circumstance  important  in  itself,  but 
less  important  in  my  eyes  than  your  approbation, 
that  all  who  ar€  capable  of  reflection,  approve 
of  my  conduct.  Were  I  convinced  that  this  is 
fact,  it  would  diminish  my  sorrow.  You  bid 
me  take  it  upon  your  word.  Well,  I  do,  though 
I  well  know  how  fond  you  are  of  soothing  my 

aflliction. 

Never  shall  I  repent  my  having  quitted  the 
field,  so  great  was  the  cruelty  of  that  party. 
They  were  so  intermingled  with  barbarians,  that 
the  intended  proscription  would  not  have  been 
personal,  but  general.  Thus  they  concluded, 
all  your  estates  must  have  become  their  plun- 
der, had  they  prevailed.     I  say,   your  estates, 

Vol.  IL  A  a  because, 


t     ' 


-1 


354 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


355 


because,    with   regard  to  your  person   in  par- 
ticular,   their  intentions  were  most  bloody.     I 
therefore,  never  shall  repent   of  my  intention, 
though  I  do  of  my  conduct.     I  ought  to  have 
chosen  my  residence  in  town,  till  I  had  been  in- 
vited to  Italy.      I  should  then   have  been  less 
the  subject  of  talk,   I  should  have  been  less  co- 
vered with  confusion,   I  should  have  been  less 
tortured  with  remorse.      It  is  inconvenient  in  all 
respects,  for  me  to  sculk  in  Brundusium.     You 
advise  me  to  draw  nearer  to  Rome,  but  how  can 
I  do  it  without  the  lie  tors,  which  were  given  me 
by  the  people  of  Rome,  and  whom  I  cannot  be 
deprived  of  without  the  hazard  of  my  life.     Some 
time  aso,  when  I  drew  near  this  town,  I  ordered 
tliem  to  mingle  in  the  croud  without  their  axes, 
for  fear  of  being  attacked  by  Ceesar's  soldiers. 

I  make  the  proper  preparations  to  return  home 
when  an  opportunity  otfers.  I  beg  you  will  now 
apply  to  Oppius  and  Antony,  that  if  their  party 
will  allow  me  to  come  nearer  to  Rome,  I  may 
consider  how  to  proceed  in  this  matter.  I  suppose 
they  will  advise  me  to  that  course;  for  they  have 
criven  me  assurances,  that  Caesar  will  make  it  a 
point,  not  only  to  deserve,  but  increase  my  dig- 
nity; they  advise  me  to  keep  up  my  courage,  and 
they  tell  me  there  is  no  favour  too  great  for  me 
to  hope  for.  Such  are  their  promises,  such  their 
protestations,  and  I  might  have  given  more  credit 
to  them  if  I  had  remained  in  Italy.     But  there  is 

no 


no  looking  back.  I  therefore  beg  you  w  ill  attend 
to  what  is  to  come;  that  you  will  sound  the  per- 
sons I  mentioned,  and  if  you  think  it  needful,  and 
they  proper,  .  whether  it  may  not  be  an  induce- 
ment for  Ceesar  to  approve  of  my  proceeding,  if 
he  shall  understand  that  it  has  been  agreeable  to 
the  advice  of  his  own  friends.  You  may  like- 
wise apply  toTreboniusandPansa,  and  the  other 
friends  of  Caesar,  and  let  them  write  to  him,  that 
what  I  have  done,  has  been  in  consequence  of 
their  advice. 

My  daughters  illness,   and  her   weakness  of 
body  distresses  me.     How  greatly  obliged  am  I  to 
you  for  the  great  care  I  understand  you  have 
taken  of  her  !     That  Pompey  is  slain  I  have  no 
doubt:  and  as  his  affairs  were  become  so  despe- 
rate that  foreign  princes  and  nations  could  not 
hope  to  protect  him,  his  death  is  of  course  to  be 
expected.     I  cannot  help  lamenting  his  fate ;  for 
I  knew  him  to  be  a  man  of  virtue,  temperance, 
and  prudence.     I  cannot  surely  condole  with  you 
upon  the  death  of  Fannius,  as  having  thrown  out 
such  base  insinuation  respecting  your  mansion 
in  Italy.     With  regard  to  Lucius  Lentulus,  he 
had  promised  himself  the  house  of  Hortensius, 
the   country   seat  of  Cagsar,    and  his  house  at 
the  Baiae.     The  other  party  talk  pretty  much  in 
the  same  strain,  only  the  resentment  of  our  peo- 
ple did  not  know  where  to  stop,  for  they  reckoned 
all  who  remained  in  Italy  to  be  their  enemies. 

A  a  2  But 


M; 


1  ♦! 


^  .1 1 


356 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


But  I  could  wish,  some  time  or  other,  to  converse 
with  you  upon  these  matters,  when  my  mind  is 

more  at  ease. 

I  understand  that  my  brother  Quintus  is  gone 
to  Asia,  to  surrender  himself  to  Caesar.  I  have 
heard  nothing  concerning  his  son.  But  you  may 
inquire  of  Diochares,  Caesar's  freedman,  whom  I 
have  not  seen,  and  who  brought  those  letters 
from  Alexandria.  He  is  said  to  have  seen  him, 
but  whether  in  the  road,  or  in  Asia,  I  know  not. 
You  need  not  doubt  that,  situated  as  I  am,  I  feel 
impatient  for  a  letter  from  you,  which  I  beg  you 
would  dispatch  to  me  the  first  opportunity. 
Dated  November  the  28th. 


ih, 


I 


EPISTLE  VIL 

Your  letter,  in  which  you  have  so  punctually 
informed  me  of  every  thing  that  you, thought  con- 
cerned me,  gave  me  great  pleasure.  I  am  then, 
to  understand  that  those  gentlemen  are  of  opi- 
nion, that  I  should  be  attended  by  the  same  lie- 
tors,  a  favour  that  was  granted  to  Sestius.  But, 
if  I  mistake  not,  his  li(itors  were  not  continued 
to  him,  but  were  given  him  by  Caesar.  For  I  am 
informed  that  he  disapproves  of  all  the  resolu- 
tions of  the  senate,  that  passed  after  the  tribunes 
left  Rome ;  therefore   he  may,  consistently  with 

his  own  maxims,  continue  to  me  my  lictors. 

But 


TO  ATTICUS. 


357 


But  why  should  I  speak  of  lictors  ?  Have  1 
n6t  received  what  is  next  to  an  order  that  I 
should  leav£  Italy  ?  For  Antony  has  sent  me  a 
copy  of  Caesar's  letter  to  him,  importing  that,  as 
Cato  and  Lucius  Metellus  had  come  to  Italy,  and 
intended  to  appear  in  public  at  Rome,  he  disap- 
proved of  this,  and  prohibited  all  from  coming  to 
Italy,  who  had  not  his  special  leave.  All  this 
was  expressed  in  violent  terms.  Antony  there- 
fore, sent  me  a  letter,  begging  me  to  excuse  him, 
because  he  could  not  help  obeying  Caesar's 
orders.  I  then  sent  Lucius  Lamia  to  him,  to 
tell  him  that  Caesar  had  desired  Dolatbella  td 
write  to  me  forthwith,  to  come  to  Italy,  a»d  tliat 
Dolabella's  letter  was  my  authority  for  coming. 
Antony,  upon  this,  published  an  edict  of  prohi- 
bition, but  with  an  express  exception  of  Laelius 
and  myself,  which  I  did  not  like,  because  I  might 
have  been  comprehended  in  a  general  article  as 
having  leave  from  Caesar,  but  without  being 
named. 

How  heavy  are  the  strokes  of  my  affliction !  In 
vain  do  you  endeavour  to  weaken  their  force,  and 
yet  your  very  endeavours  are  so  earnest,  that 
they  abate  my  sorrow.  Repeat  your  salutary  cor- 
respondence as  often  as  possible.  Continue, 
above  all  things,  to  support  me  in  the  hope  tiiat 
I  have  not  lost  the  esteem  of  worthy  men ;  and 
yet  how  can  you  succeed  in  this  attempt.  It  is 
impracticable.     But  if  any  occasion  should  put 

it 


li 


t  ■ 


358 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


it  in  your  power,  (as  I  know  none  at  present)  to 
justify  me  with  such  men.   that  would  give  me 
comfort  indeed.     But  this  justification  must  arise 
from  the  events  which  have  happened.     It  has 
been  said,  for  instance,  that  I  ought  to  have  left 
Italy  at  the  same  time  with  Pompey.     Now  his 
death  takes  off,  in  some  measure,  the  reproach 
of  my  havincr  been  wanting  to  my  duty  in  that 
respect.     But,  of  all  the  charges  against  me,  none 
aftects  me  more  than  my  not  going  to  Africa. 
Now  I  reasoned  in  this  manner.     I  did  not  think 
the  cause  of  our  country  ought  to  be  left  to  the 
defence  of  barbarous  auxiliaries,    and  the  most 
treacherous  of  all  people  in  the  world,  especially 
as  they  were  to  act  against  an  army  which  had 
gained  repeated  victories.      This  apology  will, 
perhaps,  not  satisfy  the  people ;  for  I  hear  that  a 
great  many  worthy  Romans  have  gone  to  Africa, 
and  I  know  that  some  were  there  before.     Here 
I  feel  most  vulnerable,  and  here  too,  I  must  apr 
peal  to  events.     It  may  be  said  that  some,  pos- 
sibly all,  of  those  patriots  would  have  made  their 
peace  with  Caesar  if  they  could.  But  if  they  should 
hold  out  and  prevail,  in  what  a  light  shall  I  then 
appear  ?     But,  say  you,  what  will  become  of  them 
should  they  be  conquered  ?     Why,  they  fall  with 
giory.      Tliat,   indeed,    is   the  reflection   which 
gives  me  torment 

You  have  not  informed  me  of  the  reasons  you 
have  for  thinking  that  the  conduct  of  Sulpicius 

has 


TO  ATTICUS. 


359 


has  not  been  more  advisable  than  mine.     It  is 
not  indeed,  so  specious  as  that  of  Cato,  but  it  is 
void  of  difficulty  and  danger.     The  last  conside- 
ration is,  with  regard  to  those  who  are  in  Achaia, 
yet  even  they  are  in  a  better  situation  than  I  am, 
because  a  great  many  of  them  are  in  one  place, 
and,   at  the  same  time  they  come  to  Italy,   they 
come  to  Rome  directly.      Do  you   continue  to 
use  all  the  arguments  in  your  power  to  apologize 
for  my  misfortunes,  and  to  vindicate  my  conduct. 
You  say,  you  cannot  give  me  a  meeting.     Well— 
I  know  your  reasons,  and  I  am  even  sensible  that 
it  is  my  interest  you  should  be  at  Rome,  that  you 
may  treat  with  the  proper  persons,  as  you  have 
hitherto  done  upon  .those  matters  which  relate  to 
me  ;  and  there  is  one  thing  I  recommend  to  you 
in  a  more  special  manner,     I  am  of  opinion  there 
are  a  great  many  who  have  informed,  or  will  in- 
form, Csesar,  that  I  either  repent  of  my  conduct, 
or  that  I  disapprove  of  his.     Both  those  facts  are 
true,  but  they  are  reported  by  the  informers,  not 
from  any  real  disco-veries  they  have  made,   but 
with  an  intention  to  injure  me.     But  Balbus  and 
Oppius  must  entirely  take  upon  them  the  charge 
of  removing  these  impressions  from  Caesar,  and 
confirm,   by  their  frequently  writing  to  him,  the 
disposition  he  has  in  my  favour ;  and  do  you  use 
all  your  endeavours  to  answer  the  same  end. 

There  is  another  reason  why  I  would  not  have 
you  to  leave  Rome,  because  you  write  me  that 

you 


i  ii 


360 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


361* 


you  are  solicited  to  remain  there.  What  a  mise* 
rable  situation  I  am  in!  What  can  I  write? 
What  can  I  wish  for? — I  must  be  short — For' 
Hiy  tears  involuntary  flow.  I  leave  every  thing 
to  you.  Do  every  thing  for  the  best  Only  take 
care  to  do  yourself  no  injury  in  a  period  so 
'trying  as  this.  Pardon,  me,  I  beseech  you,  tears 
and  anguish  will  not  suffer  me  to  continue  longer 
upon  this  subject  All  I  can  say  is,  that  there  is 
BOtbing  in  which  you  can  more  oblige  me  than  in 
loving  my  daughter.  You  act  very  kindly  in 
writing  letters  to  such  people  as  you  think  poper; 
I  have  seen  a  person  who  saw  the  younge  Quintus 
at  Samos,  and  his  father  at  Sycion.  It  will  be 
an  easy  matter  for  them  to  make  their  peace.  I 
wish,  as  they  are  to  see  Caesar  before  I  can  see 
him,  that  they  would  do  me  as  much  service  with 
him  as  I  am  inclinable  to  do  them,  were  it  in  my 
power.  You  entreat  me  to  take  in  good  part, 
any  thing  that  may  relate  to  me  in  your  letters. 
I  tell  you,  I  take  it  in  the  best  part,  and  I  desire 
you  will  continue  to  write  me  every  thing  as 
openly,  and  as  often  as  you  can.  FareweL 
December  the  igth. 


EPISTLE  Vni. 

I  SUPPOSE  you  are  not  ignorant  of  my  afflic- 
tions,  but  you  will  be  fully  instructed  in  them  by^ 
Lepta  and  Trebatius.     Dearly  do  I  suffer  for  my* 
rash  conduct,  which  you  are  fond  of  calling  pru- 
dent,—But  1  shall  not  dispute  the  point  with  you ; 
and  I  am  not  against  your  entertaining  these  sen* 
timents,   provided  you  write  to  me  as  often  as 
you  can,  for,  at  this  time,  your  letters  give  me 
some  consolation.     I  have  occasion  for  all  your 
interest  with  those  who  are  my  well-wishers,  and 
have  most  influence  with  Caesar,  and  especially 
with   Balbus  and   Oppius.     Let  them   write  to 
him  in  the  strongest  terms  in  my  favour ;  for  I 
hear  that  I  have  enemies  about  Caesar  s  person, 
and  there  are  others  who  would  be  glad  to  injure 
me  by  letters  to  him.     These  must  be  counter- 
acted in  such  a  manner  as  the  magnitude  of  the 
ease  requires.      Furnius  is  with  Caesar,  and   is 
one  of  my  bitterest  enemies.     My  brother  has 
sent  his  son  to  Caesar,   not  only  to  beg  his  par- 
don, but  to  make  him  my  enemy.     He  gives  out 
that  I  have  done  him  ill  offices  with  Caesar.     In 
this  he  is  confuted  by  Caesar  himself,   and  by  all 
his  friends ;  and  wherever  he  is,   he   incessantly 
loads  me  with  every  kind  of  reproach.    Of  all  the 
things  I  ever  met  with  in  my  life,  I  could  not 

have 


362 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


363 


believed  this,  and  of  all  my  calamities,  this  is 
the  most  bitter.  I  have  been  told  by  those  who 
heard  them^  of  some  very  heinous  charges,  which 
he  alleged  against  me  in  a  public  company  at 
Sycion.  You  know  his  temper,  perhaps  you 
have  experienced  it,  and  now  he  discharges  all 
4ts  bitterness  on  me.  But  the  remembrance  of 
these  matters  both  increases  my  own  trouble, 
and  occasions  uneasiness  to  you.  Let  me,  there- 
fore, return  to  the  main  point ;  and  recommend 
it  to  you  upon  this  occasion,  that  Balbus  should 
send  a  special  messenger  to  Caesar.  I  beg  you 
will  write  to  people  in  my  name  as  you  see  pro- 
per.    Adieu.     December  27th. 


EPISTLE  IX. 

W  HAT  you  say  is  true,  I  have  acted  both  in- 
cautiously and  prematurely ;  I  am  now  quite 
hopeless,  being  detained  in  Italy,  by  the  excep- 
tions inserted  in  Caesar's  edicts,  and  had  they  not 
been  obtained  by  your  assiduity  and  friendship, 
I  should  have  chosen  to  have  gone  to  some  de- 
sert or  other.  But  now  I  am  not  at  liberty  to  do 
even  this.  Of  what  avail  is  it  to  me,  that  I  have 
come  before  the  commencement  of  th6  new  tri- 
buneship,  if  my  coming  at  all  is  of  no  effect  in 
itself?     Now,  what  can  I  hope  from  a  man  who 

never 


never  was  my  friend,  harassed  and  oppressed  as 
I  am,  by  an  established  law.     The  letters  I  re- 
received  from  Balbus,  are  every  day  more  and 
more  cold.     Ceesar  receives  letters  from  various 
parts,  the  object  of  which,  is  perhaps,  to  preju- 
dice him  against  me.     I  have  myself  to  blame  for 
my  ruin,  and  I  can  lay  nothing  to  the  score  of ' 
chance.       AH   my   misery   is   owing  to  myself. 
After  seeing  the  nature  of  the  war,  after   being 
sensible  that  we  were  weak,  and  unprovided  in 
all  respects,  to  act  against  an  enemy  who  wanted 
for  nothing  !     What  was  I  to  do?     I  resolved  to 
remain  neutral.     A  resolution  not  brave  indeed, 
but  more  pardonable  in  me  than  in  any  other 

jnan  alive. 

Well,   I  yielded   to,     or    rather    obeyed   my 
friends.     One  of  them  (the  person  whom  you  re- 
commend to  me)  has  discovered  by  his  letters 
to  you,  what  his  sentiments  were.     Never  should 
I  have  opened  them,  had  it  not  been  upon  the 
following  occasion :     The  packet  was  brought  to 
me ;  I  opened  to  see  if  any  letters  directed  for 
me  were  in  it.     There  was  none  but  one  from 
Vatinius,  and  another  from  Ligurius,   which  I 
ordered  to  be  sent  to  them.     Immediately  they 
came  to  me  burning  with  grief,  and  exclaiming 
against  my  brother^s  treachery.     They  then  read 
to  me  his  letters,  which  were  filled  with  all  man- 
ner of  invectives  against  me.     Ligurius  told  me 
jp  great  passion,  that  Caesar  had  been  excessively 

exasperated 


364 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


exasperated  against  my  brother,  and  that  it  was 
only  from  his  respect  to  me,  that  he  not  only  re- 
ceived him  into  favour,  but  made  him  a  conside- 
rable present  in  money.  After  this  painful  dis- 
covery, I  was  curious  to  know  what  he  had 
written  to  his  other  correspondents,  for  I  thought 
that  it  would  turn  to  his  own  prejudice,  should 
the  report  of  his  monstrous  baseness  diffuse  itself 
farther.  I  perceived  all  his  letters  were  in  the 
same  strain.  I  have  sent  them  to  you.  You  may 
order  them  to  be  delivered,  if  you  think  they  can 
serve  him,  for  they  cannot  be  of  disservice  to  me. 
They  may  again  be  sealed  by  his  own,  which,  if 
I  misake  not,  is  in  the  possession  of  Pomponia. 
When  on  first  sailing,  he  manifested  his  unna- 
tural temper  against  me,  it  confounded  me  so 
much,  that  I  have  been  stunned  ever  since ;  and 
at  present,  I  am  told  that  he  does  not  endeavour 
so  much  to  serve  himself,  as  to  injure  me. 

With  such  numberless  hardships  am  I  sur- 
rounded, that  it  is  difficult,  nay,  impossible,  for 
me  to  hold  out  longer  against  them.  There  is 
one  misfortune,  were  there  no  other,  that  must 
depress  me  to  the  ground ;  the  thoughts  of  leav- 
ing my  unfortunate  daughter,  stript  of  all  she 
bad  to  expect  of  my  fortune  or  her  own.  I  am 
impatient,  therefore,  till  you  fulfil  your  promise 
of  seeing  me.  For  I  have  no  other  friend  on 
earth  to  whom  I  can  recommend  her,  because  I 
understand  that  her  mother  is  to  expect  no  more 

favour 


TO  ATTICUS. 


365 


favour  than  myself.  But,  should  I  not  see  you, 
let  this  my  recommendation  of  her  serve  for  all, 
and  do  all  you  can  to  reconcile  her  and  the  uncle 
I  write  this  upon  my  birth-day.  I  wish  I  never 
had  been  born,  or  that  my  mother  had  no  other 
son.     My  tears  will  not  suffer  me  to  write  more. 


EPISTLE  X, 

IVly  troubles  \4iich  are  already  inexpressible, 
were    augmented    by    the    news  I   had  of  my 
brother  and  nephew.      Terentius,    an  intimate 
friend,  was  extensively  concerned  as  an  under 
farmer  in  the  toll  upon  carriages  and  pasturage 
in  Asia.     He  saw  the  younger  Quintus  at  Ephe- 
sus  on  the  8th  of  December,  and  from  the  regard 
he  has  to  me,,  he  gave  him  a  pressing  invitation 
to  supper  ;  and,  upon  his  putting  some  particular 
questions  to  him  concerning  me,  my  nephew  de- 
declared   himself  my  most    inveterate    enemy; 
showing  him  at  the   same  time,  a  written  ora- 
tion which  he  was  to  speak  against  me  before 
Caesar,       Terentius    took   great   pains   to    dis- 
suade him    from  his    frantic  proceeding.       He 
afterwards,  at   Patree,   had  a  long  conversation 
with  my  brother  who  talked  in  the  same  unnatu- 
ral, wicked  strain,  and  whose  madness  you  may 
perceive  from  the  letter  I  have  sent  you.   I  know 

this 


f 


366 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


this  will  give  you  pain,  as  it  gives  me  torment, 
and  the  more,  because  I  am  of  opinion,  that 
there  will  hereafter  be  no  room,  even  for  my  ex- 
postulating with  them. 

Our  news  concerning  the  affairs  of  Africa,  are 
very  different  from  that  you  represent  them  to  be 
in  your  letters.  We  are  told,  that  nothing  can 
be  more  strong  or  active  than  the  friends  of  free- 
dom in  that  quarter.  Add  to  this,  the  revolt 
of  Spain,  the  dislike  of  Italy  to  Caesar,  the  weak- 
ness, and  the  disaffection  of  his  troops,  and  the 
desperate  state  of  his  affairs.  I  Have  no  means 
to  enjoy  myself  a  moment,  longer  than  while 
I  am  reading  your  letters.  I  know  you  would 
write  me  more  frequently,  if  you  had  any  sub- 
ject to  write,  which  you  think  would  alleviate 
my  anguish;  but  I  beg  of  you  not  to  forbear  writ- 
ing, whatever  you  may  have  to  w  rite ;  and  if  you 
cannot  hate  those  who  have  treated  me  so  cruel- 
ly, yet  you  may  reproach  them  ;  not  that  your 
reproaches  will  have  any  weight  with  them,  but 
that  they  may  be  sensible,  that  I  am  still  dear  to 
you.  I  shall  write  you  more,  when  you  have 
answered  my  last  letters.  Farewel,  Dated  Ja- 
nuary the  21st. 


EPISTLE 


TO  ATTICUS. 


367 


EPISTLE   XI. 


O PENT  as  I  am  with  a  thousand  tormenting  re- 
flections, if  1  had  any  thing  proper  to  write  to 
you,  it  would  not  be  easy  for  me  to  do  it.  At 
present,  I  have  nothing  to  say,  especially  as  I 
have  no  prospect  of  my  situation  being  bettered. 
I  am  therefore,  in  no  expectation  of  having  a  let- 
ter even  from  you,  though  they  always  bring  me 
something  that  is  agreeable.  Therefore,  conti- 
nue to  write  to  me  by  every  opportunity.  I  can 
say  nothing  in  answer  to  your  last  letter,  w  hich, 
by  the  bye,  I  received  a  long  time  ago.  The  face 
of  affairs  is  much  changed  since  that  time; 
The  cause  of  justice  and  freedom  is  gaining 
ground  ;  and  I  am  ruined  by  my  folly. 

You  are  to  pay  thirty  thousand  serteces  to 
Publius  Sallustius,  which  I  received  from  Cnaeus 
Sallustius,  and  I  beg  you  to  do  this  without  de- 
lay. On  this  subject  I  have  written  to  Terentia, 
and  indeed,  this  supply  is  almost  exhausted. 
Therefore,  I  wish  you  would  concert  measures 
with  her  how  to  procure  further  resources.  I 
could  borrow  money  perhaps  here,  if  I  thought 
it  could  be  paid  at  Rome  upon  demand,  but  I 
will  not  venture  to  borrow  any,  before  I  know 
that  I  can  draw  for  it.     You  see  how  it  is  with 

me. 


368 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


me.  There  is  no  species  of  wretchedness,  that 
I  do  not  either  bear,  or  expect,  and  my  anguish 
is  embittered  by  the  reflection,  that  it  is  owing 
to  my  own  misconduct.  My  brother  is  inces- 
santly defaming  me  in  Achaia.  It  is  «trang^ 
that  your  letters  have  had  no  impression  upon 
him*     Dated  March  the  8th. 


EPISTLE  XII. 


Os  the  evening  of  the  8th  of  March,  I  receiv- 
ed your  letter  of  Cephalio,  after  having  that 
very  day  in  the  morning  sent  off  an  express  with 
letters  to  you.  When  I  had  read  your  letter, 
however,  I  thought  proper  to  write  something  in 
answer,  especially  as  I  perceived  you  to  be  ra- 
ther doubtful,  with  regard  to  the  reason,  which  I 
am  to  assign  to  Ctesar  for  my  leaving  Italy.  I 
have  no  occasion  for  any  new  reason.  For  I 
have  often  written  to  himself  and  I  have  given  it 
out  to  many  others,  that  I  did  all  I  could  to  bear 
with  the  public  talk;  but  all  was  in  vain,  with  a 
great  deal  to  the  same  purpose.  There  is  no- 
thinty  which  can  go  more  against  my  inclination 
than  that  he  should  imagine,  I  have  consulted  any 
body  but  myself,  in  a  matter  of  this  vast  conse- 
quence. Afterwards  I  had  a  letter  from  the 
young  Balbus  Cornelius,  telling  me,  that  Caesar 

thought 


TO  ATTICUS. 


369 


thought  that  my  brother  Quintus  had  sounded 
the  alarm  (for  these  were  his  words)  for  my  de- 
parture. At  that  time  I  did  not  know  in  what 
terms  my  brother  Quintus  had  written  of  me  to 
others,  though  he  sjpoke,  and  did  a  great  many 
bitter  things  to  my  face,  yet  I  wrote  by  Nilus  to 
Caesar,  in  these  words : 

"I   am  as   anxious  concerning    my  brother 
Quintus,  as  I  am  concerning  myself,  but  I  dare 
not  presume,  at  such  a  juncture  as  this  is,  to 
recommend  him  to  you.     I  will  venture  hereby 
however,  to  beg  of  you,  that  you  will  believe, 
he  never  did  a  thing  to  discourage  my  giving  you 
proofs  of  my  regard  and  affection ;  but  that  he 
rather  was  always  prompting  me  to  a  closer  con- 
nection with  you,  and  that  he  was  not  the  ad- 
viser, but  the  companion,  of  my  flight.     There- 
fore, in  all  other  respects,  1  hope  you  will  be- 
stow upon  him,  those  favours  that  are  consistent 
with  your  humanity  for  him,  and  his  friendship 
with  you.     Let  me  beg  you,  with  the  greatest 
earnestness,    again  and  again,  that  I  may  not 
injure  him  in  any  respect  in  your  opinion." 

Should  I,  therefore,  have  an  interview  with 
Cfiesar,  though  I  make  no  doubt  of  his  forgiving 
my  brother,  for  he  has  declared  so  much,  yet 
still  I  will  be  consistent  with  myself,  by  repeat- 
ing the  same  language  which  I  used  before. 

But  in  my  mind,  our  chief  concern  at  present 

ought  to  be  with  regard  to  Africa,  where,  you 

Vol.  IL  Bb  say, 


370 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


371 


say,  things  daily  wear  a  more  favourable  aspect,  sof 
as  to  induce  us  to  hope,  not  indeed  that  we  shall 
be  triumphant,  but  that  we  shall  be  able  to  sub- 
mit on  more  honourable  terms.  Would  to  hea- 
ven it  were  so  !  but  accounts  stated  to  me  are 
very  different ;  and  I  make  no  doubt,  that  your 
own  opinion  is  likewise  unfavourable,  but  that 
you  conceal  it  from  me,  not  to  deceive,  but  to 
encourage  me,  especially  as  Spain  is  at  so  small 
a  distance  from  Africa. 

You  advise  me  to  write  to  Antony,  and  others 
of  that  party.  If  you  think  there  is  occasion 
for  that,  I  beg  you  would  continue  to  do  what 
you  have  often  done ;  I  mean,  to  write  to  them 
in  my  name,  for  nothing  that  is  proper  for  me 
to  write  to  them  occurs  to  me  at  present.  You 
hear  that  I  am  more  depressed  than  ever.  No 
wonder  that  I  am,  when  you  see  the  glorious 
actions  of  my  son-in-law^  crowning  all  my  other 
distress:es.  However,  I  beg  you  will  continue 
to  write  me  as  often  as  you  can,  (for  he  cannot 
binder  you  in  this)  even  though  you  have  no 
subject  for  writing,  for  your  letters  always  bring 

me 

1  Meaning  DobbeHa,  who  at  that  time  acted  at  Rome  as 
tribune  of  the  people,  and  was  pushing  on  a  gent-raJ  act  of  in- 
solvency, and  other  very  pernicious  measures,  in  which  he  was 
opposed  by  Trebellius  one  of  his  colleagues.  This  ditference 
between  the  two  tribunes,  occasioned  a  great  deal  of  bloodshed, 
which  was  increased  by  the  Senate's  agreeing  to  Antony's  ea- 
tering  Rome  at  the  head  of  his  troops. 


me  some  comfort.  I  have  taken  possession  of 
Galliots  legacy,  and,  I  believe,  I  am  sole  legatee, 
because  notice  has  not  been  given  me  of  the  ap- 
pointment of  any  other  \     Dated  March  the  5th. 

EPISTLE  XIII. 

I  HAVE  as  yet,  received  no  letter  from  Murena  s 
freedman ;  that  which  I  now  answer,  was  deli- 
vered to  me  by  Publius  Siser.  What  you  write 
me  concerning  the  letters  of  the  elder  Servius, 
has  no  more  truth  than  your  information,  that 
my  brother  is  come  to  Syria,  which  is  proved  to 
be  false.  You  desire  me  to  inform  you,  how  I 
stand  with  those  who  have  come  hither.  I  have 
reason  to  think,  I  stand  well  with  every  one  of 
them ;  but  I  know  you  are  a  judge  how  far  that 
is  of  any  consequence  to  me.  Every  thing  helps 
to  complete  my  misery,  especially  as  I  see  my- 
self reduced  to  that  state,  in  which  nothing  can 
serve  me,  but  the  success  of  the  cause,  which  has 

ever 

1  Puto  enim  cretionemsimplicemfuisse,  quoniam  ad  me  nulla 
missa  est.  It  was  usually  required  by  the  testament  that  the 
heir  should  enter  upon  the  estate,  left  to  him,  within  the  space 
of  sixty  or  a  hundred  days.  This  act  was  called  hwreditatis  ere- 
tio,  Varro  L.  L.  vi.  5.  This  cretio,  or  legal  possession,  was 
said  to  be  simplex,  where,  though  the  property  was  divided 
between  many  heirs,  one  alone  was  appointed  the  legal  succes- 


•or. — ^E. 


BbS 


372 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


373 


ever  been  my  aversion  ^  They  say,  that  the  el- 
der Publius  Lentulus  is  at  Rhodes,  and  his  son 
at  Alexandria ;  and  it  is  certain,  that  Caius  Cas- 
sias is  gone  from  Rhodes  to  Alexandria. 

In  an  apology  which  my  brother  has  sent  me 
for  his  conduct,  he  has  made  use  of  more  bitter 
terms  than  he  did  when  lie  persecuted  me  the 
most.  For,  he  mentions,  that  he  understands  by 
your  letters,  that  you  are  offended  at  his  saying 
so  many  severe  things  of  me  in  writing ;  that  he 
was  sorry  he  had  disobliged  you,  but  that  he  had 
done  nothing  in  which  he  was  not  justified.  He 
then  writes  me  his  reasons,  in  very  scurrilous 
terms.  But  he  would  not  at  this  time,  nor  at  any 
other,  have  betrayed  his  malice  against  me,  had  he 
seen  me  overwhelmed  by  oppression.  I  wish  I 
had  come  nearer  to  you,  even  though  I  had  tra- 
velled in  the  night,  as  you  advised  me  ;  for  now, 
where  you  are,  or  when  I  can  see  you,  is  to  me 
absolutely  unknown.  You 


^  Meaning  that  of  Caesar.  The  despondency,  and  the  mean- 
ness of  our  author  in  the  whole  of  his  conduct  at  this  juncture, 
is  far  less  defensible,  and  much  more  ridiculous  than  he  showed 
under  hi-?  banishment.  We  find  him  starting  at  every  breath, 
raising  to  himself  phantoms  of  misery,  and  ingeniously  tor- 
menting himself  with  the  mere  chimeras.  Notwithstand- 
ing this,  I  am  apt  to  believe,  that  he  was  not  mistaken,  in  sup- 
posing that  it  would  be  much  better  for  him  that  Caesar  should 
get  the  better,  than  that  the  republicans  should.  But  the  de- 
claration  in  this  place  is  very  unworthy  of  a  wise  and  a  good 
Dun. 


You  had  no  occasion  to  write  to  me,  concern- 
ing the  coheirs  of  Fufidius.     Their  demands  are 
no  more  than  just,  and  1  approve  of  whatever 
you  have  done  in  that  matter.     I  informed  you 
long  ago  of  my  willingness  to  pay  off  the  mort- 
gage of  the  estate  of  Frusinum.     I  am  still  in 
the  same  mind,  though  my  circumstances  were 
then  better,  nor  did  I  then  think  the  public  af- 
fairs so  desperate  as  they  appear  to  be  now.     I 
leave  you  to  take  the  proper  steps  for  finishing 
that  business.     I  beg  that  you  will  exert  yourself 
as  much  as  possible  to  procure  means  for  my 
necessary   expences.      All  the  money  I  could 
spare,   I  gave   to  Pompey,   at  a  time  when  I 
thought  I  was  acting  wisely  in  so  doing.     I  have 
therefore  been  obliged  to  borrow  somewhat  from 
your  steward,  and  from  other  hands,   and,  at  the 
same  time,  Quintus  has  been  complaining  by 
letters,  that  I  could  spare  nothing  to  him.     He 
never  asked  me  for  any,  nor  have  I  ever  seen  the 
money  I  mentioned.     I  beg  you  will  try  what 
can  be  done  for  me,  and  that  you  would  give  me 
your  best  advice  upon  all  matters ;   you  know 
the  state  of  my  affairs.     My  grief  prevents  my 
writing  any  more  at  present.     You  will  continue 
to  write  in  my  name,  to  such  persons  as  occasion 
requires,  and  I  beg  you  will  lose  no  opportunity 
of  writing  to  me.     Farewel. 


V 


EPISTLE 


374i 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  XIV. 

1  AM  not  at  all  offended  by  your  candid  decla- 
ration, that  you  will  not  even  attempt,  as  you 
formerly  did,  to  comfort  me  under  my  afflictions 
both  public  and  private,  and  your  confessing  it 
to  be  now  impracticable.  The  situation  of  things 
is  entirely  altered  from  what  they  were.  For, 
to  mention  no  other  circumstance,  I  thought 
others  were  in  the  same  predicament  with  myself. 
For  all  those  who  seek  to  avoid  the  resentment  of 
Caesar  both  in  Achaia  and  in  Asia,  all  those  who 
know,  or  do  not  know,  the  state  of  public  affairs, 
are  about  to  set  sail  for  Africa.  Laelius  there-: 
fore,  is  the  only  person  who  is  in  the  same  si- 
tuation with  myself,  through  his  own  misconduct ; 
but  in  one  respect,  he  has  the  advantage  of  me, 
because  he  is  received  into  favour.  With  regard 
to  myself,  I  make  no  doubt,  that  Caesar  has 
written  concerning  me  to  Balbus,  and  to  Oppius, 
who  certainly,  if  they  had  received  any  agree- 
able orders,  would  have  communicated  them  to 
me.  They  likewise  would  have  imparted  them 
to  you  ;  and  I  desire,  that  you  will  talk  to  them 
upon  the  subject,  and  let  me  have  their  answer ; 
not  that  I  think  his  assurances  in  my  favour  are 
to  be  relied  on,  but  I  may  be  able  from  thence, 
to  form  some  judgment  of  the  manner  in  which 

I  ought 


TO  ATTICUS. 


375 


I  oucTht  to  proceed.     Though  I  dread  the  public 
xiesv    especially  as  I  have  such  a  son-m-law,  yet 
I  can  find  nothing  else  more  eligible  for  me  m 
this  unfortunate  situation.     Pansa  and  Hirtius 
wrke  to  me,  that  my  brother  goes  on  against  me 
in  his  old  way,  and  it  i^  said,  that  he  is  proceed- 
incT  to  Africa  with  the  others  of  that  party.     1 
will  write  to  the  elder  Minutius,  and  I  will  send 
him  your  letter.  I  will  acquaint  you  how  he  pro- 
ceeds    if  he  should  draw  upon  me  for  money, 
lam  surpnsed  how  you  could  raise  the  thirty 
tliousand   serteces,    unless   the  estate  of  luh- 
dius  has  turned  out  better  than  we  expected  . 
That  must  be  the  case.    But  I  expect  you  m  per- 
son, for  my  affairs  require  that  I  should  see  you, 
if  possible.     Now  matters  are  come  to  a  crisis 
with  me,  it  is  easy  for  you  to  form  a  judgment 
of  what  is  the  least  distressing  course  for  me  to 
pursue.     Farewel. 

EPISTLE 


1  The  sense  of  the  original  is  here  extremely  doubtful,  not 
only  on  account  of  Cicero's  close  cursory  way,  of  writing,  but 
of  the  various  readings  in  the  original.    I  have  endeavoured 
however,  to  make  it  clear  and  consistent  both  with  the  best 
readings  and  with  other  passages  of  our  author. 


376 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


377 


EPISTLE  XV. 

xxs  you  have  so  many  good  reasons  why  I  can- 
not see  you  at  this  time,  how,  I  pray  you,  am  I 
to  proceed  ?  For  Caesar's  possession  of  Alexan- 
dria is  such,  that  he  is  ashamed  to  write  of  what 
has  happened  there  \  The  opposite  partizans 
seem  to  be  preparing  for  passing  from  Africa  into 
Italy,  and  those  who  went  from  Achaia  to  Asia, 
will  either  join  them,  or  remain  in  some  neutral 
place.  HoMT  then  do  you  think  I  am  to  proceed  ? 
I  know  it  is  difficult  to  advise  me.  My  case  is 
singular,  and  has  at  most  but  one  parallel,  for  I 
can  neither  return  to  the  party  I  have  quitted, 
nor  have  I  any  assurances  of  protection  from  the 
party  I  have  embraced.  But  still  I  want  to  know 
your  opinion,  and  that  was  one  among  many 
reasons,  why  I  desired,  if  possible,  to  see  you. 

I  wrote  to  you  before,  that  Minutius  had  paid 
me  no  more  than  twelve  thousand  serteces ;  I  beg 
you  will  take  care  that  I  shall  be  paid  the  re- 
mainder. My  brother  is  so  far  from  expressing 
any  concern  to  me  for  his  past  behaviour,  that 
be  writes  to  me  in  the  most  reproachful  terms. 

As 

^  Notwithstanding  all  the  great  qualities  of  Caesar,  his  heprt 
was  so  accessible  to  the  charms  of  the  famous  Cleopatra,  that 
his  gallantries  with  her  at  Alexandria,  had  almost  proved  fatal 
both  to  his  affairs  and  his  person. 


As  to  his  son,  he  is  quite  outrageous  against  me. 
My  embarrassments  are  inconceivable ;  but  no- 
thing stings  me  so  much  as  the  reflection  upon 
my  own  gross  irretrievable  misconduct;  which 
ivould  be  somewhat  alleviated  had  I  not  been 
mistaken   in  believing  that  some   others  would 
have  acted  as  I  did.     But  all  others  had  reason 
for  their  conduct;  I   have  none.      Some  were 
made  prisoners,  others  were  intercepted  before 
any  suspicion  could  be  formed  of  their  intention, 
and  the  rather,  because  as  soon  as  they  were 
liberated,   they  joined  their  own  party.     As  to 
such  of  them  as  voluntarily  served  under  Fusius*, 
the  worst  that  can  be  said  of  them  is,  that  they 
were  irresolute.      Now  there  are   numbers  of 
every  description,  who  will  be  received  by  the 
patriots,  provided  they  are  willing  to  join  them. 
You  have,  therefore,  the  less  reason  to  be  surpri- 
sed at  my  sinking  under  such  a  weight  of  affliction. 
The  guilt  of  irretrievable  misconduct  is  peculiar  to 
myself,  unless,  indeed,  Laelius  may  be  joined  with 
me.     But  what  does  it  avail  me,  to  have  one  com- 
panion in  misery  ?     It  is  said,  indeed,  that  Caius 
Cassius  has  altered  his  design  of  going  to  Alex- 
andria.     I  write  to  you  in  this  manner^  not  that 
you  are  able  to  remove  my  imeasiness,  but  that 
J  may  know,  whether  you  can  give  me  any  advice 

in 


t  He  commanded  in  Achaia  under  Caesar,  and  was  consul 
for  the  three  last  months  of  this  year  with  Vatinius. 


378 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


in  my  present  miserable  condition,  which  is  ag- 
gravated by  the  conduct  of  my  son-in-law,  and 
other  circumstances  which  my  tears  hinder  me 
from  writing?  Even  the  son  of  ^opus^  gives 
me  pain.  In  short,  nothing  is  wanting  to  make 
my  misery  complete. 

But,  as  I  was  just  now  asking — what  is  your 
opinion  I  should  do  ?  Shall  I  steal  to  some  place 
nearer  Rome,  or  shall  I  pass  the  sea  ?  For  here 
I  canot  stay  longer.  Why  could  you  do  nothing 
in  the  aftair  of  the  Fufidian  estate^  For  the 
contract  was  of  such  a  nature,  as  seldom  or  ever, 
to,  admit  of  any  controversy,  because  the  share 
which  seemed  to  be  the  least,  might  have  been 
made  up  by  selling  the  whole  estate  by  auction ^ 
This,  with  good  reason,  I  shall  make  the  subject 
of  inquiry  ;  for  I  suspect  that  the  coheirs  believe 
my  situation  to  be  very  hazardous,  and  therefore, 
refuse  to  act  in  the  business.  Adieu.  Dated 
May  the  14th. 

EPISTLE 


1  He  was  a  celebrated  player,  and  our  author,  who  was  fond 
of  excellence  in  all  professions,  had  a  particular  esteem  for  him. 
He  left  an  immense  estate  to  his  son,  who  is  mentioned  here, 
and  who  squandered  it  scandalously  in  a  very  short  time.  But 
after  ail,  I  cannot  be  easily  persuaded,  that  the  original  here  is 
not  vitiated.  Gronovius  is  of  opinion,  that  it  ought  to  be  read 
instead  of  Quin  etiam  jEsopi  Jilius,   Quia  etiam  tucB  sororis 

filius. 

2  Orig.  Cum   ea  pars,  qucevidetur  esse  minor,  Ucitatione 

expleri  posset. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


379 


EPISTLE  XVI. 

I  AM  not  to  blame,  at  least  at  this  time,  (for  I 
own  I  have  been  so  formerly)  that  Caesar's  letter 
gives  me  no  comfort.     For  I  perceive  you  ob- 
serve, as  well  as  I  do,  that  it  is  illiberally  witten, 
and  affords  strong  presumption  that  it  did  not 
come  from  his  hand  \   1  will  take  your  advice 
with  regard  to  my  going  out  to  meet  him.     For 
his  return  to  Italy  is  neither  certain,  nor  do  they 
who  come  from  Asia,  say,   that  they  have  heard 
any  thing  of  peace,   and  yet  the  hopes  of  that 
gave  rise  to  all  my  mistaken  measures.     I  now 
see  no  foundation  for  such  a  hope,  especially  as 
Csesar  has  been  severely  checked  in  Asia',  iny 

lUyricum, 


1  We  see  from  this  passage,  and  from  the  practice  of  our 
author,  that  it  was  usual  for  the  great  men  of  Rome  to  give  a 
general  licence  to  their  friends,  to  make  use  of  their  name  in 
writing  to  others,  what  they  thought  might  be  for  their  service. 
The  word  exigue,  in  this  sentence,  would  seem  to  imply,  that 
the  composition  was  too  mean  for  Caesar,  but  the  sense  I  have 
given  it,  is  more  natural  and  agrees  much  better  with  our 
author's  doubts.  Besides,  exigue  does  not  so  much  signify 
mean,  as  contracted.  Our  author  mentions,  exiguum  tevipusi 
Virgil,  exigua  nox-^Laudato  ingenlia  Rura,  exiguum  colito. 

2  Cssar^s  lieutenant,  Domitius  Calvinus  had  been  worsted 
there  by  Pharnaces,  the  son  of  Mithridades. 


380 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


lUyricumS  in  the  affair  of  Cassius^  in  Alex- 
andria itself,  in  Rome',  and  in  Italy*.  With 
regard  to  myself,  supposing  Caesar  to  be  upon  his 
return  at  the  time  he  is  said  to  be  carrying  on 
the  war,  yet  I  believe  a  decisive  blow  will  be 
struck  before  that  time  ^ 

You  wTite  me  that  the  patriots  manifested 
some  joy  when  they  heard  of  Caesar  s  letter.  You 
take  care  to  omit  nothing  that  you  think  can 
give  me  the  smallest  degree  of  comfort.  But  I 
cannot  persuade  myself,  that  any  patriot  can  sup- 
pose I  value  any  advantage  which  might  happen 
to  me,  at  such  a  rate,  as  to  beg  it  of  Caesar,  and 

the 


1  Where  Gabinius,  one  of  Caesar's  general  officers,  was  de- 
feated by  Octavius  Dolabella,  in  his  march  to  join  Caesar. 

2  He  commanded  under  Caesar,  in  Spain,  where  he  beha- 
ved so  ill,  that  his  soldiers  conspired  against  him,  by  which 
means  the  republicans  became  again  masters  of  jthat 
country. 

^  On  account  of  the  popular  commotions  there. 

*  Where  Caesar's  soldiers  were  very  much  disaffected,  espe- 
cially on  account  of  his  behaviour  with  Cleopatra,  which  seems 
to  have  been  no  secret  at  that  time. 

^  Meaning  that  Scipio,  who  commanded  the  republican 
arm}'  in  Africa,  would  find  means  to  transport  it  over  to  Italy, 
which  would  then  fall  into  their  hands.  But  this  was  one  of 
our  author's  vain  surmises,  arising  from  the  dreadful  concern 
he  was  under,  lest  the  party,  which  he  had  so  often  solemnly 
vowed  to  espouse,  at  the  expence  of  his  life  and  fortune,  as 
esteeming  it  more  honourable  to  die  with  them,  than  to  con- 
quer with  Caesar,  (see  the  preceding  Epistles)  should  he  be 
successful. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


331 


the  less,  because  I  am  now  singular  in  the  con- 
duct I  have  pursued.     They  who  are  in  Asia 
wait  to  know  what  turn  affairs  will  take.     Those 
in  Achaia  have  even  given  Fufius  hopes  that  they 
will  submit.    All  those  gentlemen,  at  first,  enter- 
tained the  same  apprehension,  and  had  come  to 
the  same  resolution  with  myself  The  check  which 
Caesar  met  with  at  Alexandria,  improved  their 
condition,  but  ruins  mine ;  I  therefore  repeat  to 
you  the  request  I  made  in  my  former  letters,  to 
let  me  know,  whether,  in  this  desperate  state  of 
my  affairs,  you  see  any  thing  that  you  think  pro- 
per for  me  to  do  ?     If  I  am  received  by  Caesar's 
party,  which  you  perceive  is  not  the  case,  yet 
still,  during  the  war,  1  am  at  a  loss  how  to  act, 
or  where  to  reside.  Should  I  be  rejected,  my  con- 
dition is   still   >vorse.     I  therefore,   wait  for  a 
letter  from  you,  and  I  beg  you  will  write  to  me 
positively  upon  this  head. 

You  advise   me  to  send   Caesar's  letter  to  my 
brother,  which  I  would  do,  did  it  give  me  any 
pleasure.     Meanwhile,  a  certain  correspondent 
writes  to  me  in  the  following  terms.     "  I  pas.^ 
my  time  at  Patrae  agreeably  enough,  considering 
the  public  distractions ;  but  my  abode  would  be 
the  more  agreeable,  if  your  brother  would  talk 
of  you  in  a  manner  that  I  like."    You  tell  me  he 
has  written  to  you,  that  I  answered  none  of  his 
letters.      I  received    only  one    from  him,    and 
I  answered  it  by  Cephalio,   who  has  been  de- 
tained 


'3SQ 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


tained  by  contrary  winds,  for  some  months.  I 
formerly  acquainted  you,  that  the  younger  Quin- 
tus  had  written  to  me  in  the  most  scurrilous 
manner. 

I  shall  conclude  by  begging  you,  if  you  ap- 
prove of  the  measure,  and  think  you  can  un- 
dertake it,  to  concur  with  Camillus  in  talking 
to  my  wife  concerning  her  will  \  The  times  call 
upon  her  to  discharge  her  debts,  and  to  settle 
her  affairs.  Philotimus  has  been  heard  to  say, 
that,  in  some  things,  she  has  acted  most  infa- 
mously. 1  can  scarcely  credit  this  charge ;  but 
if  there  be  any  truth  in  it,  we  must  do  all  we  can 
to  prevent  the  consequences.  I  beg  you  will 
write  to  me  concerning  every  thing,  and  about  her 
in  a  more  particular  manner.  I  want  to  advise 
with  you  in  this  matter,  though  perhaps  you  can 
form  no  judgment  of  it,  and  I  shall  take  it  for 
granted,  by  your  silence,  that  you  cannot  Dated 
June  the  11th. 


EPISTLE 


^  Though  Terentia  was,  at  this  time,  in  perfect  health,  and 
enjoyed  it  for  upwards  of  fifty  years  after  this  j  yet  Cicero  and 
she,  had  each  of  them  agreed  to  make  a  will,  settling  the  suc- 
cession amongst  their  children  and  grandchildren,  to  then*  seve- 
ral estates. 


"■^^^ 


TO  ATTICUS. 


383 


EPISTLE  XVII. 

X  HE  bearers  of  this  letter,  being  not  my  ser- 
vants, and  in  haste,  I  now  send  you  a  short 
letter,  especially  as  I  intend  soon  to  dispatch  to 
you  a  courier  from  myself  My  dear  Tullia 
came  to  me  the  ISJth  of  June,  and  was  at  great 
pains  to  inform  me  of  the  high  regard  and  kind- 
ness which  you  had  shewn  her,  delivering  to  me, 
at  the  same  time,  three  letters.  As  to  myself, 
so  far  was  I  from  enjoying  the  pleasure,  which 
the  virtue,  the  tenderness,  and  the  affection  of  so 
excellent  a  daughter  ought  to  have  given  me,  that 
I  felt  inconceivable  anguish  at  seeing  so  ami- 
able a  woman  immersed  in  sucli  misery;  and 
that  too,  from  no  demerit  in  her,  but  from  the 
most  blamable  conduct  in  me.  I  cannot  there- 
fore, at  present,  expect  from  you  the  consolation 
which  you  are  so  fond  to  adminster ;  nor  advice, 
for  I  can  follow  none.  You  have,  I  am  sensible, 
omitted  nothing  that  could  be  suggested,  in  your 
former  letters. 

I  am  thinking  of  sending  my  son  with  Sallust  to 
Caesar.  As  to  my  daughter,  I  think  it  improper 
that  I  should  detain  her  any  longer  about  my  per- 
son, in  our  present  public  melancholy  circumstan- 
ces. I  will,  therefore,  prevail  upon  her  as  soon  as 
convenient,  to  return  to  her  mother.     For  to  the 

letter 


384 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


letter,  which  with  so  much  tenderness  you  sent  to 
sooth  me,   in  my  present  melancholy  situation, 
I  feel  all  the   gratitude  which  would  have  ani- 
mated your  bosom,  had  you  been  in  my  circum- 
stances.    The  conversation  which  you  inform  me 
you  had  with   Oppius  \  was,  on  his  part,   pretty 
much  as  I  had  suspected.     But  I  am  certain  that 
it  will  be  impossible  to  convince  the  friends  of 
Caesar,  by  any  means;  that  I  cordially  approve  of 
their  measures.     I  will,   however,  be  as  mode- 
rate as   possible.     And  yet  I  cannot  see  what 
mighty  disadvantage  would  arise  from  incurring 
their  displeasure.     I  see  you  have  a  very  good 
excuse  (too  good  to  my  great  sorrow)   for  not 


coming  to  see  me. 


We  have  as  yet  no  advice  of  Caesar's  having 
left  Alexandria,   and  it  is  certain,  that  no  body 
has  come  from  thence  since  the  l6th  of  March, 
nor  has  Caesar  written  to  any  one  since  the  13th 
of  December.      You  may,  therefore,   conclude 
that  the  letter  bearing  date  the  9th  of  February, 
is  not  authentic   (though  it  would  be  of  no  con- 
sequence if  it  were).     We  are  certainly  informed 
that  Lucius  Terentius  has  left  Africa,    and  is 
come  to  Paestum^      I  am  curious  to  know  what 

news 


1  He  probably  had  desired  Atticus  to  put  our  author  upon 
his  guard  against  talking  so  freely  as  he  did  of  public  affeirs,  or 
rather  to  talk  of  them  in  Caesar's  favour. 

«  This  was  a  town  of  Lucania,  built  at  the  mouth  of  the  river 

Siiaris. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


983 


he  brings,  how  he  escaped,  and  how  matters  stand 
in  Africa,  for  we  are  told,  that  he  was  conveyed 
away  by  Nasidius\  Pray  give  me  all  the  inform 
mation  you  cto  come  at  on  that  subject  I  will 
follow  your  advice  as  to  the  ten  thousand  ser-* 
teces.     Adieu.  June  the  14th. 


EPISTLE  XVIII. 

\V  E  have  yet  no  account  of  Caesar's  having  left 
Alexandria,  and  the  general  opinion  is,  that  his 
encra^^ements  there  will  not  allow  him  to  return. 
For  this  reason  I  have  laid  aside  the  thoughts  of 
sending  my  son  to  him,  and  I  htg  that  you  will 
liberate  me  from  this  place,  for  I  know  no  punish- 
ment so  great  as  my  staying  here  any  longer.  I 
have  applied  by  letters  to  Antotiy,  to  Balbus,  and 
to  Oppius,  upon  this  subject.  For  it  will  be  ex- 
tremely improper  that  I  should  be  here,  whether 
we  suppose  the  war  to  be  carried  on  in  Italy,  or 
by  sea.  It  will  be  Carried  on,  perhaps,  both  ways ; 
that  it  will  one  way,  is  certain.  The  conversa- 
tion which  you  wrote  me,  you  had  with  Oppias, 
made  me  entirely  sensible  of  the  vrew^  of  thdt 

party, 

*  Scipio,  who  commanded  the  republican  party  in  Africa, 
had  been  at  great  pains  to  cut  off  all  communication  between 
Caasar  and  that  countryj  biU  this  Nasidius,  who  oomimnded 
a  fleet  upon  that  coast,  it  seems,  assieted  Tetentiui'  ia  his' 
escape  from  thence. 

Vol.  II.  G  c 


386 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


party,  with  regard  to  myself,  but  I  beg  you  would 
try  to  soften  them.  At  present  I  calculate  upon 
the  worst,  and  nothing  but  the  worst,  though  in- 
deed my  present  situation  is  as  bad  as  it  can  be. 
I  therefore,  desire  you  will  speak  with  Antony, 
and  others,  and  do  all  you  can  to  effect  my  de- 
liverance, giving  me  the  earliest  possible  advice 
upon  every  subject.  Farewel.  Dated  June  the 
19th. 

EPISTLE  XIX  ^ 

1  READILY  agree  with  you  in  what  you  write, 
when  you  are  at  such  pains  in  making  me  sensi- 
ble, that  you  know  of  no  way  to  assist  me.  It  is 
true,  my  affliction  is  such,  as  to  admit  of  no  con- 
solation. Had  the  causes  of  it  been  accidental, 
it  had  been  tolerable.  But  all  my  misconduct 
arose  from  a  complication  of  mistakes  and  mise- 
ries, both  of  mind  and  body,  which  I  wish  my 
relations  had  endeavoured,  rather  to  remove 
than  to  increase.  I  have  not  therefore  the  least 
glimpse  of  hope  that  you  can,  in  any  degree,  give 
me  either  advice  or  comfort  ^  Hereafter  I  will 
ask  you  for  neither.  All  I  beg  of  you  is  not  to 
discontinue  your  correspondence  ;  write  me  what- 
ever 


1  I  have  followed  Monsieur  Mongault  in  aUering  the  order^ 
in  which  the  seren  last  letters  of  this  book,  stand  in  the  com- 
mon editions. 

'  This  is  another  mark  of  oar  author*s  great  dejection. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


387 


ever  occurs  to  you,  when  you  can  find  a  Bearer, 
and  as  long  as  you  can  have  (which  you  cannot 
long  have)  me  for  a  correspondent. 

\Ve  have  here  a  report  in  circulation,  founded 
on  a  letter  of  Sulpicius,    and  confirmed  by  all 
later  accounts,  that  Caesar  has  left  Alexandria. 
I  know  not  whether  to  wish  this  account  to  be 
true  or  false,  so  little  can  it  affect  me  either  way. 
I  wish  that  my  wife's  Will,  concerning  which  I 
formerly  wrote  to  you,  should  be  deposited  id 
some  safe  hands  ^     I  am   rendered  completely 
miserable  by  the  wretched  situation  of  my  daugh- 
ter, who  is  with  me.     Never  surely  was  distress 
equal  to  mine.    I  am  impatient  to  know,  whether 
you  can   point  out  to  me  in  what  manner  I  may 
in  some   degree  alleviate  it.     I  am  sensible  the 
same  difficulty  subsists  in  giving^  me  advice  as 
formerly,  but  this,  indeed  is  my  chief  affliction. 
in  regard  to  the  second  payment,  we  were  blind 
to  our  own  interest ;  and  I  beg  of  you  to  procure 
by  all  possible  means  some  money,  by  selling  my 
plate,  and  some  part  of  my  household  furniture ; 
for  1  think  matters  now  draw  towards  a  crisis. 
We  can  no  longer  hope  for  accommodation ;  and 
should  peace  be  obtained,  it  must  fall   to  the 

ground 

1  The  text  is  entirely  corrupted  in  this  place.  All  I  have 
been  able  to  do  is  to  restore  it  from  the  most  probable  conjec- 
tures, without  troubling  myself  about  the  surmise  of  the  com- 
mentators, which,  when  the  text  is  corrupted,  are  often  extra- 
vagant and  always  uncertain. 

Cc  2 


388 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


389 


ground  of  itself,  even  without  opposition  \  If 
you  think  proper  you  will  talk  likewise  upon 
this  subject  with  my  wife,  when  you  have  an 
opportunity.  I  cannot  write  more  at  large. 
Dated  the  5th  of  July. 


EPISTLE  XX. 

Jl  ApvisED  you>  by  letter,  fo  cWsult  with  Ca- 
millus»  and  be  writes  me,  that  he  has  had  a  con- 
viersation  with  you,  respecting  which  I  expect 
from  you  a  letter.  But  if  that  affair  has  taken 
an  unexpected  turn,  I  see  not  how  it  can  be  al- 
tered ^  But  I  knew  not  what  to  make  of  receiv- 
ing no  advice  from  you  along  with  the  letters 
which  Nilus  sent  me,  and  I  concluded  that  you 
was  either  indisposed  (for  you  wrote  me  that  you 
felt  some  symptoms  of  your  late  indisposition), 

.or 

»  Meaning  at  he  hinted  in  a  formec  letter,  that  Caesar's  suc- 
cwa  would  be  of  no  long  continuance,  even  though  he  got  the 
better  of  his  |resent  diihculties,  and  returned  in  triumph  to 

Rome. 

•  Orig.  Nisi  ifiud  qnidevi  mutari,  si  aliter  est,  etoportet,  non 
mdeo  foste.  The  word  nisi  carries  often  with  it  the  same  im- 
port as  sed  amongst  ancient  Latin  authors.  Cicero  himself 
sometimes  uses  it  in  that  sense,  Fann.  Epist.  lib.  xiii.  ep.  1. 
Nee,  cur  ilte  tantatoperc  contendat  video,  nee,  atr  iu  repugnes  r 
Nisi  tamen  multo  minus  tilt  coneedi  potest  quam  illi  Uberare 
sine  causa,  Eod.  hb.  ep.  13.  De  te  nihil  possum  judiearc ; 
nisi  illud  mihi  ctrte  persuades,  te  taiem  virum  nihil  temere 
fedsse. 


or  that  you  had  yet  come  to  no  fiKed  determina- 
tion as  to  the  affair  in  question.     One  Acusius 
came  here  on  the    18th  of  July,  from  Rhode8» 
who  tells  me,  that  my  brother'  Quintus  upon 
the  29th  of  May,  set  out  for  Caesar ;  that  Philoti- 
mus  came  to  Rhodes  the  day  before,  and  that  he 
had  a  letter  for  me.     You  will  hear  what  Acusius 
himself  has  to  say,  but  he  travels  very  slowly.     I 
have,  therefore,  sent  off  this  dispatch  by  a  more 
expeditious  bearer.     I  know  not  the  contents  of 
the  letter  I  am  to  receive  from  Philotimus,  but 
I  am  greatly  complimented  by  my  brother  Quin- 
tus, though  indeed  my  misconduct  has  been  so 
great,  that  I  cannot  conceive  how  it  is  possible 
I  shall  ever  be  able  to  bear  with  its  consequences. 
I  beg  you  would  bestow  some  thoughts  upon 
the  condition  of  my  wretched  daughter ;  and  I 
repeat  my  former  request  to  you,  that  something 
may  be  done  to  keep  her  from  want,  and  like- 
wise to  speak  to  my  wife  concerning  her  Will.     I 
was  of  opinion  that  the  matter  you  hint  at  should 
have  been  done  before,  but  I  was  afraid  of  every 
thing.     A  divorce  was  the  best  course  that  could 
been  followed  in  their  most  uncomfortable  situa- 
tion.    I  wish  we  could  have  shewn  that  we  were 
not  insensible  of  his  profligacy,  of  his  attempt  to 
pass  an  act  for  cancelling  the  public  debts,  of  his 
nocturnal  riots,  or  of  his  intrigues  with  Metella, 
or  of  all  his   other  provocations.     This  would 

have 

1  Orig.   Quintum  F.  which  some  read  Filium,  others  Fia- 
trem. 


\ 


I 


390 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


391 


h 


have  prevented  him  from  squanderincr  mydaugh«f 
ter's  fortune,  and  shewn  in  me  some  marks  of  manly 
resentment     Well  do  I  remember  your  letter \ 

But 

^  When  the  reader  reflects  on  the  nature  of  our  author's 
famihar  correspondence  with  Atticus,  he  cannot  at  all  be  sur- 
prised at  the  conciseness  of  his  expression,  and  the  dark  hints  he 
throws  out  which  Atticus  understood,  though  they  are  often 
unintelligible  to  us.  The  truth  is,  the  correspondence  between 
them  is  often  little  better  than  a  cipher,  which  renders  the  dif- 
ficulty of  translating  these  letters  inexpressible.  Add  to  this, 
that  the  different  situations  of  our  author  seem  to  have  had  a 
surprising  effect  upon  his  stile.  He  sometimes  talks  clear  and 
distinct,  and  sometimes,  as  in  the  letter  before  us,  like  a  man 
whose  lungs  are  wasted  by  a  consumptive  habit,  gasping  for 
breath,  seeking  to  be  understood  by  his  eyes  and  motions,  ra- 
ther than  by  his  expressions.  This  is  the  natural  effect  of  that 
concern  and  agitation  of  spirit,  which  Cicero  was  generally  un- 
der, during  the  whole  course  of  his  correspondence  with  Atti- 
cus, the  loss  of  whose  letters  leaves  us  greatly  in  the  dark,  as  to 
our  author's  meaning,  in  many  passages.  All  that  a  translator, 
under  such  difficulties  can  do,  is  to  compare  one  passage  with 
another,  to  attend  to  his  author's  manner,  to  prefer  certainty  to 
probability,  and  probability  to  arbitrar)^  conjecture.  I  have 
always,  when  the  sense  did  not  suffer  by  it,  imitated  that  fruga- 
lity of  words,  for  which  our  author  is  as  remarkable  in  his  epis- 
tles, as  he  is  in  other  writings,  for  the  perspicuity  and  some- 
times luxuriancy  of  his  stile.  But,  possessed  as  I  am  with  the 
greatest  veneration  for  Cicero,  I  cannot  think  it  the  business 
of  a  translator,  to  imitate  him  in  what  was  the  effect  rather  of 
his  misfortunes  than  his  judgment.  Neither  is  he  at  the  game 
liberty  as  Cicero  was,  to  suppose  himself  to  be  understood  by 
his  reader.  Atticus  knew  the  meaning  of  what  is  a  mystery 
to  an  English  man  eighteen  hundred  years  after,  and  therefore 
when  a  translator  can  decipher  his  meaning,  he  is  not  to  write  in 
^he  same  stile  that  Cicero  wrote  to  Atticus.     Ov\  this  account 

I  hav^ 


But  you  know  the  trials  of  that  period  ;  yet  he 
could  not  behave  worse  than  he  did.     At  pre- 
sent he  seems  to  defy  us.     Good  heavens,  what 
do  I  hear  of  the  republic  ?     Is  it  possible  that 
MY  son-in-law  should  be  the   man  who  sliould 
make  his  country  bankrupt.     I  am  of  your  opin- 
ion that  a  notice  should   be  given  him  of  my 
daughter's  intention  to  be  separated  from   him. 
He  perhaps  will   demand   the    third   payment. 
You  will  therefore  take  it  into   consideration, 
whether  the  proposal  should  not  come  from  me, 
rather  than  it  should  come  first  from  him.     If  I 
can  by  any  means,   I  will  try,  even  though  I 
should  travel  by  night,   to  see  you ;  I  beg  that 
you  will  write  to  me  on  these  matters,  and  upon 
every  thing  else  that  may  concern  me.     Adieu. 

•  -I* 

EPISTLE  XXI. 

I  NEVER  have  omitted  an  opportunity  of  writing 
to  you,  even  though  I  had  nothing  material  to 
write.  Your  letters  to  me  come  more  seldom, 
and  are  shorter,  than  usual,  because,  I  sup- 
pose, you  have  nothing  which  you  think  I  can 
read  or  hear  with  pleasure.  Write  to  me  never- 
theless whatever  may  happen,   in  any   respect. 

I  greatly 
•■ 

I  have  made  it  a  rule,  that  my  translation  should  give  the  reader 
all  the  lights  possible  through  the  dark  parts  of  the  original, 
which  saves  an  infinite  number  of  notes,  equally  tiresome  to 
the  translator  and  the  reader. 


II 


392 


CICEBO'S  EPISTLES 


I  greatly  wish,  though  I  have  no  retson  to  hope, 
for  peace ;  yet  the  slight  hints,  you  sometimes 
throw  out  on  th^t  subject,  force  me  to  hope  for 
whfit  I  can  scarcely  wish.  It  is  md  Philotimus 
will  arrive  here  on  the  1 3th  of  August.  I  beg 
from  you  an  answer  to  what  I  formerly  wrote 
you.  I  hftve  no  more  time  than  is  sufficient  for 
me  to  look  about  me,  (I  who  never,  in  my  life, 
looked  about  me)  in  this  moat  wretched  situation. 
Farewel.     Dated  July  22i 


EPISTLE  XXir. 

X  AM  sensible  of  the  trutli  of  what  you  former^ 
ly  wrote  to  myself,  and  of  what  you  twice  wrote 
to  Tullia  concerning  me.  I  am  more  unhappy 
than  ever  (though  my  misery  seemed  before  to 
be  complete)  as  having  received  a  grievous  in- 
sult, I  am  not  permitted  to  show  my  resentment 
ftn(J  sorrow,  without  danger  to  myself.  How 
can  I  bear  with  this?  But  bear  it  I  must, 
^nd  n&oreover  puffer  these  very  inconveniences 
against  which  you  put  me  upon  my  guard.  For 
so  peculiar  has  been  my  misconduct,  that  what- 
ever be  the  condition  of  other  people,  I  must 
continue  to  be  unfortunate. 

But  I  now  write  with  my  own  hand,  for  what 
I  have  to  say  demands  secresy.     I  bei^  that  you 

•vill 


\  \\ 


11 


TO  ATTICUS. 


393 


'will  look  after  the  Will'  which  my  wife  made 
when  she  first  began  to  be  uneasy.    I  believe  she 
will  not  teaze  you  by  any  impertinent  inquiries^,. 
at  least  she  does  not  me.     But  be  that  as  it  will, 
since  you  are  now  upon  speaking  terms  with  her, 
you  may  advise  her  to  put  it  into  the  hands  of 
somebody  who  is  attached  to  neither  party,   and 
who  is  not  likely  to  suffer  by  this  contest,  in 
whatever  way  it  may  terminate.     You  are  the 
person  I  have  chiefly  in  view  for  that  trust,  if 
my  daughter  here  shall  agree  to  it;  but,  poor 
wonmn,  I  conceal  from  her  the  reasons  of  this 
cautious  proceeding.     As  to  the  other  affair,  I 
know  that  nothing  can  be  disposed  of  at  present, 
but  something  may  be  secured  and  secreted,   so 
as  to  be  out  of  the  reach  of  this  impending 
ruin. 

You  write  me  that  as  my  own  income  is  equal 

to 

*  The  whole  of  this  passage  is  at  once  so  perplexed  and  cor- 
rupted, that  Monsieur  Mongault  has  thought  proper  to  leave  U 
untratislated ;  I  have  not  taken  that  liberty,  but  have  taken 
advantage  of  the  words,  and,  it  is  no  unusual  thing  for  our 
author's  distress  and  svuOferings,  to  render  his  meaning  very 
fliflScult  to  be  discovered,  even  when  there  is  no  corruption  in 
the  text. 

^  This  very  possibly  might  relate  to  the  reason  of  our  au- 
thor's being  so  keen  in  the  affair  of  her  testament,  which  be 
was  willing  should  be  kept  secret  from  her.  The  whole  passage 
tccording  to  the  best  readings,  runs  thus.  Fide  quceso  eiiam 
nunc  de  tcstamento,  quod  turn  factum,  cum  ilia  qiusrere  cmpe^ 
rat.  Non  credo  te  commorii  ^  neque  enim  roaarit  nc  me  qui" 
dem. 


s 


3y4 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


to  my  wants  \  you  will  readily  contribute  to  any 
additional  expences,  which  may  be  occasioned 
by  the  exigencies  of  my  wife.  I  confide  in  your 
resources,  but  where  are  mine  ?  With  regard  to 
my  wife,  not  to  mention  the  other  numberless  vex- 
ations she  has  given  me,  what  can  be  worse  than 
the  following  ?  You  wrote  her  to  send  me  cre- 
dit for  twelve  thousand  serteces,  this  being  the 
amount  of  the  balance  of  my  money  in  your 
hands.  She  sent  me  no  more  than  ten  thousand, 
which  she  said  was  all  the  balance  that  remained. 
Now  if  she  could  withhold  so  considerable  a  part 
of  so  small  a  sum,  I  leave  you  to  judge  what 
bhe  would  have  done  had  the  sum  been  large. 

Philotimus  is  not  yet  arrived ;  nor  has  he  so 
much  as  acquainted  me,  by  a  letter,  or  an  ex- 
press, of  what  he  has  done.  People,  who  come 
from  Ephesus,  say,  that  tliey  saw  him  engaged 
in  a  law  suit  respecting  his  own  affairs.  My 
concerns,  it  is  very  probable,  are  postponed  till 
Caesar's  arrival.  Therefore  I  am  of  opinion  that 
he  is  charged  with  nothing  which  he  thinks  of 
consequence  enough  to  occasion  his  sending  an 
express  to  me,  and  consequently  that  I  become 

more 


*  Orig,  Nam  quod  scrihls,  nobis  nostra^  et  tua  Terent'itP,for<f 
parata.  Monsieur  Mongault  translates  this  passage,  Fous  vie 
dites  que  je  trouverai  toujoiirs  dans  mon  lein  et  dans  le  votre^ 
line  ressource  p9ur  moi  et  pour  ma  femme.  But  I  think  ther^ 
is  sonnething  both  in  the  disposition  of  the  words,  and  in  the 
connection  which  leads  to  my  sense  of  this  passage. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


^9^ 


more  and  more  despicable  in  Caesar^s  eyes ;  or  if 
he  is  charged  with  any  thing  of  consequence,  he 
does  not  choose  to  communicate  it  to  me,  till 
after  he  has  dispatched  all  his  own  private  af- 
fairs. I  own  this  provokes  me  greatly,  but  not 
so  much  as  one  would  imagine.  For  I  think  no- 
thing ought  to  be  more  indiff*erent  to  me  than 
any  news  which  can  come  from  thence.  I  make 
no  doubt  but  you  know  the  reason  \ 

You  advise  me  to  accommodate  my  looks  and 
my  words  to  the  times.     Though  this  be  no  easy 
task,  yet  I  would  conform  with  your  advice,  did 
I  think  it  would  do  me  any  service.     You  write 
me  that  you  think  the  afi'airs  of  those,  who  are 
in  Africa,  may  be  transacted  by  letters.     I  wish 
vou  would  write  me  your  reasons  for  thinking  so, 
for  I  see  none.     Meanwhile,  send  me  whatever 
is   likely    to   administer  the    smallest  comfort; 
should  there  be  none,  which  I  believe  to  be  the 
case,  telV  me  that  there  is  none.     If  1  hear  any 
news  sooner  than  you,  I  will  let  you  know  by  a 
Jetter.     F^rewel.     Dated  August  the  6th. 


EPISTLE  XXIII. 


Caius  TiiEBONius- arrived  here  from  Seleu- 


cia 


1  The  reason  was,  because  he  was  afraid,  if  Csesar  should 
treat  him  favourably,  of  being  ill  treated  by  the  republicans. 

2  He  was  a  Roman  knight,  and  he  is  mentioned  by  Caesar  m 
fiis  Commentaries. 


390 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


397 


cia  Pieria* ,  upon  the  fourteenth  of  August,  hav- 
ing been  eight  and  twenty  days  in  coming,  and 
he  tells  me  that,  at  Antioch,  he  saw  the  younger 
Quintus  with  liirtius  waiting  upon  Casar,  and 
that  they  have,  with  little  or  no  difficulty,  suc- 
ceeded in  their  solicitations  for  my  brother.  This 
would  give  me  the  more  pleasure,  if  his  success 
afforded  encouragement  for  me.  But  I  have 
other  things  to  fear  from  another  quarter;  and 
even  with  regard  to  Ccesar,  being  now  absolute, 
he  may  refuse  to  ratify  the  favours  he  once  pro- 
mised. He  has  even  pardoned  Sallust^  and  in 
short  they  say,  he  refuses  forgiveness  to  none. 
This  indiscriminate  lenity  induces  me  to  suspect 
that  he  has  some  designs  still  in  reserve.  Mar- 
cus>  the  son  of  Quintus  Gallius,  has  restored  to 
Sallust  all  his  slaves.-  He  came  to  transport 
Caesar's  troops  into  Sicily,  and  he  was  instantly 
to  set  out  for  Caesar  at  Patrae.  If  Caesar  s  should 

« 

go  to  Sicily,  I  will  resume  my  thoughts  of  draw- 
ing nearer  the  city.  I  am  unusually  anxious  for 
an  answer  to  what  I  last  wrote  to  you,  in  which 
I  have  begged  your  advice.  Farewel.  Dated 
August  the  15th. 


EPISTL£ 


*  This  city  lay  near  Antioch  and  Apamea. 
3  This   was  not  Sallast  the  historian,  but  Cnj^us  Sallust, 
who  had  been  n^usestor  under  Bibulus  in  Syria. 


EPISTLE  XXIV. 

On  the  25th  of  August,  I  received  your  letter 
dated  the  19th,  and  I  no  sooner  read  my  bro- 
ther's letter ',  than  it  renewed,  in  the  most  sen- 
sible manner,  my  forgotten  grief,  from  the  for- 
mer base  injuries  done   me  by  him.      Though 
the  laws  of  friendship  could,  by  no  means,  dis- 
pense with  your  sending  me  that  letter,  yet  I 
wish  it  had  not  been  sent.     With  regard  to  what 
you  write  concerning  my  wife's  Will,  you  must 
see  what  is  to  be  done,  and  in  what  manner.     I 
formerly  sent  you  what  she  had  written  to  me 
concerning  that  money,  and  I  shall  make  use  of 
the  credit  you  gave  me,  as  I  shall  have  occasion. 
It  is  unlikely  that  Caesar  will  be  at  Athens  the  1st 
of  September,  for  he  meets  with  great  obstruc- 
tions in  Asia,  particularly  from  Pharnaces.    It  is 
said,  that  Sylla  had  no  sooner  reached  the  twelfth 
legion,  than  they  pelted  him  with  stones,  and  it  is 
believed  that  none  of   the  troops   will  march* 
C^sar  is  expected  immediately  in  Sicily  from 
Patras,  but  if  the  above  news  is  true,  he  must 
of  necessity  come  hither.     But  I  should  be  bet- 
ter 

*  This  letter  was  addressed  to  Caesar  by  Quintus  Cicero,  and, 
being  greatly  to  our  author's  disadvantage,  Caesar  generoush 
put  it  into  the  hands  of  Balbu^,  that  it  might  be  conveyed  to 
Cicero. 


S9S 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


ter  pleased  if  he  were  to  continue  his  intended 
route,  for  1  might  then  find  some  means  of  es- 
-caping  from  this  place.     At  present,  I  am  afraid, 
tliat   he   expects   I   should    Avait  for  him,   and, 
amonffst  other  inconveniences,   I  am  here  much 
depressed  by  the  heavy  atmosphere  of  this  place. 
You  advise  me  to  accommodate  myself  to  the 
time,  I  would  take  your  advice  if  my  circum- 
stances   would    permit,     and  if  I    could    do  it 
by  any  means ;  but  so  great  has  been  my  error, 
and  so  heavy  the  sufferings  from  my  relations, 
that  I  neither  can  do,  nor  can  1  pretend  to  do, 
any  thing  worthy  of  my  character.     You  may 
recollect  the  times  of  Sylla.     It  is  true,  he  was, 
perhaps,  not  very  moderate  in  the  exercise  of 
his  power,  but  in  other  respects,  he  drew  his 
sword  in  the  best  of  causes.     But  the  present 
times  are  such,  that  I  ought  to  forget  myself,  and 
to  consult  the  welfare  of  the  public,  whose  in- 
terests indeed  are  combined  with  my  own.    I  beg 
you,  however,  to  write  to  me  as  often  as  possi- 
ble,  especially  as  I  correspond  with  no  other 
person ;  and  though  I  had  correspondence  with 
all  others,  still  I  should  be  anxious  for  letters 
from  you.   You  write  me,  that  I  can  be  of  service 
in  reconciling  Caesar  to  my  brother,  I  informed 
you  already,  that  he  instantly  agreed  to  all  the 
requests  of  the  younger  Quintus,   without  the 
least  mention  of  me-     Farewel. 

EPISTLE 


TO  ATTICUS. 


EPISTLE  XXV. 


399 


X  HE  packet  sent  by  the  courier  of  Balbus  came 
duly  to  my  hand ;  for  in  your  letter  to  me,  you 
seem  to  be  afraid  that  I  did  not  receive  that 
packet,  and  mdeed,  I  wish  I  never  had ;  for  the 
contents  of  it  have  renewed  my  sorrows.  And, 
if  they  had  fallen  into  other  hands,  they  would 
not  have  furnished  material  information.  For 
what  can  be  now  more  notorious  than  my  bro- 
ther's hatred  of  me,  and  the  perfidious  letters 
he  has  written  concerning  me.  Caesar,  it  is  true, 
seems  to  intimate  his  disapprobation  of  my  bro- 
ther's baseness,  by  his  sending  those  letters  to 
his  friends ;  but  in  my  opinion,  his  object  w^as  to 
render  my  misfortunes  the  more  public.  You 
tell  me,  that  you  are  afraid  his  unworthy  con- 
duct may  injure  him  with  Caesar,  and  that  the 
consequences  ought  to  be  prevented.  But  let 
me  tell  vou,  that  C^sar  granted  him  pardon, 
even  before  I  interceded  in  his  behalf.  Tliis 
gives  me  little  concern,  but  I  feel  sorry  that  the 
indulgence  shewn  him  did  not  proceed  from  re- 
gard to  me. 

I  believe  Sylla  will  be  here  with  Messala  to- 
morrow, having  met  with  a  repulse  from  the 
troops,  who  refused  to  march  till  they  receive  the 
payment  of  their  arrears.  They  are  going  post 
haste  to  Caesar.  He  will,  therefore,  contrary  to 
their  expectation,  come  hither.     It  is  true,   he 

will 


400 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


will  be  long  upon  the  road,  for  he  orders  his 
march  so,  that  he  remains  several  days  in 
every  town.  Pharnaces,  however,  in  spite  of  all 
his  efforts,  will  retard  him  \  How  then,  do  you 
think,  I  am  to  act?  For,  at  present,  I  am 
scarcely  able  to  breathe  in  this  thick  atmosphere, 
and  thus  pain  of  body  is  added  to  the  anguish  of 
my  mind.  Shall  I  commission  the  gentlemen 
who  are  going  to  C«sar,  to  intercede  for  me, 
and  in  the  meanwhile,  come  nearer  to  Rome  ? 
Bestow  some  thoughts,  I  beg  of  you,  upon  this 
point,  and  assist  me  with  your  advice,  which  hi- 
therto you  have  not  done,  though  I  have  often 
requested  you.  I  know,  it  is  a  matter  of  great 
difficulty.  But  consider  at  the  same  time,  my 
distress.  It  is  likewise  of  great  imix>rtance  to 
me,  that  I  should  see  you.  This  object,  indeed, 
if  gained,  would  be  of  great  service  to  me. 
Comply  with  your  promise  in  attending  to  the 
Will. 

*  Cicero  was  mistaken  here  j  for  the  war  witli  Pharnaces 
detained  Caesar  no  more  than  five  days,  and  having  beat  him  as 
soon  as  he  saw  him,  he  sent  to  the  senate,  the  celebrated  la- 
con^  account  of  Veni,  vidi,  vici. 


END    OF  THE  SECOND    VOLUME. 


K.  EHwanl*.  Printer, 
Cnme-Cuurt,  ilect-Street. 


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CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  IIL 


<  '♦ 


BOOK  XII. 

An  interval  of  six  months  elapsed  between  the  last  letter 
of  the  former  book,  and  the  first  of  this,  in  which  the  history 
of  Cicero's  own  time  is  continued  during  part  of  the  years  of 
Jlome  707,  and  7O8.  '  p.  1 

BOOK  XIII.  • 

The  letters  of  this  book  begin  the  first  of  June,  and  end  the 
J  8th  of  December,  in  the  year  of  Rome  70S,  and  besides  a  great 
deal  of  Cicero's  private  history,  mention  a  variety  of  public 
transactions.  »  p.  ^3 

BOOK  XIV,  XV,  XVI. 

Were  written  between  the  15th  of  March,  and  the  last  of 
November  709,  and  exhibit  a  noble  history  of  our  author  and 
his  own  times,  from  the  death  of  Caesar,  to  the  commence- 
ment of  the  war  between  Octavius  and  Antony. 

P.  187,  253,  319 


I  .1' 


#         \ 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO 


ATTICUS. 


BOOK  XII. 


I    ■ 


^ 


.> 


EPISTLE    L 

OEVEN  long  days  have  now  passed,  since  I  left 
you,  and  I  write  you  this  letter  before  daybreak, 
as  I  am  leaving  my  country-house.  I  think  of 
passing  this  day  at  Anagni  \  and  to-morrow  at 
Tusculanum,  that  I  may  keep  my  appointment 
with  you  on  the  26th.  I  think  I  could  fly  to  em- 
brace my  daughter,  and  to  fondle  your  little 
Attica.  I  pray  you  to  let  me  hear  about  the 
latter,  so  that,  while  I  stop  at  Tusculanum,  I  may 

be 


^  This  town  still  retains  its  name,  and  lies  about  twelve 
leagues  from  Rome. 

Vol.  III.  B 


f 


2  CICERO  S  EPISTLES 

be  informed  of  the  little  prattler  ;  or  if  she  is  in 
the  country,  let  me  know  what  she  writes  to  you. 
Meanwhile,  either  send  in  writing,  or  deliver  to 
her  in  person,  my  compliments,  and  the  same 
to  Pilia;  and  though  it  is  not  long  till  we  meet, 
yet  write  to  me  whatever  shall  occur. 

As  I  was  folding  up  this  letter,  your  express, 
who  had  travelled  all  night,  brought  me  one 
from  you ;  and  I  am  very  sorry  to  find  that  your 
Attica  has  a  slight  fever.  I  fully  understood 
from  your  letter,  all  the  other  circumstances  I 
wanted  to  be  informed  of.  In  reply  to  your  re- 
mark,  that  my  morning  vigour  begins  to  decline, 
I  experience  no  other  marks  of  advancing  age 
than  a  decaying  memory.  For  I  am  to  be  with 
Axius  on  the  27th,  with  you  the  28th,  and  with 
my  brother  the  day  on  which  I  arrive,  that  is  the 
26th.  This,  as  having  no  news,  is  all  I  have  to 
s^y.  You  will  then  ask,  why  should  you  write  at 
all  ?  Why  not  write  about  nothing,  as  well  as 
t^lk  about  nothing,  when  we  meet?  Let  me 
tell  you,  there  is  a  pleasure  in  talking,  if  it 
\VPr^  no  more  tlian  to  bear  one  another  talk. 


TO  ATncus. 


$ 


I^TISTI^ 


EPISTifE  II. 

1  HOUGH  I  have  told  you  in  my  last,  we  have 
here  no  news,  yet  it  is  rumoured  that  Murcus 
has  perished  by  shipwreck^;  that  Asinius  PoUio" 
has  fallen  alive  into  the  hands  of  Pompey's  sol- 
diers ;  that  the  same  storm  forced  fifty  ships  to 
put  into  Utica;  that  Pompey^  cannot  be  found, 
and  that  Patietus*  is  very  positive,  that  he  has 
not  been  in  any  of  the  Balearic  islands  * ;  but  all 
these  reports  are  destitute  of  authority.  I  was 
willing,  however,  that  you  should  know  how  we 
entertain  ourselves  in  your  absence.  Mean- 
while, public  plays  are  celebrated  at  Praeneste^ 
where  Ilirtius  with  the  leaders  of  Caesar's  party 
at  present  remains,  and  the  exhibitions,  it  is  said, 
will  continue  for  eight  days.  What  an  entertain* 
ment !      What  luxuries  !  And  in  the  meanwhile, 

the 


1  This  news  was  false. 

2  He  was  the  famous  captain,  orator,  poet,  and  critic,  who 
afterwards  made  such  a  figure  under  Augustus  Caesar,  and  who 
is  celebrated  by  Virgil  and  Horace. 

^  He  was  the  son  of  the  great  Pompey. 
*  He  was  by  birth  a  Spaniard,  and  a  favourite  of  Caesar. 
^  Fiz.  Majorca,  Minorca,  and  Yvica. 
^  This  town  lay  near  to  Tusculanum,  and  is  at  present  called 
Palestrine. 

B  2 


r 


4  CICERO'S  EPISTLES 

the  fdte  of  the  war  is,  perhaps,  decided.  Excellent 
men  !  Balbus  goe^  on  building  in  his  own  way, 
for  why  should  he  be  troubled?  Now,  if  you 
ask  my  opinion,  let  me  tell  you,  he  enjoys  life, 
because  he  thinks  that  such  enjoyment  does  not 
consist  in  virtue,  but  in  pleasure.  Meanwhile, 
you  are  asleep'.  Now  is  the  time,  if  you  would 
prove  yourself  a  true  Epicurean,  for  reducing  to 
practice  the  grand  maxims  of  your  sect.  If  you 
ask  what  I  think  that  is;  I  answer,  it  is  to  enjoy 
life  witli  pleasure.  But  enough. — 1  shall  sooq 
see  you,  and  I  hope  you  will  con^e  directly  to  my 
house.  For  we  must  appoint  a  day  of  audience 
to  Tyrannio^  when  we  shall  determine  what-f 
ever  else  requires  deliberation. 


EPISTLE   III. 

1  THINK  you  arc  the  only  man  living,  who  stands 

less 

»  Our  author  here  makes  use  of  a  good  many  familiar  cant 
words,  of  which  I  have  given  the  sense,  and  which  I  leave  the 
commentators  to  explain.  The  stress  of  his  wit  lies,  in  paying 
a  very  fine  compliment  to  Atticus,  by  accusing  him  of  inconr 
sisteacy  with  the  principles  of  his  sect,  which  were,  that  every 
man  should  enjoy  life  as  much  as  possible,  without  regarding 
any  body  but  himself  j  whereas  Atticus  was  continually  em, 
ployed  in  the  duties  of  his  family  and  friendship. 

*  He  had  written  a  book,  which,  it  seems,  he  was  to  rea4 
to  our  author  and  Atticus. 


TO  ATTICUS.  5 

less  upon  compliments  than  I  do,  and  whatever 
differences  we  may  have  with  others,  we  have  none 
between  ourselves.     I  tell  you  then  no  more  than 
the  plain  truth,  when  I  avow  to  you,  my  deafest 
friend,    that  Tusculanum,  though  it  is  my  fa- 
vourite residence,  is  insipid  ;  nay,  Elysium  itself 
would  afford  me  no  enjoyment,  were  I  to  live  in 
either  without  your  company.     Therefore,  as  I 
suppose,  and  know,  you  are  equally  impatient 
for  my  company,  as  I  am  for  yours,  let  us  do  the 
best  we  can  to  pass  away  these  three  days  of  ahr 
sence.     But  I  wish  I  knew  what  has  passed  to- 
day about  the  saleS  or  what  day  you  can  go 
thither.     Meanwhile,  I  divert  myself  with  books, 
but  I  think  myself  unfortunate,   in  not  having 
with  me  the  history  of  Vennoniusl     But  I  must 
not  forget  my  business.     I  have  three  ways  of  re- 
covering the  debt  due  to  me  from  Caesar.     To 
purchase  the    confiscated    goods;    a   purchase 

more 

1  There  is  somethii>g  very  dark  in  all  this  Epistle,  because  it 
chiefly  relates  to  private  business.  I  have  translated  this  pas- 
sage differently  from  Monsieur  Mongault,  because  I  am  of  opi- 
nion, Caesar  owed  Cicero  money,  as  w'dl  appear  hereafter,  and 
bad  security  from  him  upon  forfeited  estates,  which  were  sold 
by  Meto,  and  Cicero  wanted  Atticus  should  be  present  when 
Meto  sold  those  goods,  in  order  to  receive  his  money.  I  shall 
just  observe,  that  Meto  was  the  name  of  a  Greek  Philosopher, 
who  invented  the  Cycle  of  nineteen  years,  and  which  was  there- 
fore  called  Meto's  year. 

*  He  proved  to  be  a  very  bad  author. 


>' 


I 


6  CICEROS  EPISTLES 

more  hateful  to  me  than  the  loss  of  the  debt 
would  be ;  and  in  fact,  besides  the  disgrace  at' 
tending  it,  it  is  no  better  than  losing  my  money  \ 
Or  else  I  must  accept  security  from  the  buyer, 
to  be  paid  a  year  hence.  But  whom  shall  I  trust 
with  my  stock  ?  For  my  broker's  year  will,  I  am 
afraid,  be  as  long  as  that  of  his  Greek  name- 
sake .^  Or  lastly,  I  must,  like  Vectenus,  make 
a  composition  for  half  the  sum.  Think,  there* 
fore,  upon  this.  Now  I  am  afraid,  that  the 
auctioneer  will  not  make  this  sale,  but  while  the 
games  are  celebrating,  will  hasten  there  to  swell 
the  praise  to  be  given  to  the  illustrious  man  who 
bestows  them.     But  we  will  think  of  it. 


EPISTLE   IV, 

Jtlow  agreeable,  how  d^ightful  were  your  let- 
ters to  me.  The  day  of  their  arrival  was,  believe 
me,  a  day  of  festivity.     I  am  grieved  to  learn 

from 

^  Because  he  expected  Caesnr  could  not  long  hold  the  go- 
vernment, nnd  he  knew  that  when  he  was  dead,  ail  his  acts 
would  be  reversed,  especially  his  gifts  of  forfeitures. 

*  Fix.  Meto,  who  seems  in  fact,  to  have  been  a  broker  be- 
tween Caesar  and  Cicero.  After  all  that  can  be  aaid,  the  sense 
is  very  uncertain,  and  Manutius  thinks,  not  without  a  shew  of 
probability,  that  Meto  himself  was  out  author's  debtor,  while 
Monsieur  Mongault  is  of  opinion,  that  it  is  a  cant  word  for 
C«sar  himself. 


TO  AtlTCUS.  f 

from  Tyro,  that  you  experienced  some  symptoms 
of  a  fever.     1  will  therefore,  take  your  advice  in 
enjoying  myself  here  a  day  longer.     But  the  point 
with  regard  to  Cato  is  a  very  delicate  one.     It  is 
not  for  me  to  write  of  him  in  such  a  manner  as 
to  hope  for   indulgence,  far  less  for  applause, 
from  your  guests,  for  my  work.      Supposing  I 
should  drop  all  mention  of  his  patriot  speeches 
in  the  senate,  his  zeal  for  his  country,  and  his 
readiness  to  serve  the  public,  and  but  slightly  no- 
tice his  dignity  and  consistency ;  even  that  would 
give  offence  to  the  favourites  of  Caesar.     But  let 
me  tell  you,  a  patriot  like  Cato  cannot  be  cele- 
brated without  giving  him  this  noble  testimony  ; 
that  he  foresaw  all  that  has  happened  now,  and 
all  that  must  happen  hereafter  ;  that  he  laboured 
resolutely  to  prevent  it,  and  when  he  could  not, 
rather  than  see  it,  he  ceased  to  live.     Is  there  a 
favourite '  of  Caesar,  who  can,  with  patience,  bear 
the  mention  of  such  a  character  ?     But  I  beg 
you  will  take  care  of  your  health,  and  use,  with- 
out delay,  that  prudence  to  re-establish  it,  which 
you  discover  in  all  your  other  concerns. 


KPISTLE 


1  Orig,  Alledius.  Tbere  have  been  great  disputes  al^ut  this 
name,  but  it  is  most  probable  that  he  was  some  Roman,  who 
was  a  favourite  boUi  with  Cicero  and  Caesar. 


8 


CICERQS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS, 


9 


EPISTLE  V. 

iVIy  brother  Qaintus  yiust  possess^  but  a  smalf 
portion  of  sense,  or  he  would  not  rejoice  that  his 
son  and  Statius  are  received  into  the  society  of 
the  Luperci,  whereas  they  ought  to  think,  that 
by  so  doing,  they  bring  a  double  stain  upon 
our  family/  Philotimus  is  not  many  degrees- 
better.  Their  folly  is  exceeded  only  by  my  own, 
in  being  troubled  at  it.  But  what  impudence 
was  it  in  him  to  ask  you  to  defray  his  share  of 
the  expences,  supposing,  as  you  say,  your 
sources  had  not  been  exhausted,  and  that  they 
flowed  as  plentifully  as  the  fountain  of  Pirene, 
or  of  Arethusia  \  for  him  to  quaff,  yet  to  talk  to 

you 

^  I  have  taken  a  little,  and  but  very  little,  freedom  with  the 
original  here.     Quartum  sapit  is  an  indefinite  term. 

2  There  were  at  Rome  two  sects  of  Luparcales  (the  officers 
of  an  ancient  feast  in  honour  of  the  god  Pan)  who  had  subsisted 
ever  since  the  foundation  of  tliat  city,  the  Fabiani,  and  the 
Quintiniani.  A  third  sect  with  Antony  at  their  head,  was  about 
this  time  instituted  in  honour  of  Caesar,  called  the  Lupercii 
Julii.  As  the  ceremonies  of  tliis  feast  consisted  in  riot  and  dis- 
order, and  the  institution  itself  was  a  proof  of  the  abject  spirits 
of  the  Romans  at  this  time,  Cicero  was  ver>^  justly  offended, 
that  his  nephew  and  the  two  favourite  domestics  of  the  Cicero- 
nian family  should  enter  themselves  into  this  company. 

^  There  is  an  allusion  hereto  apassage  in  the  first  ode  of  Pin- 
dar. It  seems,  our  author's  brother  had  applied  to  Atticus  for 
a  sum  of  money  to  defray  his  son's  part  of  the  expence  of  this 
extravagant  society. 


you  about  defraying  those  ridiculous  expences, 
especially  in  his  narrow  circumstances  !  Where 
can  such  folly  end  ?  But  let  himself  answer  for 
it.  1  own,  I  am  pleased  with  my  Cato,  but  that 
is  no  more  than  Bassus  Lucilius  is  with  his  com- 
positions ^ 

Do  you,  as  you  promise,  inquire  concerning 
Cffilius.  I  know  nothing  of  the  matter  farther 
than  I  have  told  you.  In  respect  to  the  bullion, 
we  must  carefully  examine  its  qualities  and  not 
be  guided  by  its  apparent  value '.  Let  me  know, 
if  you  have  any  doubts  as  to  Hortensius  and  Vir- 
ginius  \  Yet,  so  far  as  I  perceive,  you  will  have 
difliculty  to  hit  upon  any  measure  that  is  more 
eligible.  You  will  speak  with  Mustela  in  the 
terms  you  write  to  me,  as  soon  as  Crispus  *  shall 

arrive.     I  have  written  to  Aulus,  that  I  have  sa- 
tisfied 


»  %  t 


1  Cicero  wrote  a  treatise  entitled,  Cato  In  defence  of  Cato's 
person  and  principles,  which  was  answered  by  Csesar  by 
another  writing,  which  he  entitled,  Anti-Cato.  The  Lucilius 
Bassus  here  mentioned,  seems  to  h^ve  been  some  vain,  pitiful 
writer  of  our  author's  acquaintance, 

2  Our  author  very  justly  apprehended,  there  might  be  ano- 
ther revolution  of  government,  which  heought  to  provide  against, 
and  therefore  intended  to  procure  a  sum  in  gold,  by  changing 
into  ready  money  all  his  plate,  and  most  valuable  moveables  j 
but  he  was  afraid  of  being  imposed  upon,  by  having  some  base 
gold  put  upon  him  by  the  bankers,  who  were  to  transact  the  ex- 
change for  him. 

3  The  persons  here  mentioned  seemed  to  have  been  bankers. 
♦  They  seem  to  have  been  concerned  with  our  author,  as  co- 
heirs in  succession  to  an  estate. 


10 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS- 


11 


III 


tisfied  Piso^  concerning  what  I  knew  extremely 
well  of  the  gold.  For  I  am  of  your  opinion,  that 
such  a  way  of  proceeding  will  be  tedious  and 
expensive,  and  at  this  time  we  are  to  collect 
every  thing,  and  from  every  quarter.  As  to 
yourself,  I  easily  perceive,  that  my  concerns  en- 
gross all  your  time,  and  all  your  thoughts,  and 
that  they  even  debar  you  from  the  pleasure  you 
would  have  in  paying  me  a  visit  as  you  pr9pose. 
But  I  imagine  that  you  are  with  me,  not  only  be- 
cause you  are  employed  in  my  business,  but 
because,  I  fancy  I  si^e  in  what  manner  you  are 
employed,  for  I  can  tell  what  you  are  doing 
every  hour  of  the  day. 

1  perceive  that  Tubulus^  was  praetor  under 
the  consulate  of  Lucius  Metellus  and  Quintus 
Maximus.  Now  I  should  be  glad  to  know,  undef 
what  consuls  Publius  Scaevola  the  chief  priest 
served  as  tribune  of  the  commons.  If  I  am  not 
mistaken,  it  was  under  tlie  following  consuls, 
Csepio  and  Pompey,  for  he  was  prsetor  under 
Publius  Furius,  and  Sextus  Atilius,  You  will 
therefore,  make  me  sure  as  to  the  time  of  his 
tribuneship,  and  if  you  can,  of  what  crime 
Tukulus  was  impeached.     And  I  beg  you  will 

inquire 

*  Aulus  and  Pi  so  were  bankers. 

2  Atticus  was  a  great  antiquarian  in  the  history  and  genea- 
logy of  the  families  of  Rome.  We  find  our  author  consulting 
bim  upon  several  points,  and  particularly  with  regard  to  Tu- 
bulus^  whom  he  mentions  in  his  treatise  Definilus, 


inquire,  whether  Lucius  Libo  (I  mean  him  who 
impeached  Sergius  Galba)  was  tribune  of  the 
commons  in  the   consulate  of  Censorinus  and 
Manlius,  or  under  that  of  Titus  Quintius  and 
Manius  Acilius,  for  I  am  confounded  with  what 
is  written  at  the  close  of  the  Annals  of  Fannius^ 
a'bridged  by  Brutus.   Upon  the  authority  of  this 
writer  I  represented  Fannius,  the  historian,  as 
the  son-in-law  of  Lselius,     It  was  my  opinion 
that  you  had  fully  proved  this  fact,  but  I  now 
think  that  Brutus  and  Fannius  are  in  the  right 
As  to  what  I  have  ihserted  in  my  Treatise  upon 
famous  Orators,  it  rests  upon  Hortensius,  whom 
you  know  to  be  a  writer  of  unquestionable  au- 
thority".     You  will,    therefore  clear  up  these 
matters  to  me. 

I  have  sent  Tyro  to  meet  Dolabella.  He  will 
return  to  me  on  the  13th,  and  on  the  14th,  I 
look  for  you.  I  am  sensible  how  dear  my  TuUia 
is  to  you.  I  beg,  in  the  most  earnest  manner, 
that  you  will  continue  your  affection  to  her. 
Let  every  thing,  therefore,  stand  on  its  present 
footing,  for  so  you  advise  me  in  your  letter. 
Thoujih  it  is  not  at  all  amiss  for  me  to  avoid  be- 
ing  at  Rome  on  the  first  of  the  month,  or  having 

any 

*  Orig.  Conturhat  emm  una  epitome  Bruti  Fanniana  an 
Bruii  epitoma  Fannianorum.  This  Fannius  had  written  annals, 
which  Brutus,  who  was  a  great  epitomizer  of  useful  works, 
liad  abridged. 

'^  He  was  famous  for  having  a  good  memorj*.  , 


12 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


13 


any  meeting  with  my  creditors  ^  and,  thoagh  it 
is  proper  I  should  have  time  to  make  up  my  ac-^ 
counts,  yet  nothing  can  compensate  for  my  long 
absence  from  you.  When  I  was  at  Rome,  and 
was  in  expectation  of  seeing  you  every  moment, 
yet  no  day  passed  without  my  thinking  the  hours 
long  till  I  saw  you.  You  know,  that  I  am  far 
from  loving  compliments,  and  therefoje,  what  I 
express,  often  falls  short  of  what  I  feel. 


EPISTLE  A  I. 

1  BEG  you  will  take  care,  that  there  is  not  too 
much  alloy  in  the  gold  of  Caelius.  I  am  no 
judge  of  such  matters,  but"  surely,  the  exchange 
has  been  sufficiently  to  my  disadvantage,  and 
should  I  be  imposed  by  this  gold — But,  what  am 
I  talking;  I  leave  all  to  you.  The  following  is 
the  abrupt  and  unconnected  stile  of  Hegesias', 

which 

1  The  original  here  is  very  obscure,  if  not  vitiated,  but  I 
believe,  I  have  hit  upon  Cicero's  meaning.  The  interest  of 
money  amongst  the  Romans  wag  paid  commonly  in  the  begin- 
ning, or  middle  of  every  month. 

2  Monsieur  Mongault  reads  here.  Ego  ista  novi,  but  I  think, 
the  common  reading  is  better.  Ego  ista  non  novi,  because  he 
makes  use  of  the  like  expression  in  the  last  letter,  when  he 
speaks  of  the  banker  Caelius. 

3  Hegesias  was  an  Athenian  orator,  who  affected  what  the 
English  call  a  snip-snap  stile,  which  found  a  great  many  advo- 
cates^ 


^ 
«( 


i 


which  Varro  so  much  commends.     *'  Now,  as  to 
Tyrannio,— is  it  so  ? — Sure,  it  cannot  be— What 

without  me  !- After  I,  who  had  so  much  time 

upon  my  hand,  so  often  refused  to  read  his  book 
without  you, "    How  will  you  answer  to  me,  for 
what  you  have  done  ?     There  is  but  one  way, 
and  that  is,   by  sending  me  the  book,  which  I 
earnestly  entreat  you  will  do.     And  yet,  I  shall 
not  have  greater  pleasure  in  the  book  than  I  have 
had  in  knowing  that  you  admire  it     For,  I  love 
in  literature  as  in  government,  every  thing  that 
is  favourable  to  the  people,  and  I  am  glad  that 
you  have  had  such  pleasure  in  an  essay  on  so  un- 
interesting a  subject.     Yet,  that  has  been  always 
your  way.     You  pant  for  knowledge,  the  only 
food  of  the  mind.     But  let  me  know  what  ser- 
vice those  observations,  eitiier  acute  or  serious, 
can  be  to  me,  in  my  treatise  concerning  the  final 
good  ?     But  this  will  be  too  long  to  be  included 
in  a  letter,  and,  perhaps,  you  are  even  now  bu- 
ried in  some  concern  of  mine ;  and  for  the  ex- 
quisite entertainment  which  you  had  in  my  little 
garden,  you  shall  repay  me  with  all  that  is  re- 
lined,  and  all  tbat  is  useful  on  this  subject'. 

But 

cates,  and  amongst  others  Vgrro.  But  our  author  was  no  friend 

to  it. 

1  This  is  a  very  obscure  passage,  and  M.  Mongault  is  the 
first  that  has  thrown  any  light  on  it.  Cicero  had  read  his  Dia, 
Jo|ue  on  tha  celebrated  Orators  in  his  own  garden,  to  his  fiien4 

Attic^s, 


14 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


15 


But  to  return  where  I  left  off.  If  you  love  me, 
send  me  Tyrannio's  book.  It  is  now  your  pro- 
perty, because  he  has  presented  it  to  you. 

What,  have  you,  a  man  of  business,  so  much 
leisure,  as  to  be  able  even  to  read  my  Orator*  ? 
Go  on,  I  take  it  kindly,  and  will  take  it  more 
kindly,  if  you  will  order  your  transcribers  to  in- 
sert 

Atticus.  In  the  absence  pf  Cicero,  Atticiis  received  a  treatise 
from  Tyrannio,  with  which  he  was  much  delighted,  and  in  giv- 
ing his  friend  an  account  of  it,  he  alhides  to  the  entertain- 
ment which  he  had  previously  received  in  Cicero's  garden, 
where  he  retired  perhaps  to  peruse  the  work  of  Tyrannio  :  isto 
asso  sole  in  pratulo  tuo  sum  abusus,  "  I  took  the  liberty  of  en- 
joying in  tlie  open  sun  a  repast,  similar  to  that  which  I  before 
had  with  you  in  your  garden."  Cicero  in  reply;,  taking  up  the 
sanu;  metaphor,  adds.  As  I  am  composing  a  treatise  Definihus 
bonorujn,  I  wish  to  obtain  of  you  any  thing,  which,  in  the  work 
you  so  much  admire,  relates  to  my  subject.  But  extracts  from 
it  may  be  too  tedious  for  a  letter,  and  I  will  wave  it  till  I  see 
you.  Then  I  will  demand,  by  reperusing  the  book,  or  repeat- 
ing to  me  the  contents  of  it,  a  full  compensation  for  the  en- 
croachments you  have  made  in  my  garden,  and  for  the  pleasure 
you  have  stolen  without  my  permission  ;  Pro  isio  asso  sole,  qyo 
iu  ahusus  es  in  nostro  pratulo,  a  (e  nitidum  soiein  unctumque 
repetimus.  There  is  here  an  allusion  to  the  practice,  usual 
among  the  Romans,  of  walking  uncovered  in  the  sun,  and  of 
walking  with  the  skin  anointed  with  oiK  The  former  was 
called  sol  assus,  the  latter  sol  unctus.  Cicero,  in  modesty,  de- 
scribes the  pleasure  which  Atticus  had  in  reading  his  w^orks 
by  sol  assuSf  the  least  desirable  mode  of  recreation,  while  the 
gratification  to  be  repeated  from  reperusing  the  treatise  of  Ty- 
rannio by  sol  unctus. — E. 

*  This  sentence  is  taken  from  a  speech  of  Menedemus,  ii> 
the  Heautontiraoromen  of  Terence. 


8e«»t,  not  only  in  your  copies,  but  in  those  of 
others,  the  name  of  Aristophanes  for  that  of 
Eupolis\  Caesar  seems  to  me  to  ridicule  your 
petition,  which  was  expressed  in  a  language  e\e^ 
gant  and  polite".  He  desired  you,  however, 
not  to  inake  yourself  uneasy;  and  that,  in  such 
a  manner,  as  left  me  no  room  to  doubt  of  his 
favourable  intention  for  you  I  am  sorry  your 
daughter's  illness  continues  so  long ;  but,  as  she 
has  now  no  shivering,  I  hope  she  will  soon  re- 
cover. 


EPISTLE  Vll. 

X  WROTE  down  every  thing  you  wanted  to  know 
in  the  parchments^  I  sent  you,  which  I  gave  to 
Jlros.  What  I  wrote  was  short,  but  it  contains 
more  in  substance  than  you  wanted  to  know. 
Amongst  other  things  J  mentioned  my  son,  for  it 
was  from  you  I  took  the  hint  with  regard  to  him. 
I  spoke  to  him  in  the  frankest  manner,  which  I 

wish 

*  Cicero's  direction  was  so  well  followed  in  this  particular, 
that  we  have  no  copy  of  his  treatise  with  this  blunder  in  it. 

^  Orig.  Quceso.  Caesar  piqued  himself  greatly  upon  his  be- 
ing a  critic  on  the  purity  of  the  Latin  tongue.  Atticus  had  pre- 
sented him  a  petition  for  some  indulgences  to  the  inliabitants 
of  Buthrotum,  who  were  likely  to  suffer  severely  for  their  at- 
tachment to  Pompey, 

^   OrifT.  CodiciliSr 


'A 


16 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


wish  you  would  learn  from  himself,  when  it  suits 
your  conveniency  to  talk  with  him.  But  why 
need  I  to  wait  till  then  ?  I  acquainted  him,  that 
it  was  at  my  desire  you  had  inquired  whether 
there  was  any  thing  he  wanted,  or  wished  for. 
He  had  a  mind  for  Spain,  and  that,  he  said, 
would  require  handsome  appointments.  I  told 
him,  they  should  be  the  same  as  Publius  had 
given  to  his  son,  or  the  Flamen  Lentulus  to  his. 
With  regard  to  his  going  to  Spain,  I  started  two 
objections.  The  first  was  the  same  I  had  men- 
tioned to  you,  that  I  was  afraid  of  public  re- 
proach. Had  we  not  gone  far  enough  in  aban- 
doning the  republican  party,  that  we  should  take 
arms  against  it  ? — In  the  next  place,  I  told  him, 
it  would  give  him  pain  to  see  himself  surpassed 
by  his  cousin  in  interest  with  the  great  men,  and 
in  all  offices  of  honour.  I  pressed  him  to  leave 
himself  to  my  generosity,  rather  than  indulge 
his  own  fancy,  but  that  I  would  put  no  hard- 
ship upon  him;  and  yet  I  complied  with  his 
wishes,  because  I  understood,  you  was  not  averse 
to  his  going  to  Spain.  I  will,  however,  recon- 
sider the  business,  and  I  beg  you  will  do  the 
same.  Our  main  object  should  be  to  remain 
quiet.  It  is  hard  to  say,  what  may  be  the  con- 
sequences should  he  go.  But  we  shall  consider 
farther.  I  wrote  likewise,  in  the  parchments, 
concerning  Balbus,  and  I  am  still  of  the  same 
mind,  as  soon  as  he  shall  return.     But,  if  that 

should 


TO  ATTICUS. 


17 


should  not  be  soon,  I  will  set  out  for  Ram^  in 
three  days.  1  forgot  to  tell  you,  that  Dolabella 
is  here  with  me. 


EPISTLE  VIIL 


JVlosT  people  approve  of  my  resolution  epi^- 
cerning  my  son^  and  the  person,  who  is  to  at^ 
tend  him,  is  well  qualified.  But  let  us  previpn^sr 
ly  take  care  of  the  first  payment  of  my  daugh- 
ter's fortune.  The  terin  is  at  hand,  and  Dpla^ 
bella  is  ready  to  take  his  flight^.  Let  me  fcnow 
I  beg  of  you  what  Celer  reports  Caesar  to  have 
done  with  regard  to  the  candid^t^s,  wbeth^ 
himself  hopes  to  obtain  of  Caesar  a  commission 
in  Spain',  or  aa  pffice  in  the  city.  To  s^y  th^ 
truth,  I  should  be  glad  to  know  whethef  tfe^'ie  i^ 

^y 

1  Vt%.  To  send  him  to  Athens.  While  his  son  was  studying 
the  language  and  literature  of  Greece  in  that  refined  seat  of 
the  muses,  Cicero  composed  his  elegant  and  useful  Treatise 
on  Morals,  and  addressed  it  to  him  at  Athens. — E. 

2  Currit  ille. — M.  Mongault  properly  understands  ilh  to 
mean  Dolabella,  from  whom  the  payment  was  to  be  ex^icted^ 
and  who  was  in  haste  to  meet  Caesar  now  returning  from 
Spain. — E. 

3  Utrum  ipse  in  Fcenicularium  an  in  Martium  carnpum  cngi 
tet,  Faenicularius  was  a  plain  inHispania  Boetica,  whichSlrabo, 
lib.  lii.  calls  /uwtf a9oy,  from  the  fennel  or  grass  with  which  it 
abounded.— 'E. 

Vol.  III.  C 


•^m 


18 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


19 


any  necessity  for  my  attending  the  elections  at 
Rome,  for  T' cannot  avoid  obliging  both  yoiir 
wife^  and  daughter. 


EPISTLE  IX. 

JVIy  abode  here  would  be  very  agreeable,  )and 
would  be  daily  more  so,  were  it  not  for  the  rea- 
son I  mentioned  to  you  in  a  former  letter.  No- 
thing could  be  more  delightful  than  this  solitude 
would  be  to  me,  did  not  the  sonof  Amyntas^  some- 
times break  in  upon  me.  What  an  incessant,  what 
an  insufferable  prattler  he  is  !  As  to  every  thing 
besides,  you  can  form  to  yourself,  nothing  that  is 
more  pleasant  than  is  this  villa,  the  shore,  the 
prospect  of  the  sea,  and  in  short  eveiy  thing 
that  is  rouad  me.  But  it  is  not  worth  while  to 
swell  a  letter  with  these  trifles.  And  yet  I  have 
nothing  more  material  to  write,  and  I  am  besides 
drowsy. 

EPISTLE 

1  Whose  brotiierCeler  put  in  for  a  government. 

2  Meaning  Lucius  Marcius  Philippus  from  his  being  the 
namesake  of  Philip  of  Macedon,  the  son  of  Amyntas,  and  fa- 
ther of  Alexander  the  Great. 


1 . 


EPISTLE  X. 


1  SINCERELY  Sympathize  with  you  on  the  death 
bir  Athamas\  It  is  natural  for  you  to  be  con- 
cerned at  his  loss,  but  it  ought  not  to  be  to  ex- 
cess. Of  all  the  various  means  of  consolation^ 
(iie  following  is  the  most  direct;  let  reason*  el- 
feet  in  you  what  in  others  is  effected  by  time. 
Let  us  take  care  of  Alexis.  He  is  a  second 
Tyro,  whom  1  have  sent  back  sick  to  Rome,  and 
if  any  epidemical  disorder  rage  in  your  quarter, 
convey  Alexis  to  my  house  with  Tisamenus.  You 
know  that  all  the  upper  part  of  my  house  is 
empty.  This  I  think  is  a  fortunate  circum- 
stance. 


EPISTLE  XL 

» 

X  HE  death  of  Seius^  gives  me  a  heavy  heart 
But  every  human  event  ought  to  be  borne  with 
patience.  For  what  is  man,  or  how  long  time 
has  he  to  employ  himself  below  ?  Let  us  bestow 
our  attention  upon  things,  which  we  have  it  in 

our 

1  He  was  a  favourite  slave  of  Atticus. 

•  He  was  a  common  friend  to  Atticus  and  our  author. 

C2 


20 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


our  power  to  remedy,  I  mean  the  aifairs  of  the 
state;  and  even  here  we  cannot  avail  much. 
How  shall  I  behave  in  the  senate  ?  That  I  may 
forget  nothing,  Caesonius  writes  me  word,  that 
Posthumia,  the  wife  of  Sulpicius,  is  arrived  in 
his  house,  I  have  already  told  you,  in  answer 
to  yoursi  that  I  have  at  present  laid  aside  all 
thoughts  of  the  daughter  of  Pompey  the  Great'. 
As  to  the  other  lady  you  mention  in  your  letter, 
I  suppose  you  know  her ;  never  did  I  see  any 
thing  more  disagreeable.  But  I  am  soon  to  see 
you,  and  then  we  will  talk  farther  of  these  mat- 
ters. 

Your  Letter  came  to  my  hand  after  this  was 
sealed  up ;  1  am  glad  your  daughter  is  in  such 
good  spirits,  but  am  very  sorry  to  hear  that  she 
is  not  free  from  her  fever. 


EPISTLE  XIL 

Concerning  the  payment  of  my  daughter's 
fortune*,  I  request  you  to  be  more  urgent.     To 

accept 


1  As  there  is  a  considerable  distance  of  time  between  our 
author's  last  letter  and  this,  the  reader  is  to  understand  that, 
in  the  mterval,  he  had  been  divorced  from  Terentia,  and  he 
was  now  thinking  of  a  second  marriage. 

2  The  reader  is  to  understand,  that  Tullia  died  in  child-birth, 
a  lew  weeks  or  days  after  her  divorce  from  Dolabella,  and  our 

autlior 


TO  ATTICUS. 


Sf 


accept  Balbus,  as  a  substitute  for  the  debt,  is  to 
leave  it  to  their  discretion.  However  finish  the 
business  some  way  or  other.  It  is  shameful  that 
my  affairs  should  lie  in  this  disorder.  The  island 
near  Arpinum,  seems  to  be  proper  for  the  monu- 
ment I  design  to  erect  in  honour  of  my  daughter, 
but  I  am  afraid  it  will  not  be  sufficiently  conspi- 
cuous, because  it  is  too  remote  from  the  road. 
I  therefore  think  of  my  gardens,  but  I  must  take 
a  survey  of  them  when  I  come  to  Rome. 

You  shall  have  your  own  way  with  regard  to 
the  person  who  is  to  deliver  the  sentiments  of 
Epicurus  S  yet  I  shall  not  hereafter  be  fond  of 
living  characters  for  speakers  in  my  dialogues. 
You  cannot  imagine  what  difficulties  I  find  in 
this  matter.  Let  me  therefore  return  to  dead 
characters,  for  by  them  nothing  can  be  taken 
amiss.  I  have  nothing  farther  to  write  to  you, 
and  yet  I  make  it  a  rule  with  myself  to  send  you 
a  letter  every  day,  that  I  may  provoke  you  to 
give  me  an  answer,  i;iot  that  I  expect  you  will 
write  to  me  upon  any  business,  but  I  know  not 
how  it  is,  I  am  still  impatient  for  your  letters. 
Therefore,  whether  you  have  any  thing  material 

to 


author  was  so  sensibly  affected  with  her  death,  that  he  was  up- 
on the  extravagant  design  of  celebratmg  ^n  apotheosis,  and 
building  a  tenaple  to  her  memory. 

.  /  Atticus  was  of  opinion,  tha.t  our  author  ought  to  |r<;pres<gnt 
living  person?  as  speakers  in  hi?  philosophical  tracts. 


22 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


to  write  or  not,  yet  still  write  me  somewhat, 
Meanwhile  take  care  of  your  own  health. 


EPISTLE  XIII. 

JL  HOUGH  I  agree  with  the  physician  Craterus, 
yet  I  cannot  help  having  my  own  fears  with  re- 
gard to  your  daughter.  It  is  true  the  letter,  I 
received  from  Brutus,  was  written  like  that  of  a 
man  of  sense,  and  a  friend,  yet  still  it  filled  my 
eyes  with  tears.  I  am  n^ore  calm  in  this  retirement 
than  I  was  in  that  bustle.  You  are  the  only  per- 
son whose  absence  I  regret,  but  I  cultivate  let- 
ters here  with  the  same  calmness  as  if  I  were  at 
home.  But  still,  the  same  melancholy  preys 
upon  my  spirits.  T  do  not,  indeed,  indulge  my 
sorrow,  but  I  make  no  effort  to  suppress  it. 

As  to  what  you  write  concerning  Apuleius^  I 
am  of  opinion,  you  need  not  give  yourself  any 
great  troul^le  about  it,  or  to  speak  on  that  sub- 
ject to  Balbus  and  Appius.  He  has  already  3a- 
^isfied  them,  and  has  ordered  me  to  be  acquaint- 
ed, that  he  would  by  no  means  trouble  me,  but 
I  beg  you  will  take  care  from  day  to  day,  to  re- 
new 

*  He  was  chosen  into  the  Augural  college,  and  Cicero,  ag 
one  of  his  colleagues,  was  obliged  to  attend  a  feast  he  made 
of  course,  unless  he  could  be  excused,  by  getting  three  pef^ 
sons  to  swear,  that  be  was  in  a  bad  state  of  health. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


23 


new  my  excuses  on  account  of  my  bad  state  of 
health.  Lajnas  has  undertaken  to  attest  this.  To 
him  you  may  add  Caius .  Septimius  and  Lucius 
StatiUus.  In  short,  no  one  will  refuse  to  take 
this  oath,  whom  you  may  cjesire ;  if  it  be  attend- 
ed with  any  difficulty,  I  will  come  to  Rome  m 
person,  and  swear,  that  I  labour  under  a  com- 
plaint not  likely  ever  to  be  removed.  For,  as  I 
intend  never  to  be  present  at  those  entertain- 
ments, I  prefer  toli^ivie  a  juster  excuse,  than 
that  of  sorrow,  for  my  absence.  I  desire,,  that 
you  will  sue  Cocceius.  He  has  not  performed  his 
(promise  to  me;  and  I  want  to  buy  some  place 
where  I  may  retire,  and  enjoy  some  refuge  from 
my  grief. 


EPISTLE  XVI. 

I  SENT  you  a  letter  yesterday,  to  excuse  my 
absence  to  ij!LpTileius.  I  suppose,  you  will  find 
no  difficulty  in  it,  for  no  body  whom  you  desire, 
will  refuse  to  swear,  but  you  may  apply  to  Sep- 
timius, to  Lsenas,  and  to  Statilius.  But  Laenas 
took  the  whole  upon  himself  to  me.  You  wi^te 
me,  that  you  are  sued  by  Junius.  Why,  Cor- 
nificius  is  a  rich  man ;  but  still,  I  desire  to  know 
at  what  time  I  entered  into  this  recognizance, 
and  whether  it  was  for  the  father  or  son,  and 
the  rather,  because,  as  you  write  me,  you  will 

thereby 


24 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


thereby  see  the  agents  of  Cornificius,  and  his 
conveyancer  Apuleius*. 

You  express  your  usual  kindness  in  your  en- 
deavours, to  make  me  banish  this  melancholy. 
Vou  know,  my  friend,  I  have  done  all  I  can. 
There  is  not  one  sentiment  concerning  consola- 
tion under  affliction,  that  I  did  not  read  over  at 
your  house.     But  my  sorrows  have  got  the  better 
of  all  comfort     I  even  went  farther  than  any 
man  ever  did  before  me,  for  I  endeavoured  to 
remove  my  grief  by  addressing  letters  of  conso- 
lation to  myself.     I  will  send  you  a  volume  of 
them,    when  my  amanuensis  have   transcribed 
them.    Take  my  word  for  it,  that  no  consolation 
is  so  efficacious.     I  write  for  whole  days  toge^ 
then     Not  that  I  make  any  progress  in  my  cure, 
but  it  employs  me,  not  sufficiently  indeed,  for  my 
affliction  is  very  intense ;  but  still  I  am  amused, 
and  I  do  all  in  my  power,  not  to  cure  my  mind, 
but,  if  possible,  to  preserve  a  becoming  appear- 
atice.     While  I  endeavour  to  do  this,  I  some- 
times think  I  am  to  blame,  did  I  not  endeavour 
to  do  it    I  am  somewhat  assisted  by  solitude,  but 
ipy  advances  would  be  much  greater  had  I  your 
company ;  this  is  my  sole  reason  for  leaving  this 
place.    For,    considering  my  afflictions,  my  si- 
tuation 

>  Apulems  was  a  praediator,  i.  e.  a  jobber  or  conveyancer  in 
land,  and  the  affinity  of  this  term  to  prcedator  a  roUer,  leads 
jne  to  suspect,  that  Cicero  here  indulges  his  usual  propensity 
to  pun.^^E,  ^ 


TO  ATTICUS, 


25 


tuation  was  tolerable,  though  my  leaving  this 
place  is  the  very  thing  which  makes  me  sorry. 
For  you  can  no  longer  administer  to  me  the  so- 
lace you  once  did ;  all  that  endeared  me  to  you 
is  now  vanished. 

I  have  already  acquainted  you  by  writing  of 
Brutus's  letter  to  me.  He  writes  like  a  man  of 
sense,  but  his  letter  was  of  no  avail.  1  wish  that 
he  would  come  to  see  me,  as  he  wrote  to  you  he 
would.  I  make  no  doubt  but  that  his  presence 
would  exhilarate  me,  because  he  has  so  great  an 
affection  for  me.  I  beg  that  you  will  write 
me  whatever  you  hear,  above  all,  w^hen  you 
think  Pansa  sets  out  I  am  concerned  for  Atti- 
ca, but  yet  I  have  great  faith  in  her  physician 
Craterus.  Do  not  suffer  Pilia  to  distress  her- 
self; and  moderate  your  own  grief,  which  you 
too  much  manifest  in  sympathy  with  all  your 
friends. 


EPISTLE  XV. 

xVs  you  do  not  think,  that  a  general  excuse  for 
the  whole  time  is  proper,  I  beg  you  will  take 
care  to  excuse  me  from  day  to  day  with  Apuleius. 
In  this  solitude  I  have  no  society,  and  jn  the 
morning,  when  I  have  plunged  myself  into  a 
thick  rough  wood,  I  never  leave  it  before  the 

evening. 


26 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


27 


evening.  Next  to  yourself,  I  have  no  friend  but 
solitude.  In  this  I  converse  only  by  means  of 
letters,  and  even  that  conversation  is  interrupted 
by  tears,  which  I  check  as  much  as  I  am  able, 
but  hitherto  the  task  of  suppre^ing  them  is  too 
hard  for  me.  I  will,  as  you  advise  me,  write  an 
answer  to  Brutus.  To-morrow  you  shall  have 
that  letter.  You  will  deliver  it  whenever  you 
have  an  opportunity.     ^  •■' 


EPISTLE  XIV. 


i 


^  WOULD  not  have  you  neglect  your  own  busi- 
ness to  come  to  me.  If  you  should  be  longer 
detained,  I  would  rather  gome  to  you.  Nor  in- 
deed, would  I  have  left  your  company,  if  any 
thing  could  possibly  have  done  me  service. 
Could  my  case  admit  of  relief,  it  must  come 
from  you  alone.  As  soon  as  it  is  in  the  power 
of  man  to  give  me  comfort,  that  man  must  be 
yourself.  Even  at  present  I  cannot  enjoy  life 
without  you.  But  it  was  inconvenient  to  live  at 
'your  house,  and  I  could  not  live  at  my  own, 
and  had  I  been  nearer  Rome,  yet  still  I  could 
not  be  with  you.  The  same  business  that  now 
detain^  you  from  seeing  me,  would  have  detain- 
ed you  then.  Hitherto,  I  have  found  no  such 
relief  .as  in  this  solitude.      How  I  dread,   lest 

Philip 


Philip  should  break  into  it,  for  he  arrived  yes- 
terday in  the  evening.  Scribbling  and  reading 
do  not  sooth  my  sorrows/  but  they  stupify  my 


brain. 


t:-' 


EPISTLE  XVII. 


X  HAVE  a  letter  from  Marcianus,  informing  you, 
that  I  am  excused  with  Apuleius  by  Lajterensis, 
Nai&o,  Laenas,  Torquatus,    and  Strabo.      I  beg 
you  will  take  care  to  write  .to  them  in  my  name, 
to  let  them  know  how  much  I  am  obliged  to  them 
for  this  service.     Flavins  says,  that  about  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  I  entered  into  engagements  for 
Cornificius.     The  accused  is. an  opulent  man, 
and  Apuleius  is  a  respectable  conveyancer ;  yet 
I  beg,    that  you  will  take,  care  to  consult  the 
books  of  those  who  became  securities  with  me, 
vvhether  it  is  so  or  not.     Before  my  edileship,  I 
had  no  dealings  with  Cornificius.     Yet  the  thing 
is  possible,  but  I  wish  to  be  certain,  and  if  yoii 
think  proper  you  may  summon  his  agent§.     Yet, 
after  all,    what  is  it  to   me?    though  ^till  one 
ought  not  to  neglect  such  a  thing.     You  will  let 
me  know,  as  soon  as  you  know  yourself,  when 
Pansa  sets  out.    Present.my  compliments  to  your 
daughter,  whom  I  beg  you  will  take  all  manner 
pf  care  of,  and  to  your  wife. 

EPISTLE 


28 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATncus. 


29 


EPISTLE  XVIII. 

W^HiLE  I  avoid  recollections  which  consume 
my  heart  with  grief,  I  avoid  consulting  with  you. 
But  if  I  have  still  that  unaccountable  desire,  ybu 
must  pardon  it.  For  some  of  the  authors  I  am 
now  reading,  tell  me,  that  the  thing  I  so  often 
have  mentioned  to  you,  and  which  I  am  so 
earnest  that  you  should  approve  of,  ought  to  be 
carried  into  execution  ^     I  mean,  the  intended 

temple, 

»  It  must  be  acknowledged,  that  our  author  was  no  more 
fixed  in   his  principles  of  philosophy,  than  in  those  of  govern- 
ment.    Accidents  and  different  situations  of  life  had  great  im- 
pression upon  both.    It  is  true,  he  wished  well  to  his  country, 
and  his  heart  was  naturally  good  and  sincere,  but  we  find  him 
sometimes  not  quite  consistent  with  what  he  is  at  other  times. 
When  he  wrote  this  letter,  he  was  greatly  affected  by  his 
daagKter'6  death,  and  in  that^dispositionof  mind  which  is  most 
susceptible  of  religious  apprehensions.    This  made  him  pay  . 
the  greater  regard  to  the  sentiments  of  those  philosophers,  who 
were  the  most  averse  to  the  Epicurean  doctrine  of  his  friend, 
aod  who  encooraged  the  belief  of  the  ioMnortality  of  the  soul, 
which  our  author  in  many  parts  of  his  works,  treats  as  a  doc- 
trine, the  truth  of  which  is  more  to  be  wished  than  hoped  for. 
It  is  more  than  probable,  that  this  book  of  consolation,  of  which 
only  a  few  fragments  now  remain,  was  composed  entirely  upon 
the  principles  of  the  souls  immortality,  for  otherways  his  build- 
ing a  temple  to  the  memory  of  his  daughter,  and  in  a  manner 
Consecrating  the  same,  must  have  appeared  to  Atticus  ridicu- 
lous and  fantastic.    Meanwhile,  it  may  be  proper  here  to  re- 


temple,  and  as  you  love  me  you  will  think  of  it. 
As  to  the  plan,  I  fix  without  hesitation  upon 
that  of  Clautius,  neither  have  I  any  difficulties 
as  to  the  materials ;  but  I  cannot  say  the  same 
as  to  the  place  where  it  is  to  stand.  I  beg, 
therefore,  you  would  bestow  some  thought  upon 
that  For  my  own  part,  I  will  in  this  learned 
age,  consecrate  the  memory  of  my  daughter  with 
inscriptions  taken  from  every  fine  writer  in 
Greece  and  Rome;  though  this  may,  perhaps, 
make  my  wound  bleed  afresh.  But  I  now  look 
upon  myself  as  bound  by  a  solemn  vow  and  en- 
gagement, and  I  am  more  affected  by  that 
length  of  time  in  which  I  am  to  have  no  exist-* 
ence,  than  with  the  narrow  (but  to  me  it  seems 
too  long)  span  of  life,  that  still  remains  to  me  in 
this  world. 

I  have  left  nothing  untried,  but  am  unable  to 
find  repose.  For  while  I  employed  myself  in  that 
work  which  I  formerly  have  mentioned  to  you, 

I  soothed, 

mark,  that  the  building  such  temples,  or  consecrated  places  by 
parents,  to  the  memory  of  their  children,  is  justly  accounted 
by  the  most  ancient  and  venerable  authors  to  be  the  great 
sources  of  superstition.  The  grief  of  a  parent  upon  the  death 
of  a  child,  being  the  more  intense,  and  consequently  more  ex- 
travagant than  that  of  a  child  upon  the  loss  of  a  parent.  Our 
author  even  tells,  that  the  word  superstition  came  from  those 
who  all  day  sacrificed,  and  prayed,  that  their  children  might 
outlive  themselves.  Quia  iota  die  precalantur  &  immolalant 
ut  sihi  sui  liberi  superstites  essent,  superstitiosi  sunt  appellati. 
Lib.  1.  de  Nat.  Dcorum. 


30 


CICERO'S'  EPISTLES 


t^TO  ATTICUS. 


31 


I  soothed,  as  it  were,  ray  anguish, ;  but  now  I  loath 
every  thing ;  nor  can  I  find  any  better  refuge 
than  in  solitude,  which  Philip,  (as  I  was  afraid 
he  would)  has  not  yet  disturbed.  For  yesterday, 
as  soon  as  he  had  paid  me  his  compliments,  he 
set  out  for  Rome.  I  have,  as  you  desired,  sent 
you  the  letter  which  I  have  written  to  Brutus  ^ 
vou  will  take  care  that  it  be  sent  off  with  yours; 
meanwhile,  I  have  sent  you  a  copy,  that  if  you 
are  not  pleased  with  the  contents,  you  may  keep 
back  the  original. 

You  write  me  word,  that  my  domestic  affairs 
are  settling  in  due  order ;  I  pray  you  write  me 
these  particulars ;  for  there  are  some  I  am  impa- 
tient to  know.  Take  care  that  Cocceius  does 
not  disappoint  us.  I  think,  from  what-  Eros 
writes,  tliat  we  may  depend  upon  Libo's  word. 
x\s  to  the  capital,  I  confide  in  Sulpicius  and  Eg- 
natius.  I  cannot  imagine  what  your  difficulties 
can  be  with  regard  to  Apuleius,  as  it  is  so  easy 
to  obtain  a  dispensation.  You  write  me,  you 
intend  to  see  me  ,  I  beg  you  will  take  care  that 
it  may  put  you  to  no  inconvience.  For  the  jour- 
ney is  a  long  one,  and  should  you  be  obliged  to 
leave  me  soon,  our  parting  will  give  me  infinite 
pain.  But  every  thing  shall  be  as  you  wish.  For 
my  part,  do  what  you  will,  I  shall  always  both 
Uiink  it  right,  and^that  you  do  it  out  of  affection 

for  me. 

Yesterday,  when  I  understood  by  letters  froin 

others, 


I 


others,  tha^t  Antoay  was  arrived  \l  was  surprised 
your  letters  mentioned  iipthing  about  him :  but 
you,  perhaps,  wrote  th^m.^hejday  before  they 
were  dated.  Even  those  matters,  however,  give 
me  no  concern.  But  I  am  of  opinion,  that  the 
purchase  made  by  him  was  the  cause  which 
brought  him  back  in  such  a  hurry. 

As  to  what  you  write  me,   Terentia  says  con- 
cerning 

^  He  had  set  out  for  Spain,  but  came  back  in  a  hurry  to 
Rome  on  the  following  account,  fie  was  in  great 'favour  with 
Caesar,  being  one  of  the  most  proper  instruments  which  that 
great  man  could  employ  in  subverting  the  public  virtue  of  his 
•countrymen,  and  consequently,  the  constitution  of  his  country  j 
not,  I  believe,  that  Caesar  would  hav^  desired  either,  had  not 
both  of  them  been  incompatible  with  his  safety.  Add  to  this, 
that  Antony  was  a  man  of  wit  and  parts  j  he  lived  at  immense 
expencie,  and  was  in  all  respects,  a  soldier  of  fortune.  This  and 
his  intimacy  with  Caesar,  made  him  presume  upon  that  great 
man's  friendship,  and  he  had  bought  most  of  Pompey's  effects 
at  Ruction,  in  hopes  that  Caesar  would  not  call  upon  him  for 

..the  payment.  But  Caesar  was  of  all  mankind  the  greatest 
master  of  his  own  passions,  excepting  that  for  power.  Like 
oth^r  great  politicians,  he  encouraged  his  ministers  in  their  ex- 

Uravaganoies,  that  he  might  have  the  popularity  of  punishing 
them.  The  buying  of  the  great  Pompey's  effects,  had  raised 
a  terrible  clamour  at  Rome  against  Antony,  and  Caesar  wisely 

^availed  Jiimself  of  it.  For  Antony  neglecting  to  make  payment 
(the  sum  being  very  large),  Caesar  ordered  Lucius  Plancas  to 

'seize  all  Antony's  effects,  and  to  sell  them  for  discharge  of  the 
debt.  The  news  of  this  order  reached  Antony's  ears  when  he 
was  on  the  road  to  Spain,  and  it  was  to  prevent  that  sale  that  he 
returned  in  the  hurry  hientioned  here. 


32 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


'f 


TP  ATT^US. 


33 


m 

ceming  the  witnesses  to  my  Will  ^ ;  you  are,  irt 
the  first  place,  to  believe,  that  I  mind  no  such  mat* 
ters,  nor  can  any  thing  give  me  the  smallest  con- 
cern or  sui-prise.     But  after  all,  in  what  does  my 
conduct  resemble  hers  ?     She  refused  to  call  in 
those  witnesses,  whom  she  thought  would  inquire 
to  know  the  contents  of  what  they  were  to  attest. 
But  did  I  make  any  objection  to  that  ?     Let  her 
then  do  as  I  have  done.     I  am  ready  to  produce 
my  Will  to  any  one  that  is  disposed  to  read  it. 
She  may  satisfy  herself,  that  I  could  not  shew 
greater  regard,  than  I  have  shewn  for  my  grand- 
son.     As  to  my  not  inviting  certain  persons  to 
witness  its  sealing  up ;  in  the  first  place,  it  did 
not  come  into  my   bead ;  and  for  this  reason, 
in  the   next  place,   it  was    of  no   importance. 
Perhaps    you   may  yourself  remember,   that   I 
spoke  to  you  to  bring  some  of  your  friends  to 
witness  it.     For  what  occasion  was  there  for  a 
great  many  ?     It  is  true,  I  ordered  my  domestics 
to  attend.     You  were  of  opinion  that  I  sliould 
send  for  Silius ;  and  that  put  it  into  my  head  to 

send 


1  Cicero  was  at  this  time  thinking  of  marrying  another  wife. 
Pubilia,  whom  he  aftewards  married.  This  seems  to  have 
come  to  Tereatia*«  ears,  because  Cicero  had  invited  Pubilius, 
the  lady's  brother,  to  be  wiUiess  to  his  testament,  and  had  omit- 
ted  to  send  for  the  relations  of  his  own  and  her  famUy.  This 
furnished  Terentia  wiUi  matter  of  complaint,  as  if  our  author 
had  done,  or  intended  to  do,  something  that  was  unhandsome 
towards  his  grandson,  the  son  of  Dolabella. 


-I 


s,end  for  Publius  to  bp  present;  though  thero 
was  no  necessity  foF  eitb§^.  Yqu  ^)X^  naaPg-gg 
this  point  4s  you  see  proper. 


EPISTLE  XIX. 

This,I  own,   is  a  very  pleasant  place ».     Iti, 

embosomed  in  the  very  sea,  and  may  be  seen 
from  Antium  and  Circe ;  but,  as  in  a  long  revo- 
lution of  ages,  the  succession  of  property^  may 
be  next  to  infinite,  I  am  to  take  care,  should  the 
monument  I  think  of  continue  to  exist,  that  it 
shall  have  the  same  regard  paid  to  it,  as  paid  to 
consecrated  places.  I  now  give  myself  no  trou- 
ble  about   revenues;   I  can  be  contented  with 

Uttte. 

*  Meaning  Astura,  lying  between  the  promontory  of  An- 
tium, and  that  of  Circe. 

*  The  ancients,  as  appears  from  the  worlds  of  our  author, 
and  many  others,  were  extremely  delicate  with  regard  to  their 
burying  places ;  and  they  commonly  excepted  them  from  the 
other  parts  of  heritage,  which  could  be  dispos^^d  of  by  coo* 
veyance  or  succession,  an<J>  §?.it  wefe^  entailed  them  for  ever 
upon  the  purposes  to  which  they  were  originally  designed. 
Cicero,  therefore,  in  this  passage,  inclines  to  entail  the  spo^ 
where  this  temple  should  be  biult,  in  the  same  manner,  and 
nothing  was  wanting  that  laws  or  imprecations  could  effect 
to  preserve  such  destinations  for  ever  sacred  and  iniFiolable, 
Atticus  seems  to  have  advised  Cicero  to  build  his  temple  at 
Astura. 

Vol.  III.  D 


34 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


S5 


little.  1  sometimes  think  of  purchasing  some 
country  seat  on  the  other  side  of  the  Tyber,  and 
chiefly,  because  I  know  no  place  that  has  a 
greater  resort  to  it  \  But  we  will  consult  about 
what  seat  it  shall  be  when  we  meet  together,  but 
still  we  must  order  matters  so,  that  the  temple 
may  be  finished  this  summer.  Meanwhile,  do 
you  agree  concerning  the  pillars  with  Apellas^of 

Chios. 

1  approve  of  what  you  write  concerning  Coc- 
ceius  and  Libo,  and  chiefly  with  regard  to  my 
sitting  as  judge*.  I  should  be  glad  to  know,  if 
you  have  received  any  farther  information  con- 
cerning^ that  bail,  and  likewise,  what  the  agents 
of  Cornificius,^  are  saying ;  but  yet  1  should  be 
soTvy  to  put  you,  who  have  so  much  business  al- 
ready, to  any  extraordinary  trouble  in  that  affair. 
Balbus  and  Oppius  have  likewise  written  to  me 
concerning  Antony,  and  that  their  writing  was 
agreeable  to  you,  for  fear  I  should  have  been 
disturbed.  I  returned  them  thanks,  but  I  would 
have  you  to  know,  as  I  have  already  written  to  • 
you,  thati  am  to  be  disturbed  neither  by  that  news, 
Dor  any  other  that  can  possibly  happen.     If,  as 

you 

i  Because  he  intended  there  to  build  his  temple,  which  he 
wanted  to  have  as  public  as  possible,  to  do  honour  to  the  me- 
mory of  his  daughter, 

2  He  at  this  time  declined  all  the  public  duties  of  a  senator, 
particularly  that  of  presiding^  in  tlie  courts  of  law,  or  upon 
trials  or  arbitrations. 


•*■> 


you  mentioned,  Pansa  is  set  out  this  day,  you 
will  instantly  begin  to  write  me,  how  soon  you 
look  for  the  arrival  of  Brutus>  that  is,  what  day 
he  is  to  be  at  Rome.  If  you  know  where  he  is 
at  present,  you  can  pretty  accurately  conjecture 
the  period  of  his  return. 

As  to  what  you  write  to  Tyro  concerning  my 
wife,  I  beg,  my  dearest  friend,  that  you  will  take 
the  whole  of  that  matter  upon  yourself.  Nobody 
knows  so  well  as  you  do,  how  far  I  am  en- 
gaged in  honour  and  duty,  and  as  some  think,  in 
justice  to  my  son.  As  to  my  own  part,  I  am 
determined  by  nothing  near  so  much  as  by  the 
ties  of  virtue  and  honour,  especially  as  I  think 
all  assurances  of  the  other  party  \  are  neither 
sincere  nor  stable. 


EPISTLE  XX. 

JL  ou  seem  not  to  be  quite  sensible,  how  very 
unconcerned  I  am  about  Antony,  and  every 
thing  of  that  kind.  With  regard  to  Terentia,  I 
informed  you  in  the  letter  I  wrote  yesterday. 
You  give  me  advice,  and  you  say,  you  do  it  at 
the  earnest  request  of  my  other  friends^  that  I 
should  conceal  the  excess  of  my  grief.  Is  it  pos- 
sible 


*  Meaning  Terentia. 


D2 


TO  ATTICUS, 


$7 


36 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


srble  for  me  to  do  that  better  tlian  by  spending 
whole  days  in  study  ?     I  do  it,  it  is  true,  not  to 
conceal  my  affliction,  but  to  sooth,  and  to  cure 
my  mind;  but  though  it  may  not  have  the  effect 
Imsh  for  upon  myself,  yet  surely  it  conceals 
from   the   world   the  appearances   of  excessive 
grief    This  letter  is  considerably  shorter,  because 
I  wait  for  your  answer  to  my  letter  of  yesterday. 
I  am  chiefly  impatient  for  your  sentiments  with 
tegard  to  the  temple,  and  I  am  somewhat  cu- 
rious to  know  about  Terentia.     I  beg  you   will 
inform  me  by  your  next  letter,  whether  Cnseus 
Ctepio,  the  father  of  Servila,   the  wife  of  Clau- 
dius, perished  by  sea  in  his  father's  lifetime,  or 
after  he  was  dead,  or  whether  Rutilia  died  be- 
fore or  after  the  death  of  her  son  Caius  Cotta? 
These  questions   relate  to   thl^   treatise  I  have 
composed  concerning  the  means  of  mitigating 
affliction. 


EPISTLE  XXI. 

X  HAVE  read^  and  sent  back  to  you,  the  letter  of 
Brutus,  which  is  by  no  means,  a  becoming  an- 
6wer  to  your  request.     But  let  him  see  to  that', 

^  '  and 

*'  *»  I  have,  in  several  animadversions  upon  our  author's  works, 
thrown  out  some  doubts  with  regard  to  the  conspiracy  of  Cati- 
liae,  especially  as  it  has  been  represented  by  our  author.     I 

shal 


^ 


and  yet  it  is  a  reflection  on  him  to  be  ignorant  of 
that  matter.  He  supposes  that  C«^to  first  gave 
his  vote  for  putting  the  conspirators  to  de§yth. 
Now  all  tlie  other  magistrates,  excepting  Caesar, 
iiad  voted  the  same  way  before,  and  as  th^  opi-r 
nion  of  Ceesar,  who  then  spoke  only  in  hie  qua- 
lity of  prjetor,  was  so  severe,  he  thinks  that  the 
sentiments  of  the  consulars,  Catulus,  Serviliua^ 
the  Luculli,  Curio,  Torquatus,  Lepidus,  Gellius, 
Volcatius,  Figulus,  Cotta,  Lucius  Caesar,  Caius 
Piso,  with  Manius   Glabrio,   and  Silanus,    and 

Murena, 

ehall  not  here  trouble  my  reader  with  my  reasons  for  being  of 
a  very  different  opinion  from  the  rest  of  the  world  upon  that 
subject,  and  for  believing  that  our  author,  impelled  by  his  own 
fears,  put  the  conspirators  to  death  without  any  legal  evidence 
of  their  guilt.  I  cannot,  however,  help  observing,  that  the 
passage  before  us  vpry  strongly  confirms  my  suspicion  of  Ci- 
cero's insincerity  in  his  whole  account  of  thgt  matter.  Not- 
withstanding that  force  of  aiRiction  for  the  loss  of  his  daugjl^- 
ter,  which  he  so  feelingly  represents,  we  here  see  his  vanity 
get  so  much  the  better  of  him,  that  he  employs  his  friend  Attl- 
cm  to  prevail  with  Brutus,  who  was  the  very  soul  of  trqthj,  to 
alter  a  narrative  of  that  conspiracy  which  he  had  njade  jn  a 
panegyric  upon  his  uncle  Cato,  and  in  which  our  author  thought 
he  was  not  mentioned  in  terms  sufficiently  for  his  advantage, 
'in  fact,  Brutus  begged  to  be  excused,  and  adtt^itted  only  of  one 
circumstance,  in  which  he  was  set  right  by  Atticus.  The  rea- 
der is  to  observe,  that  Caesar,  as  praetor,  spoke  before  Cato, 
who  was  only  tribune  elect.  As  such,  however,  he  spojce  be- 
fore all  the  private  senators,  so  that  the  omnes  here  mentioned, 
is  to  be  understood^  not  of  the  whole  body  of  the  senarej  but  of 
those  who  bore  or  had  borne  pi^lic  employments. 


»•« 


'V 


38 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


39 


Murena,  consuls  elect,  were  more  mild.  Why 
then  was  the  sentence  drawn  up  according  to 
Cato's  opinion  ?  The  reason  was,  he  spoke  to 
the  point  more  perspicuously  and  copiously  than 
the  others  did.  With  regard  to  me,  he  praises 
me  for  reporting,  not  for  discovering,  the  con* 
spiracy,  without  mentioning  the  spirit  I  raised 
against  the  conspirators,  and  that  the  measure 
which  followed  was  no  more  than  what  I  re- 
solved  upon  before  tlie  thing  was  debated  in  the 
senate.  Cato  extolled  all  this  to  the  skies,  and 
was  of  opinion  that  it  ought  to  be  inserted  in  the 
sentence,  for  which  reason  a  majority  divided  for 
his  motion.  Brutus  thinks  he  pays  me  a  mighty 
compliment  when  he  calls  me  an  "  excellent 
consul."  But  could  an  enemy  speak  of  me  in 
colder  terms  ?  With  regard  to  the  rest,  in  what 
manner  has  he  spoken  to  you  ?  All  he  desires  of 
you  is  to  correct  the  resolution  of  the  senate. 
He  could  not  have  avoided  dging  this,  had  his. 
mistake  been  pointe'H  out  to  him  by  the  most 
despicable  of  all  our  acquaintance  \  But  let  him 
answer  for  that  likewise. 

As  you  approve  of  my  design  respecting  a  coun- 
try-house ^  I  beg  you  will  take  an  active  part  in 

the 


1  Orig,  Ranius,  who  was,  it  seems,  a  person  of  little  or  no 

consideration. 

«  Orig,  Horti  Gardens,  which  I  have  translated,  a  country 
bouse  or  seat,  of  which  the  gardens  were  the  chief  embellish- 
ment. 


a 


<m 

the  affair.  You  know  my  resources-  Now  if  we 
can  get  any  thing  from  *  Faberius,  I  shall  have  lit- 
tle or  no  difficulty  in  making  the  purchase.  ...The 
seat  of  Drusus  certainly  is  to  be  purchased,  and 
perhaps  those  of  Lam -a  and  Cassius.  J^ut  we 
shall  talk  of  these  things  when  we  meet..  As  to 
Terentia,  I  cannot  write  of  her  more  ha,iidsomely 
than  you  do.  Let  us,  in  the  first  place,  ^l^ave, re- 
gard to  what  virtue  and  duty  requires.  If>  I 
should  be  mistaken,  I  should  choo^ito^^fferi 
by  being  deceived  by.  her  rather  th^n  myself. 
A  hundred  thousand  serteces  must  b^^  paid  to 
Ovia,  the  wife  of  Caius  Lollius;  Eros  say^,;  he 
cannot  raise  the  money  without  me,  I  suppose 
on  account  of  his  giving  some  goods  and  effects 
to  be  appraised.  I  wish  he  had  talked  of  tlie 
matter  to  you,  for  if,  as  he  writes  me,  it  be  true 
that  matters  are  in  such  readiness,  the  affair  may 
be  finished  by  you ;  I  beg  you  will  inqpre|qto, 
and  settle  the  whole  business. 

You  invite  me  to  resume  my  functions  in  the 
Forum,  the  place  which  1  had  declined  before  I 
was  overtaken  by  affliction.  What  is  the  Forum 
to  me  ?  Where  are  its  courts  of  justice  ?  Where 
is  the  senate,  while  those  whom  I  cannot  behvlli 
with  patience,  are  perpetually  rushing  upon  my 
sight?  You  tell  me,  the  public  call  upon  me  to 
come  to  Rome,  that  they  will  not  dispense  witii  nvy 

<  pre^encej^ 


• 


'  He  owed  our  author  money. 


,       >• 


X 


40 


CICfilWntlStLES 


t)resence,  and  that  I  haVe  been  dispensed  \\ith 
hitJ^rte  bn!y  upoti  certain  terms.     Bat  be  it 
kndwn  to  you,  my  frifetidj  that  for  this  long  tilne^ 
ydH  sfn^y  hav^  bfeen  ttidiie  dear  to  me  than  all 
«hfe  republic,  an(i  1  have  not  such  a  cohtetttptibfe 
opinion  ^  myself,  as  not  to  choose  to  follow  tny 
own  beWSweftts,  thah  that  of  all  tfie  otters  you 
mention,  be  i?ho  they  ^ilh    And  yiet  I  do  ftbt 
fexceed  the  twunds  that  are  prestribfed  me  bi^ 
ttie  most  learned  authors,  whose  writings  I  have 
thoroughly  read  over,  and  all  that  is  upon  the 
subject  M  consolation,   because  I  thought  it  % 
taark  of  courage  in  a  patierft  to  search  for  his 
cure.     Nay,  I  havetransplantted  their  sentiments 
into  my  own  works,  which  surely  was  no  symp- 
tom of  a  desponding,    abject,  spirit.      I  beg 
therefore,  that  you  will  not  call  me  from  this  re- 
gimen, into   tl»e    bustle  of  life,  test  I  should 
relapse.^ 


EPISTLE  XXII. 


It  is  not  acting  by  me  with  your  usual  friend- 
ship, to  load  me  with  the  whole  affair  of  Terentia. 
For  those  are  the  very  wounds  which  I  canndt 
bear  to  have  bandied  without  the  deepest  an- 
guish.  Do  therefore,  all  you  can  to  sooth  my 
aflSiction;  I  ask  no  more  of  you  than  you  can  do,, 

and 


*t 


*» 


TO  ATTICUS. 


41 


and  besides,  you  are  the  only  person  who  can 
discover  her  true  sentiments.  As  I  perceive  you 
are  in  some  difficulty,  with  regard  to  Rutilia,  I 
beg  you  to  write  to  me  as  soon  as  you  have  ascer- 
tained the  fact,  and  whether  Clodia  survived 
Decimus  Brutus,  the  consular.  You  may  know 
the  first  from  Marcellus,  or  at  least  from  Post- 
humia;  and  the  second  from  Marcus  Cotta, 
from  Scyrus  or  Satyrus. 

I  beg  leave  again  to  put  you  in  mind  of  the  seat 
I  am  to  purchase,  for  which  I  must  employ,  if  my 
own  means  should  be  ineffectual,  (which  I  hope 
will  not  be  the  case)  the  credit  of  my  friends^  who, 
I  am  sure,  will  not  disappoint  me.    Besides,  there 
are  some  efifects  which  I  can  sell  ve^ry  conveniendy- 
But  if  you  will  assist  me,  I  need  to  sell  nothing, 
but  pay  interest  for  a  year  and  no  longer  for  the 
sum  I  agree  for,  which  is  the  method  I  would 
choose.     The  seat  of  Drusus  is  the  most  likely 
for  my  purpose,  for  he  wants  to  sell  it     Next  to 
this,    I  think  on  that  of  Lamia,  but  he  is  not 
at  Rome.     Do  you,  however,  examine  this  with 
all  the  diligence  in  your  power.     Silius  makes 
use  of  no  country  seat,  and  he  can  live  very  well 
upon  the  interest  I  shall  pay  him.     Consider  the 
business  as  your  own  concern,  without  minding 
Thy    domestic    affairs,    which  1  am  very  little 
anxious  about;  but  you  are  to  consider  what  I 
wish  for,  and  my  motives  for  wishing  it 


EPISTLE 


/■ 


42 


< 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  XXIII. 

jL  ou  begin  your  letter  to  me  in  such  a  manner, 
that  I  expected  some  news  from  it.     You  tell  me 
that  though   I  did  not  mind    what    passed   in 
Spain  \   yet  that  you  still  would  inform  me  by 
writing.     But  I  perceive  that  all  you  write  is  in 
answer  to  my  letters,  particularly  concerning  the 
Forum  and  the  senate.      But  you  tell  me  my 
house  is  a  Forum.     What  occasion  have  I  for  a 
house  itself,   if  I  am  debarred  from  the  Forum  ? 
Long,  long,  my  dearest  friend,  have  I  made  it  no 
secret,  and  I  make  it  none  now,  that  I  lost  all 
relish  for  life,  after  losing  the  only  blessmg  that 
could  make  me  love  it.     I  therefore,  c6urt  soli- 
tude;  and  yet,  should   any   accident  draw   me 
to  Rome,  I  will  endeavour  with  all  my  power 
(and  I  know  it  to  be  m  my  power)  that  none  be- 
sides myself  shall  perceive  my  anguish,   nay,  if 
passible,  that  even  you  should  not  perceive  it. 
There  is  another  cause   for   my  not  going  to 
Rome.      You     remember    the    requ^t    which 
Aledius'  made  to  you ;  if  in  this  situation  they 

pester 

J  Caesar  was  then  carrying  on  the  war  against  Pompey's  sons 
in  Spain,  of  which  Atticu&had  promised  to  give  our  author  some 

accx)unt. 

'  He  was  a  friend  of  Caesar's,  and  he  had  informed  Atticus 
bow  kindly  Cxsar  would  take  it,  if  our  author  would  so  far 
countenance  his  proceedings  as  to  appear  in  the  senate  at  Ronae. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


4S 


pester  me,  what  would  they  do  should  I  go  to 
Rome?  You  may  manage  with  Terentia,  in  the 
manner  you  write  me,  and  in  so  doing  you  extri- 
cate me  from  a  load  of  affliction  already  insup- 
portable. 

But  now  to  make  you  sensible  that  my  sorrows, 
great  as  they  are,  have  not  bereft  me  of  sense,  I 
observe  that  you  mention,  in  your  annals,  under 
-what  consuls  Garneades  ^  came  at  the  head  of 
that  embassy  to  Rome.  Now  I  want  to  know 
what  the  subject  of  that  embassy  was.  If  I  mis- 
take not,  it  was  concerning  the  city  of  Oro pus, 
but  1  am  not  sure.  Taking  that  however  for 
granted,  I  should  be  glad  to  know  upon  what 
subjects  they  disputed,  and  likewise  who  was  the 
most  distinguished  amongst  the  Epicureans  at 
Athens,  and  at  that  time  presided  in  their  gar- 
dens*, and  likewise  who  were  the  leading  states- 
men in  that  city.  All  this  I  believe  you  may 
learn  from  Apollodorus '•    lam  concerned  about 

your 


*  This  celebrated  embassy  came  from  Athens,  with  the  phi- 
losopher Carneades  at  the  head  of  it,  in  order  to  obtain  a  miti- 
gation of  a  fine,  imposed  by  the  Romans,  upon  the  iTthenians 
for  plundering  the  city  Oropus. 

^  The  disciples  and  followei-s  of  Etplcurus  held  their  schools 
and  assemblies  in  his  Gardens  at  Athens,  in  the  same  manner 
as  the  disciples  of  Piato  did  in  the  Academy,  those  of  Aristotle 
in  the  Lyceum,  and  those  of  Zeno  in  the  Portico, 

^  He  was  an  Epicurean,  and  had  written  the  life  o^^hk 
master,  with  the  annals  of  tlie  old  phiiosopliers. 


18^ 


h      44 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


45 


your  daughter's  illness,  but,  as  it  is  slight,  I 
hope  she  is  in  a  fair  way.  1  have  not  the  least 
doubt  with  regard  to  Gamala's  death ;  for  why 
should  Ligus  be  the  only  happy  father?  For  my 
part,  had  I  my  choice  of  all  I  could  desire  in  thi^ 
life,  I  never  could  admit  of  comfort. 

You  write  me  how  much  the  seat  of  Drusus  is 
valued  at ;  1  heard  of  it  before,  and  if  I  mistake 
not,  I  mentioned  it  in  my  letter  to  you  of  yester- 
day,  but  however  dear,  there  is  no  paying  too 
much  for  a  thing  which  one  must  have.     What- 
ever opinion   you    may  entertain,  yet  I   know 
enough  of  myself  to  be  sensible  that  that  pur- 
chase,  if  it  does  not  abate  my  anguish,  will  at 
least  acquit  me  of  a  debt  of  duty.     I  have  writ- 
ten to  Sica,   because  he  is  the  friend  of  Lucius 
Cotta.     If  we  can  come  to  no  agreement  about 
the  gardens  beyond  the  Tiber,  Cotta  has,  near  to 
Ostia,  a  seat  in  a  very  frequented  place.     It  is 
small  indeed,   but  it  is  more  than  large  enough 
for  my  purpose.     I  beg  you  would  think  of  that, 
and  do  not  be  alarmed  at  the  price  of  the  other 
gardens.     I  have  now  no  occasion  for  plate,  for 
raiment,  or  for  houses  of  pleasure.     This  seat  is 
all  I  want.     I  know  who  can  assist  me  in  the 
purchase,  but  you  will  talk  with  Silius,  for  no- 
thing could  suit  me  better  than  this  seat.     I  have 
given  Sica  a  commission  concerning  this  matter 
likewise,  and  he  writes  me  in  answer,  that  he  has 
21  fixed 


fixed  a  day  to  treat  with  Silius.  Therefore  write 
me  what  he  has  done,  and  do  as  you  judge 
proper.  ;^        .  ' 


EPISTLE  XXIV. 

It  happens  luckily  that  Silius  has  settled  that 
matter,  for  I  was  no*  willing  to  disappoint  him, 
and  I  was  in  some  doabts  about  ray  own  ability. 
You  will  finish  that  affair  with  Ovia,  in  the  terms 
you  promise  me.  I  think  now  it  is  high  time  to 
dispose  of  my  son.  But  let  me  know  whether 
he  can  have  credit  upon  Athens,  for  what  money 
he  may  have  occasion  for,  or  whether  he  must 
carry  it  with  him  in  specie?  I  beg  you  would 
consider  the  whole  matter,  how,  in  what  manner, 
and  when,  he  is  to  proceed.  You  may  learn 
from  Aledius,  whether  Publius^  is  to  go  to 
Africa,  and  at  what  time;  and  then  I  beg  you 
will  let  me  know  by  a  letter.  But  to  return  to 
my  own  trifling  amusements,  I  desire  you  will 
inform  me  whether  Publius  Crassus,  the  son  of 
Venuleia,  died  in  his  father'sjiifetime,  as  I  think 

he 

^  He  probably  was  the  same,  who,  after  the  death  of  Caesar, 
embraced  the  caus6  of  liberty,  and  was  proscribed  by  the  tri- 
umviri.    He  afterwards  came  iato  great  favour  with  Augustus 
'Caesar,  who  valued  him  tlie  more  for  having  the  courage  to 
carry  about  with  him  a  portrait  of  Brutus.  ^ 


# 


a 


46 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES    f 


he  did,  or  afterwards.  I  have  the  same  question 
to  ask  with  regard  to  Regillus,  who,  if  I  remem- 
ber rightly,  died  before  his  father  Lepidus.  You 
will  finish  the  affair  of  Cispius,  and  likewise  that 
of  Praecius.  I  am  extremely  glad  of  Attica's  re- 
covery. Pray  make  my  compliments  to  her,  and 
toPilia.  "* 


EPISTLE  XXV. 


j^iCA  has  Ai^itten  me  a  very  particular  account 
of  his  transaction  with  Silius,  and  he  informs  me, 
as  you  do,  that  he  has  laid  the  matter  before  you. 
I  am  pleased  with  my  bargain  and  the  terms,  but 
I  should  choose  to  pay  him  in  money,  rather 
than  give  him  any  thing  in  exchange ;  for  Silius 
will  put  no  value  upon  a  house  of  pleasure. 
Now,  with  regard  to  my  land  estate,  I  can  live 
upon  it,  and  that  is  as  much  as  I  can  do.  You 
will  ask,  how  am  I  to  procure  the  ready  money? 
Press  Heynogenes  for  the  payment  of  the  six 
thousand  sertece*,  especially  now  that  I  am 
straitened  for  money ;  and  1  perceive  I  have  as 
much  in  my  house.  As  for  the  remainder  of  the 
sum,  I  either  will  pay  interest  for  it  to  Silius, 
while  my  affair  with  Faberius  is  settling,  or  I  will 
take  a  draft  from  Faberius  for  the  sum,  upon  some 
of^is  debtors,     I  shall  likewise  receive  somewhat 

from 


% 


TO  ATTICUS. 


47 


from  another  hand,  but  yoif 'inust  superintend  the 
whole  transaction.  For  my  own  part,  I  prefer 
his  seat  to  that  of  Drusus,  nor  indeed  were  they 
ever  compared  together.  Take  my  word  for  it, 
I  have  but  one  jnotive  for  the  purchase,  in  which, 
I  acknowledge,  I  am  too  much  actuated  by  vain 
glory,  but  I  beg  you  will  continue  to  humour  me 
in  this  failing.  As  to  what  you  tell  me  concern- 
ing the  manner  in  which  a  patriot  ought  to  spend 
his  old  age,  every  thing  of  that  kind  is  over  with 
me  :  I  have  other  pursuits  in  view. 


EPISTLE  XXVI. 

Ore  A  writes  to  me,  that  though  he  has  not  closed 
with  Aulus  Silius,  yet  he  himself  would  come 
hither  the  22d.  I  am  too  sensible  of  the  multi- 
plicity of  your  affairs,  not  to  excuse  you.  I  am 
extremely  sensible  how  willing,  or  rather,  how 
anxious,  and  how  earnest  you  are,  that  we  should 
meet  With  regard  to  Nicias^  whom  you  men- 
tion, there*  is  no  man's  company  wh«m  I  could 
be  more  fond  of  than  his,  were  I  in  a  disposition 
to  enjoy  the  charms  of  his  conversation  ;  but  so- 
litude and  retirement  are  now  my  only  enjoy- 
ments. I  am  most  desirous  of  Sica's  company, 
because  he  can  bear  solitude  so  welL     Besides, 

you 

■■V 

^  He  was  a  famous  grammarian. 


# 


4S 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


you  are  no  stranger  4  J  the  infirmity,  the  delicacy, 
^d  the  habitft  of  our  friend  Nicias.  Why  there- 
fore  should  I  give  him  pain,  when  he  can  give 
me  no  pleasure?  His  atfectionate  offer,  how- 
ever, is  to  me  extremely  obhging.  Respecting 
the  subject'  you  touch  upon  in  your  letter,  I  am 
deteruiined  to  give  you  no  answer.  For  I  hoped 
to  have  prevailed  with  you  to  rid  me  of  my 
burden.  My  compliments  to  your  wife  and 
daughter. 


EPISTLE  XXVL 

It  is  true,  Tarn  no  stranger  to  the  terms  of  that 
transaction  with  Silius,  but,  to-day,  1  suppose, 
I  shall  be  instructed  by  Sica  in  all  the  particulars. 
YoH  say  that  you  know  notliing  about  the  seat  of 
Cotta.     It  is,  I  assure  you,   a  small,  mean  villa^ 
situated  beyond  the  seat  of  Silius,  which  I  sup- 
pose you  are  no  stranger  to.     It  has  no  ground 
belonging  to  it,  and  it  is  large  enough  for  no 
other  purpose  but  that  which  I  intend.     I  want 
a  place  diat  is  greatly  frequented.     If  any  agree- 
luent  is  made,  that  is,  if  you  make  any,  (for  it 
aH  rests  upon  you),  respecting  Silius's  Doansion, 
there  is  no  occasion  for  me  to  think  any  Hiare 
concerning  that  of  Cotta.      I  wiU  follow  your 

advice 

1  Vi%,  His  difference  with  TereDlia* 


TO  ATTICUa 


49 


advice  with  regard  to  my  son.  He  shall  be 
master  of  his  own  time,  and  you  will  take  care 
to  get  him  credit  for  his  necessary  expences. 
You  will  let  me  know,  as  you  mention,  when 
you  have  learned  any  thingfrom  Aledius. 

I  observe,  from  your  letters,  as  no  doubt  you 
do  from  mine,  that  neither  of  us  have  any  sub- 
ject for  writing.  It  is  still  the  same  threadbare 
story  over  and  over  again  every  day,  yet  I  cannot, 
for  my  life,  refrain  writing  to  you  daily,  that 
you  may  give  me  an  answer.  Send  me  word  if 
you  know  any  thing  concerning  Brutus  ^  for  I 
suppose,  by  this  time,  you  know  the  place  where 
he  waits  for  Pansa*  If,  as  is  usual,  he  waits 
for  him  on  the  frontiers  of  his  government,  he  may 
be  at  Rome  towards  the  beginning  of  next  month. 
I  wish  it  was  not  so  soon,  because  I  have  many 
reasons  for  being  extremely  averse  to  leave 
Rome.  I  am  therefore  in  some  doubts  with 
myself,  whether  I  ought  not  to  feign  some  ex- 
cuse for  them,  which  I  perceive  would  be  no 
hard  matter  for  me  to  do.  But  I  shall  have  lei- 
sure enough  to  think  of  that  matter.  My  com- 
pliments to  your  wife  and  daughter. 


EPISTLE 


^  Bnitus  was  then  governor  of  Cisalpine  Gaul,  and  he  was 
to  be  succeeded  by  Pansa. 

Vol.  hi.  .       E 


50 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


51 


EPISTLE  XXVIII. 

SiCA   had    written   so  particularly  concerning 
that  affair  with  Silius,  that  I  learned  no  more  of 
it  from  talking  with  him  than  I  had  done  from 
his  letters.     Therefore,    should  you   meet  with 
Silius,  you  will  write  to  me,  if  you  see  occasion. 
As  to  the  person,  w  ho  you  suppose  has  been  sent 
by  Terentia  to  me,   I  am  quite  in  the  dark  whe- 
ther any  such  person  has  been  sent  or  not,  at 
least  no  body  has  talked  with  me  upon  that  head. 
You  will  therefore,  proceed  as  you  have  begun, 
and  if  you  can,  in  any  respect,  prevail  upon  her, 
which  I  think  indeed  is  impossible,  you  may,  if 
you  please,  introduce  my  son  to  her  favour.     It 
is  of  some  consecjuence  to  him,   that  he  should 
appear  to  have  a  regard  for  her.     For  my  part, 
I  take  no   other  concern   than  that  which  you 
know  of,  and  which  indeed  I  am  greatly  anxious 

about 

You  invite  me  to  return  to  my  old  habits  of 
life.  It  has  long  been  my  fate  to  weep  over  the 
calamities  of  my  country  But  n)y  grief  was  the 
less  excessive,  because  I  still  found  a  satisfaction 
in  my  own  family.  At  present,  I  can  neither  re- 
lish the  modes  nor  the  pursuits  of  the  world,  nor 
do  I  think  I  ought  to  be  much  concerned  in  what 
light  otliers  take  thib  matter.     If  my  conscience 

acquits 


me,  let  all  the  w^orld  talk  as  it  will.  I  have  no 
reason  to  repent  of  those  letters  of  consolation, 
which  I  addressed  to  myself.  They  have  done 
me  this  service,  that  my  mourning,  though  not 
my  grief,  is  abated ;  for  my  grief  is  what  I  can- 
not diminish,  nor  would  I,  if  I  cou  ld\ 

You  are  right  in  your  conjecture  of  my  inten- 
tions with  regard  to  Triarius^;  you  are,  how- 
ever, to  take  no  steps  but  with  the  consent  of  his 
parents.  I  love  the  memory  of  the  deceased  ;  I  am 
the  guardian  of  his  children,  and  I  have  an  afFec- 
tion  for  the  whole  family.  With  regard  to  that  affair 
of  Castricius,  if  he  is  willing  to  take  money  for  the 
slaves,  and  to  be  paid  according  to  the  present 
public  terms  of  payment^,  nothing  can  be  more 

equitable. 

^  Ori'g.  MoBTorem  minui;  dolorem  nee  potui,  7iec,  sipossern, 

veil  em. 

2  He  is  one  of  the  speakers   in   our  author's  treatise  upon 

the  ends  of  things  good  and  evil. 

^  Orig.  Si  Castricius  pro  mancipiis  pecuniam  accipe re  volet, 
eamque  ei  solvi  ut  ?iunc  solvitur.  This  affair  seems  to  have  con- 
cerned Quintus  Cicero,  whose  unworthy  behaviour  our  author 
appears  no  longer  to  have  resented.  Quintus  Cicero  owed  this 
Castricius  some  money,  and  he  made  over  some  slaves  to  him 
as  a  security.  When  the  civil  war  was  over,  Quintus  proposed 
to  Castricius  to  redeem  the  slaves,  in  the  terms  of  a  law  made 
by  Caesar,  for  the  more  easy  payment  of  debts.  For  that  great 
man,  seeing  the  prodigious  disorder  into  which  the  civil  wars 
had  thrown  all  matters  of  property  at  Rome,  ordered  a  commis- 
sion 

E  £ 


f 

•I 


w 


52 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


equitable.  But,  if  the  bargain  has  been  go 
made,  as  that  the  slaves  themselves  may  be  taken 
away,  I  think,  (since  you  will  have  me  to  write 
you  my  mind  on  that  liead)  the  other  terms  will 
not  be  fair.  For  I  am  unwilling  that  my  brother 
Quintus  should  any  way  involve  himself,  and  if 
I  mistake  not,  you  are  of  the  same  sentiments. 
I  should  think  that  Publius  will  go  to  Africa 
by  sea,  if  (as  you  write  me,  on  the  authority 
of  Aledius)  he  is  to  wait  for  the  Equinox.  Now, 
he  told  me,  that  he  was  to  go  by  Sicily.  I  beg 
you  will  let  me  know,  whether  he  continues  in  that 
resolution,  and  when  he  is  to  set  out  ?  I  likewise 
entreat,   that  you  will,  at  your  leisure,  visit  my 

grandson 

sion  to  be  made  out,  to  certain  persons  for  valuing  effects, 
which,  according  to  the  price  they  bore  before  the  civil  war, 
the  creditors  were  obliged  to  take  in  payment.     Our  author  In 
many  parts  of  his  Epistles,  hints  at  this  law,  which  was  called 
the  Lex  Julia.    But  the  lav/  contained  another  clause,  to  which 
this   passage  solely   relates.      For  we  learn  from  Suetonius, 
that  it  cancelled  all  interest  that  was  paid  for  money,  during  the 
continuance  of  the  civil  wars.     That  which  had  been  paid, 
was    deducted  as  a  payment  Ifrom  the  principal  sum,   and  if 
none  had  been  paid,  none  was  to  be  accepted.     Popma,  there- 
fore,  and  the  other  commentators,   have  absurdly  applied  the 
estimatory  part  of  that  law  to  this  passage.     The  question 
with  our  author  was,   that  Quintus  Cicero  should  pay  ready 
money  for  the  slaves,  with  the  deduction  of  the  interest  that 
had  been  paid.  But  at  the  same  time,  he  was  of  opinion,  that  if 
the  terms  of  the  bargain  were  optional  to  Castricius,  whether 
he  should  take  the  money  or  the  slaves,  it  was  putting  a  hard- 
ship upon  Castricius  to  force  him  to  take  the  money  in  the 
terras  of  the  Julian  law. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


53 


grandson  Lentulus\  and  let  him  have  what 
slaves  you  think  proper.  My  compliuients  to 
your  wife  and  daughter. 


EPISTLE   XXIX. 

x  ou  tell  me  you  are  to  see  Silius  to-day.  You 
will  therefore,  write  to  me  to-morrow,  or  rather, 
in  some  leisure  hour  after  you  come  to  any 
agreement  with  him.  I  wish  not  to  decline  a 
visit  from  Brutus,  though  at  the  same  time,  I 
am  far  from  expecting  from  him  any  alleviation 
of  my  anguish ;  but  I  have  my  reasons  for  not 
going  to  Rome  at  this  time.  Should  these  con- 
tinue, as  at  present  they  are  likely  to  do,  I  must 
find  some  expedient  to  excuse  Brutus.  I  beg  of 
you  to  be  explicit  about  the  gardens.  You  know 
the  principal  object  I  have  for  procuring  them, 
and  indeed,  I  have  need  of  them  myself.  My  first 
view  in  having  it  is,  what  you  know  of,  and  the 
next  is,  I  have  occasion  for  it  myself.  For,  I 
neither  can  live  in  a  hurry,  nor  can  I  be  at  such 
a  distance  from  my  friends.  I  can  find  no  place 
so  well  suited  for  this  purpose  as  that  seat  is, 
and  I  am  extremely  sensible  what  your  design 
was  in  the  management  of  that  aft'air,  and  the 
rather,  because  I  think  you  are  of  my  opinion, 

that 

'  This  was  the  sirname  of  the  Cornelian  family,  and  Dola- 
bella  was  the  second  sirname  of  one  of  the  branclu;s  of  the 
same  family. 


n 


54 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


that  I  stand  well  with  Oppius  and  Balbus.     You 
will  let  them  know  how  earnestly,  and  for  what 
reason,  I  desired  to  have  the  estate,  but  my  whole 
success   depends    upon   my   receiving   payment 
from  Faberius  \     Put  it  to  them,  whether  they 
will  answer  for  my  being  paid  ;  whether  there 
will   be  any  loss   arising  in    paying  down    the 
money  immediately,    and  how  much  that  may 
amount  to,  for  I  despair  of  receiving  the  whole 
sum,  in  short,  you  are  to  learn,  whether  they  are 
inclinable  to  serve  me  in  what  I  proposed.      If 
they  are,  it  will  be  a  great  assistance  to  me ;  if  not, 
we  must  endeavour  to  be  assisted  from  other  quar- 
ters. You    are  to  look  upon  this  purchase,  as  the 
spot  in  which  I  wish  to  spend  the  remainder  of  my 
life  with  dignity,  and  to  die  with  composure. '  I 

have 


1  We  are  told  by  Appian,  that  this  gentleman  was  a  kind  of 
secretary  to  Cresar.  Some  comentators  are  of  opinion,  that  he 
owed  money  to  our  author,  and  that  he  gave  him  a  draft  upon 
Oppius  and  Balbus,  w  ho  owed  money  to  him.  But  I  do  not^ 
see  any  great  occasion  to  suppose  all  this.  Caesar  himself 
seems  to  have  been  originally  our  author's  debtor,  and  to  have 
criven  Faberius,  who  was  then  in  Spain  with  Caesar,  a  grant  of 
some  forfeited  estates,  upon  the  condition  that  he  should 
out  of  them  defray  the  debt  due  to  Cicero.  Oppius  and 
Balbus,  therefore,  may  be  supposed  to  have  been  agents  for 
Faberius,  in  selling  his  estates,  and  settling  his  other  affairs, 
and  this  conjecture  agrees  very  well  with  all  that  is  said  here. 

2  Sencctutis  occupaiio.  Funeris  ornamentum.  This  alludes  to 
a  saying  of  Cato  the  censor,  xaXX/«i»  t^ynfxiA.a,  t>j»  <7roX/r«<ay.  That 
it  was  a  most  glorious  thing  to  grow  old  in  the  service  of  one  s 

country. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


56 


have  laid  aside  all  thoughts  of  the  house  at  Ostia. 
If  I  cannot  get  this  seat,  I  must  try  to  purchase 
that  of  Damasippus,  for  I  believe,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  prevail  with  Lamia  to  part  with  his. 


EPISTLE  XXX. 


1  AM  at  a  loss  for  materials  to  write  to  you.  The 
same  thoughts  occupy  my  mind  every  day.  I  am 
extremely  obliged  to  you  for  the  visit  you  have 
paid  to  my  grandson.  You  may  allot  him  as  many 
slaves  as  you  think  proper,  and  you  may  take 
your  choice  of  them.  You  seem  to  be  apprehen- 
sive, that  Silius  will  not  part  with  his  seat,  or 
that  he  will  put  an  exorbitant  price  upon  it. 
Sica  is  of  another  opinion,  but  I  incline  to  be 
of  yours;  I  have  therefore,  written  to  Egnatius 
in  the  terms  proposed  by  Sica.  As  to  Silius  de- 
siring you  to  speak  with  Clodius,  it  is  very  agreea- 
ble to  me  that  you  should,  and  much  more  con- 
venient than  for  me  to  write  to  Clodius  as  Silius 
proposed.  I  think,  that  it  would  be  very  proper 
for  Egnatius  to  finish  the  bargain  for  the  slaves 
of  Castricius,  since  you  write  me,  that  they  are  in 
a  fair  way  of  agreeing.     I  beg  you  will  take  care 

to 

country.  The  tMrxtpiov  alludes  to  funeral  ornaments.  So  that 
Cicero  says,  that  all  the  glory  and  the  ornament  of  his  life  and 
death,  consisted  in  those  gardens,  and  that  country  seat. 


56 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


to  settle  that  affair  with  Ovia.  As  you  tell  me, 
your  letter  was  written  after  it  was  dark  last 
Bight,  I  am  in  hopes  the  one  you  write  this  day, 
will  be  more  full, 


'  I 


EPISTLE  XXXL 

SiCA  will  be  surprised,  that  Silius  has  changed 
his   mind.      Indeed,  I  am  the  more  surprised, 
because,  having  attributed  this  change  to  his  son, 
which  I  think  is  no  unreasonable   apology,  (for 
be  cannot  desire  to  have  a  more  dutiful  child) 
you  tell  me,   you  are  of  opinion,  if  we   should 
purchase  another  estate  which  he  is  desirous  of 
selling,  he  will,  if  we  buy  tliis,  also  sell  the  one 
which  we  want     You  desire  to  know  of  me  the 
highest  price  I  am  willing  to  give,  and  how  much 
I  value  it  more  than  the  seat  of  Drusus.     I  have 
never  seen  it.     I  know,  that  the  seat  of  Coponi- 
us  is  both  old  and  little.    It  has  a  fine  wood  ;  but 
I  know  the  value  of  neither,  and  yet  1  think  it 
were  proper  that  I  did.     But  I  must  value  both 
of  them,  by   the  necessity  I  am  under  to  have 
either,  and  not  by   their  intrinsic  worth.     I  beg 
that  you  would  endeavour  to  know,  whether   I 
can  purchase  them  or  not.     For  if  I  should  sell 
the  Faberian  estate',    I  should  not  doubt  of  be- 
ing 

1  From  this  it  appears,  that  Faberius,  in  the  terms  of  the 
Julian  law,  hod  made  over  to  our  author  for  the  payment  of 
his  debt,  an  estate,  or  effects  of  an  adequate  value. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


57 


ing  able  to  purchase  the  country-house  of  Silius 
vith  ready  money,  provided  he  can  be  prevailed 
upon  to  sell  it.  If  it  is  not  to  be  sold,  I  will  en- 
deavour to  get  that  of  Drusus,  even  though  I 
should  pay  as  much  for  it  as  Egnatius  told  you, 
Drusus  was  willing  to  take.  Hermogenes  like- 
wise can  be  of  great  assistance  to  me  in  raising 
the  ready  money.  Indulge  me,  my  friend,  io 
thinking  on  this  occasion,  as  a  man  who  is  fond 
of  the  purchase  he  wants  to  make.  And  yet 
both  that  fondness  and  my  grief  shall  be  regula- 
ted by  your  pleasure.  Egnatius  has  written  to 
me  ;  if  he  has  commiinicated  any  thing  to  you, 
you  will  inform  me  by  a  letter,  for  he  is  the  most 
proper  agent  we  can  employ  in  this  affair,  which, 
I  think,  ought  by  all  means  to  be  concluded. 
For  I  cannot  see,  that  we  can  come  to  any  con- 
clusion with  Silius.  My  compliments  to  your 
wife  and  daughter.  This  I  write  with  my  own 
iiand.  I  beg  you  will  advise  me  how  I  am  to  pro- 
ceed. 


EPISTLE  XXXIL 

jLVBtiLiA  sends  me  a  request,  that  her  mother 
and   brother,    with  whom  she  had  consulted  \ 

may 

^  The  original  here  is  very  much  depraved.  One  copy  reads 
it.  Cum  PullUia  loqui  retur.  Another,  loqueretur,  another 
loqui,  and  another  locutam ;  and  in  this  last  sense,  I  have 

translated 


58 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


may  pay  me  a  visit  as  they  intend,  and  if  I  please, 
that  she  may  come  along  with  them.     She  begs 

me 


i 


n 


It] 


translated  it.     There  is  something  ridiculous  enough  in  the  cir- 
cumstances mentioned  in  this  letter.      Our  author  had  put 
away  one  wife,  a  woman  of  great  spirit,  virtue,   and  fortune, 
with  whom  he  had  lived  upwards  of  thirty  years,  and  who  had 
borne  all  the  reverses  of  his  fortune  with  amazing  magnanimity, 
and  with  unparalleled  affection  towards  him  and  his  family.    It 
is  true>  no  man  can  be  a  judge  of  another  man's  domestic  suf- 
ferings or  concerns  5  and  therefore,  it  would  be  rash  to  con- 
clude"*, that  Cicero  divorced  this  lady,  merely  through  a  peevish- 
ness contracted  from  the  bad  state  of  his  aftairs,  and  the  reflec- 
tion upon  his  own  misconduct,  with  which  she  was,  perhaps, 
too  ready  to  upbraid  him  j  for  there  is  some  reason  to  believe, 
that  she  by  no  means  approved  of  the  part  he  had  acted.     But 
at    the  same   time,   it  is  very  extraordinary,    that    we  find 
nothing  in  his  Epistles  to  Atticus,  .(with  whom  he  says,  he 
could  c°onverse  more  freely  than  he  could  with  his  own  heart,) 
that  can  give  us  a  disadvantageous  idea  of  this  lady.  He  men- 
tions indeed,  somewhat  about  a  remittance  she  had  made. him, 
which  fell  a  few  pounds  short  of  what  it  ought  to  have  been, 
and  that  some  rascally  domestics  about  him,  endeavoured 
to  give  him  a  disadvantageous  idea   of  her  conduct,   which 
he  could  not  believe  to  be  true.     Be  that  as  it  will,  it  is  certain 
this  lady  was  divorced  at  a  time  of  life,  that  leaves  us  little 
room  to  suspect  her  of  too  much  gallantry,  which  our  author 
no  where  seems  to  hint  at ;  that  she  was  afterwards  married  to 
two  or  three  of  the  greatest  and  tlie  noblest  men  of  Rom.e, 
with  whom  she  lived,  as  far  as  we  can  learn,  without  reproach, 
and  that  she  died  in  the  103d  year  of  her  age,  the  wife  of  Vi- 
bius  Rufus,  who  was  consul  in  the  reign  of  Tiberius,  and  who 
boasted,  that  he  was  possessed  of  two  things   which  .had  be- 
longed to  two  of  the  greatest  men  who  ever  lived,  the  wife  of 
Cicero,  and  the  chair  in  which  Caesar  was  killed. 

Soon 


TO  ATTICUS. 


59 


me  in  many  and  pathetic  terms,  that  I  would 
give  her  leave  and  that  I  would  send  her 
an  answer.  You  may  be  sensible,  how  much 
trouble  this  affair  gives  me.  My  answer  to 
her  was,  that  my  affliction  was  more  intense  than 
it  was  at  the  time  when  I  told  her,  I  wanted  to 
be  alone,  and  therefore,  I  desired  she  might  for- 
bear her  visit  at  this  time.  I  was  of  opinion, 
that  unless  I  sent  her  an  answer,  she  certainly 
would  come  along  with  her  mother  ;  I  think,  she 
will  not  so  soon,  for  it  is  plain^  that  those  letters 
were  not  dictated  by  herself  Now  I  want  to 
avoid  the  attempt,  which  I  am  sure  they  will  make, 
to  pay  me  a  visit,  and  there  is  no  other  way  of 
avoiding  them,     but  by  giving  them   a    direct 

refusal  ; 


Soon  after  this  divorce,  our  author  married  Publilia,  a  ward 
of  his  own,  a  woman  of  birth  and  quality,  rich,  young,  and 
beautiful.  Our  author,  in  other  parts  of  his  works,  apolo- 
gizes for  the  inequality  of  the  match,  through  the  necessity  he 
was  under  to  repair  his  private  affairs,  which  had  gone  to 
-ruin  through  the  fault  of  those,  with  whom  he  had  entrusted 
them,  but  without  fixing  any  particular  or  direct  charge  upon 
Tercntia.  It  is  remarkable,  that  he  seems  to  have  married 
this  lady  while  he  suffered  all  the  bitterness  of  aflfliction  for  his 
daughter,  or  but  a  very  little  before  her  death;  and  from  the 
<:ourse  of  life  he  afterwards  used,  we  cannot  suppose,  that  she 
enjoyed  a  great  deal  of  his  company.  I  think  it  is  pretty 
plain,  that  both  his  marriage,  and  the  death  of  his  daughter, 
happened  between  the  time  of  his  writing  the  eleventh  and 
ihe  twelfth  letter  of  this  book,  and  in  this  letter  we  perceive 

him 


■.•+a 


! 


60 


CICERO'S  EPfSTLES 


h  4' 


?l 


i: 


refusal ;  but  necessity  compels  me  to  comply'.  I 
beg  you  will  learn  to  what  precise  day  I  can  re- 
main herCy  before  they  attempt  to  surprise  me 
with  this  visit  Speak  to  them  with  delicacy, 
and  to  use  your  own  words,  with  caution. 

I  beg  you  will  propose  to  my  son,  if  you  think 
it  reasonable,  that  the  expences  of  his  journey  to 
Athens,  and  his  continuance  there,  should  not  ex- 
ceed the  rents  of  my  Argiletan  and  Aventine 
houses,  which  would  have  satisfied  him,  had  he 
remained  at  Rome,  and  hired  a  house  as  he  was 
once  thinking  of  doing  ;  and  if  you  think  proper 
to  make  him  this  proposal,  I  beg  that  you  will 
order  every  thing  so,  that  we  may  supply  him 
with  whatever  is  necessary  from  those  rents,  and 
I  will  answer  for  it ;  they  will  maintain  him  in 
as  handsome  a  manner  as  Bibulus,  or  Acidenus, 
orMessala*,  who,  I  hear,  are  to  be  at  Athens^ 
can  live  in.  I  therefore  beg  you  in  the  first 
place,  to  look  out  who  are  to  rent  those  houses, 
and  how  much  they  will  pay  ;  and  in  the  next 
place,  that  some  person   be   appointed   as  his 

agent 

him  so  much  out  of  humour  witli  her  and  her  friends,  that  he 
ran  away  from  his  own  house  to  avoid  both  her  and  them. 

*  Monsieur  Mongault  and  I  differ  in  our  translation  of  this 

passage.     I  point  it  as  follows,  differently  from  all  editions. 

Nunc,  non  puto;  apparehat  enim  illas  literas  non  esse  ipsius. 

Illud  autem,  ('quod  fore  video)  ipsum  volo  vitarc,  neiUce  ad 

'  me  venlant  -J  ^  est  una  intatio,  ut  ego  nollem!  sednecesse  est, 

^  These  were  three  young  Roman  noblemen  of  great  distinc- 
tion. 


r.  ( 

1 


TO  ATTICUS. 


61 


agent  to  supply  him  with  money  for  this  journey, 
and  his  other  expences.  He  can  have  no  occa- 
sion for  horses^  at  Athens.  As  to  what  horses  he 
may  want  upon  the  road,  you  yourself  observe, 
tliat  I  have  at  home  more  than  can  be  sufficient 
for  him. 


EPISTLE  XXXIII. 

X  WROTE  to  you  yesterday,  that  I  was'of  opinion, 
you  should  try  what  you  could  do  with  Damasip- 
pus,  ifSilius  should  behave  in  the  manner  vou 
think  he  will,  and  if  Drusus  should  not  comply. 
He,  if  I  mistake  not,  has  parcelled  out 
his  estate  upon  the  banks  of  the  Tiber  into  a 
certain  number  of  acres,  so  that  every  parcel  has 
a  set  price  which  I  am  ignorant  of.  You  will, 
^  therefore,  let  me  know,  upon  what  terms  you 
proceed  with  him.  I  am  much  concerned  for 
the  indisposition  of  our  dear  Attica  ;  but  my  ap- 
prehensions of  any  mismanagement  with  re^^ard 
to  her  vanish,  when  I  reflect  upon  the  worth  of 
her  tutor,  the  sagacity  of  her  physician,  and  that 
universal  regularity  and  observance  of  every 
kind  that  prevail  in  every  department  of  your  fam- 
ily. You  will,  therefore,  take  care  of  her,  for  I 
can  write  no  more. 

£PISTLE 


Orig.  Jumento, 


6^ 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  XXXIV. 

Considering   my  misfortunes,    I  can  enjoy 
myself  very  well   here,   even   without  Sica,  for 
Tyro   is  better.     But,  as  your  letter  desired  me 
not  to  be  surprised  by  a  visit  from  my  wife  and 
her  friends  (  by  which  I  perceive,  you  are  igno- 
rant, on  what  day  they  will  set  out  on  their  jour- 
ney)  I  thought  proper  to    come  to  this  place, 
and,  I  perceive,  you  are  of  the  same  mind.     To- 
morrow,   therefore,   I  will    come  to  Sica  s  seat 
near  Rome,  and  after  that,  I  think  to  take  your 
advice  of  passing  some  days  about  Ficulea'.    As 
I  am  to  see  you  in  person,  we  will  discourse  to- 
gether concerning  the  matters  you  have  mention- 
ed  in  your  letters  to  me.     I  cannot  help  acknow- 
ledging, that  I  am  wonderfully  charmed  with  the  af- 
fection,' the  assiduity,  and  the  wisdom  you  shew  in 
managing  my  concerns,  in  the  measures  you  pur- 
sue, Tnd'^in  the  advices  you  give  me  in  your  let- 
ters. 


N 

you 


EPISTLE  XXXVL 

OTWiTUSTAXDiNG   what   you   write,    I   beg 
will  inform  me  how  you  proceed  with  Silius, 

the 


1  It  lay  in  the  country  of  the  Sabines. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


63 


tlie  very  day  on  which  I  am  to  visit  Sica,  and 
chiefly  what  place  he  intends  to  reserve  for  him- 
self. You  write,  that  it  is  towards  the  extremity 
of  the  estate,  but  1  beg  you  will  take  care,  that  it 
is  not  the  very  spot  which,  you  know,  invited  me 
to  think  at  all  of  this  purchase.  I  have  sent  to 
you  the  letter  I  lately  received  from  Hirtius, 
which  is  most  affectionately  written.  It  did 
not  come  into  my  head  before  we  parted,  that 
the  public  has  a  right  to  appropriate  as  much 
money  as  exceeds  the  sum  allowed  by  the  law  *, 
(I  knew  not  how  much  that  is)  to  be  expended 
upon  a  funeral  monument.  This  would  not  <nve 
me  great  concern,  were  it  not  that  I  have  taken 
a  fancy^  perhaps,  unaccountable,  that  the  monu- 
ment I  intend  should  have  no  other  name  than  that 
of  a  temple;  should  I  persevere  in  this,  I  am 
afraid  that  it  cannot  be  executed  upon  the  spot  we 
propose.  I  beg  you  would  consider  what  there 
is  in  this ;  for  tho'  my  affliction  is  not  so  punf^ent, 
and  though  I  have,  in  some  measure,  recollected 
myself,  yet  still  I  want  your  advice.  I  therefore 
again  and  again  intreat  you,  in  a  manner  more 

earnest 


li 


^  This  was  a  sumptuary  law  made  by  C«sar,  and  amongst 
other  extravagancies  of  living,  it  repressed  the  excessive  expcn- 
ces  which  tlj^  Romans  were  beginning  to  lay  out  upon  tombs. 
But  though  Caesar  was  pretty  exact  in  enforcing  this  law,  it 
was  eluded  soon  after  his  death  by  the  Romans  laying  out  vast 
sums  upon  those  monuments,  to  the  memory  of  their  deceased 
friends,  which  did  not  go  under  the  denomination  of  tombs.    • 


64 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


,i' 


earnest  than  either  require,  or  will  suffer  me  to 
use  towards  you,  that  you  will  seriously  think  on 
this  matter. 

EPISTLP   XXXVL 

I  INTEND  to  erect  a  temple,  nor  can  the  inten- 
tion be  rooted  out  of  my  heart     I  want  to  avoid 
all  the  appearance  of  a  tomb,  not  so  much  on 
account  of  the  penalty  of  the  lav,  as  that  I  may 
gain  my  end   in  consecrating  the  memory  of  my 
daughter,  which  I  may  do,  should  the  temple  be 
reared  in  my  own  gardens.     But  I  have  often 
told  you  how  much  I  fear  the  fluctuations  of  pro- 
perty.    Should  I  erect  this  temple  in  an  open 
field,  I  think  I  may  possibly  induce  posterity  to 
regard  it  as  a  sacred  monument*.    I  own,  my 
friend,  these  are  weaknesses,  but  they  are  weak- 
nesses you    must  bear   with.      I   can  converse 
more  freely  with  you  than  with  any  man  in  the 
world,  nay  more  freely  than  I  can  with  my  own 
heart     If  you  are  pleased  with  the  thing  itself, 
with  the  situation,  and  with  the  design,  I  beg 
you  will  read  over  the  act,   and  send  it  to  me, 
and  I  will  follow  any  method  you  think  of  to 
elude  it.  -^ 


»  Orig.    Ut  maxime  assequar  »«o9e<.ir..,  literally,  that  Imay 
ei/ain  her  deification. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


65 


If  you  should  write  to  Brutus,  you  may  (un* 
less  you  think  it  improper)  reprove  him  for  not 
coming  to  Cumse,  for  the  reason  he  mentioned 
to  you.  In  my  apprehension  he  has  acted  with 
great  incivility  towards  me.  If  you  are  of  opi- 
nion that  I  ought  to  continue  to  think  of  ih-e 
temple,  I  beg  that  you  would  put  Clautius  in 
mind  of  it,  and  encourage  him  to  proceed.  For, 
though  I  should  even  think  proper  to  build  it 
upon  another  spot,  yet  I  shall  still  stand  in 
need  of  his  assistance  and  advice.  You  will  per- 
haps come  to-morrow  to  your  country  seat. 


EPISTLE  XXXVII. 


X  YESTERDAY  rcccivcd  from  you  two  letters, 
dated  the  day  before,  one  by  Hilarus,  the  other 
by  an  express.  That  same  day  I  understood  by 
the  freedman  iEgypta,  that  your  wife  and  daugh- 
ter were  in  very  good  health,  but  that  letter  came 
to  my  hand  thirteen  days  after  its  date.  I  am  ob- 
liged to  you  for  sending  me  the  letter  you  receiv- 
ed from  Brutus.  I  have  sent  back  the  original  to 
you  with  a  copy  of  my  answer  annexed.  I  would 
comply  with  your  reasons  for  preferring  Tuscu- 
lanum,  unless  indeed  you  can  find  another  situa- 
tion more  eligible,  which  you  would  find,  if  you 
set  upon  me  the  value,  which  you  profess  to  do. 
Vol.  III.  F  It 


^« 


CICEilOis  EPISTLES 


it  IS  true  you  are  very  sagacious  in  contriving ; 
yet  unless  you  feblcgreiat  care  in  humouring  the 
strong  passion  I  feel,  so  happy  an  expedient 
liever  could  have  come  into  your  mind.  But,  I 
Tcnow  not  how  it  is,  I  want  a  place  that  is  greatly 
frequented.  It  is  therefore  requisite  that  you 
find  me  out  a  seat  near  town. 

The  seat  of   Scapula  is  very  public.     Besides 
1ft *^''so  near  Rome,  that  it  will  not  take  me  a 
whole  day  to  travel  betwixt  both  places.     I  wish 
tlierefore^  that  before  you  come  away,  you  could 
speak  with  Otho,  if  he  is  at  ^ome.     If  that  pro- 
posal should  not  succeed,  I  must  carry  the  hu- 
mour I  have  beyond  your  usual  patience  with 
it,  and  put  you  in  a  passion.     For  I  must  again 
repeat  it,  that   Drusus^  certainly  is  willing  to 
sell  his  seat.     If  no  other  can  be  had,  it  shall  not 
be  niy  fault,  if  I  do  not  purchase  that     I  beg  you 
will  take  care  that  I  be  not  overreached  in  this 
'bargain.     Now  there  is  one  effectual  way  to  pro- 
vide against  this,  and  that  is,  by  endeavouring  to 
purchase  ifrom  Scapula,  and  I  hope  you  will  let 
ine  know,  how  long  you  intend  to  be   at  your 
country  scat  near  Rome. 

I  have  occasion  to  make  use  of  the  interest  and 

'weight  which  you  have  with  Terentia,  but  you 

inay  iio  asyou  think  proper;  as  I  am  setisible 

that 


1  Atticos  was  a  great  manager,  and  was  very  unwillicg  that 
our  author  should  pay  too  dear  for  this  whim. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


<57 


that  when  my  interest  is  concerned,  you  are  at 
greater  pains  than  I  ajn  myj^elf.  I  have  a  letter 
from  Hirtius  informing  me,  that  Sextus  Pompeius 
has  Jeft  Cprdua,  and  has  retreated  into  the  f^r* 
ther  Spaing  and  that  his  brother  Cnaeus  is  fled, 
I  know  not,  because  I  care  not  whither.  We 
have  nothii;ig  else  that  is  new  in  Hirtius's  letter, 
which  is  dated  from  Narbonne  the  18th  of  April. 
You  write  to  me  concerning  the  shipwreck  of 
Caninius  ^,  as  if  it  were  a  matter  of  doubt  with 
you.  You  will,  therefore,  write  me  when  yoi^ 
are  better  informed.  You  desire  me  to  shake  off 
my  melancholy.  It  would  give  me  great  relief, 
could  you  find  me  a  spot  for  my  temple.  Many 
notions  concerning  the  consecration  of  my  daugh- 
ter, crowd  into  my  head,  but  we  must  first  make 
ourselves  sure  of  the  spot.  I  therefore,  b^g  that 
,you  wo\ild  talk  with  Otho. 

£PISTI,£ 


•  *  This  was  a  part  of  Spain  which  was  nearest  the  Gauls^  apd 
this  passage  shows  this  Je^er  to  have  been  written,  after  the.  last 
defeat  of  ^e  Pompeian  party  in  l^pain.  Sextius  Pompeius  wa* 
at  Cordua,  when  that  battle  was  fought  against  his  brother 
CnaBUs,  who,  after  losing  the  battle,  embarked  on  b»ard  his 
fleet,  which  was  burnt  by  Didius,  CaKiar's  lieutenant,  and 
Cnaeus  himself,  after  receiving  several  wounds,  being  aban- 
4oned  by  all  his  followers,  was  found  concealed  in  a  cavtrn, 
where  his  head  was  cut  off  and  carried  to  Caesar. 
« .  Jhis  ^ews.  was^felse. 

F2 


V 


Gfi 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  XXXVIII. 

Your  not  writing  to  me,  I  take  to  be  an  infal- 
lible sign  of  your  being  very  much  busied.     But 
my  servant  has  acted  contrary  to  my  wishes  in 
not  waiting  for  your  conveniency,  that  being  the 
single  purpose  for  which  he  was  dispatched.     At 
present,  unless  you  have  been  detained  by  some 
extraordinary  business,  you  probably,  are  at  your 
•:country-seat,  while  I  here  spend  whole  days  m 
writing,  by  which  I  gain  some  amusement  to  my 
mind,'^but  no   relief  to  my   sorrows.      Asinius 
PoUio  has  written  to  me  concerning  my  unwor- 
thy kinsman  \  and  he  speaks  very  fully  upon  what 
the  younger  Balbus  had  sufficiently  intimated,  and 
•  Dolabella  had  but  just  sufficiently  hinted  at  be- 
fore.   It  would  affect  me  sensibly,  had  I,  indeed, 
any  sensibility  left  for  fresh  affliction.    Cut  could 
there  be  anv  thing  more  dishonourable?— How 
is  such  a  wretch  to  be  avoided  ?— But  for  my  own 
part  at  least— I  will,  however,  restrain  my  indig- 
nation.—As,  my  friend,  you  have  nothing  mate- 
rial to  write  ;  even  write  me  what  and  when  you 
please,  at  your  leisure. 

You  are  of  opinion  that  I  ought  now  to  prove 
the  greatness  of  my  resolution  ;  and  you  tell  me, 

that 

1  Meaning  his  nephew  Quintus,  who  was  at  that  time  with 
Caesar  in  Spain,  and  continued  to  rail  against  our  author. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


69^ 


that  certain  persons  talk  concerning  me,  in  more 
severe  terms  than  either  you  or  Brutus,  have  in- 
formed me  by  your  letters \     If  some  people  in 

the 


1  This  hints  at  a  most  villainous  report,  raised  by  our  author's 
enemies,  as  if  soraetiiing  criminal  had  passed  between  him  and 
his  daughter,  whom  he  so  passionately  bewailed.  Tliis  report 
was  by  no  means  discouraged  in  the  court  of  Augustus,  wliere 
our  author  seems  to  have  been  held  in  great  contempt.  The. 
truth  is,  that  prince  had  reason  to  be  ashamed  of  his  behaviour 
to  Cicero,  and  might  seek  to  justify  himself  by  loading  his  me- 
mory, not  only  with  weaknesses,  which  he  really  had,  but  with 
imputations  that  he  did  not  deserve.  It  was  generally  thought, 
at  that  time,  that  Virgil  alluded  to  our  author  in  the  follow- 
in  line,  ^  ^ 

Hie  thalamum  invasit  natce  vetitosque  hymenceos. 

And  it  is  certain,  that  he  was  more  directly  charged  with  the 
same  crime  by  otlier  writers,  particularly  by  Sallust,  or  who- 
ever was  the  author  of  the  invective  against  him.  But  after 
all,  the  charge  seems  to  have  been  false  and  malicious.  Our 
author  had  great  sensibility  of  distress,  of  friendship,  and,  above 
all,  of  affection.  This  carried  him  often  into  extravagancies 
which  were  extremely  ridiculous  j  witness  his  excessive  despon- 
dency during  his  exile.  This  concern  for  his  daughter  was  gf 
the  same  kind.  But  whoever  will  be  at  the  pains  to  consult  the 
human  heart,  cannot  find  in  our  author's  behaviour,  the  smallest 
trace  of  an  unnatural  correspondence  with  his  daughter.  He 
was  a  man  of  sense  and  learning,  and  however  passionately 
fond  we  can  suppose  such  a  man  to  be  of  a  womnn  in  a  crimi- 
nal way,  sorrow  for  her  death  will  never  take  such  a  turn  as 
that  of  our  author's  did,  by  worshipping  her,  in  a  manner,  with 
divine  honours,  and  assigning  her  a  place  with  the  souls  of  the 
just  and  the  virtuous  in  the  other  world.     At  the  samtj  time 

•when 


'^  CICERO'S  f KSTtfS 

tfie  world  Tdoft  upon  my  spirit  to  be  broken,  find 
my  senses  impaired,  let  them  be  made  acquainted 
with  the  number  and  the  quality  of  my  literary 
compositions.  Ifthey  are  rational  beings,  they  will 
think  me  far  from  being  blameable,   since  I  am 
already  so  far  recovered,  as  to  bring  my  mind  to 
such  a  composed  state  as  to  be  able  to  write  on 
difficult    subjects.      Or  supposing  that  I  have 
chosen,  as  an  amusement  for  my  grief,  an  exer- 
cise the  most  becoming  of  a  gentleman,  ^nd  a 
man  of  letters,  they  think  that  I  am  to  be  com- 
mended for  it.     But  while  1  do  every  thing  I  can 
for  my  own  relief,  do  you  complete  that  point 
which,  I  perceive,  you  are  as  zealous  abotit  as  I 
am  myself.     This  I  look  upon  as  a  debt  I  have 
contracted ;  nor  can  I  admit  of  comfort  till  1 
have  discharged  it,  or  at  least  see  myself  in  a  con- 

dition 

when  we  consider  oar  antfidr's  natural  disposition;  the  amiable 
character,  and  the  fine  qualifications  of  a  daughter,  who  was  the 
darling  of  his  soul,  and  who  answered  the  fondest  wishes  of  a 
fond  father;  a  daughter,  whose  company  soothed  all  his  other 
anguish,  we  cannot  be  surprised  at  the  excess  of  his  affliction 
for  her  loss.     But  there  is  one  presumption  not  taken  notice  of 
by  authors,  which,  I  think,  entirely  destroys  the  vile  imputa- 
tion, and    that  is,  that    notwithstanding    she  had  been  two 
6r  three  times  divorced,  we  do  not  find  the  smallest  taint  upon 
her  character  as  to  chastity,  though  we  cannot  imagine  if  ther« 
had,  that  it  would  have  been  concealed  either  to,  or  by  her  hus- 
bands.    Add  to  this,  that  her  last  husband  Dolabella,  even  after 
bis  divorce,  lived  in  as  great  friendship  with  our  author  as  be- 
fore, a  circumstance  utterly  inconsistent  with  the  nature  of  the 
charge  in  question. 


TO  ATTigUS. 


V 


dition  tD  discharge  it,  that  is^  by  finding  %  s|ot 
fiuitabie  to  my  purpose, 

^  If^as  you  write  to  me,  Otho  told  you  the  heirs  of 
Scapula  think  of  dividing  those  gardens  into  four 
parts,  and  then  peremptorily  selling  them  to  the 
best  bidder  amongst  themselves  \  there  will  be 
no  room  for  any  other  purchaser.      But  if  the 
sale,  as  it  possibly  may,  should  be  open,  we  s^all 
then  have  our  chance.     For  I  had  the  refusal  of 
that  estate,  which  was  advertised  for  sale  ^,  and 
which  belonged  to  Trebonius  and  Cusinius,  but 
you  know  upon  what  kind  of  a  spot  it  is  situated, 
and  I  can,  by  no  means,  approve  of  it.     The  gar- 
dens of  Clodia  would  suit  me  extremely  well, 
but  I  believe  they  are  not  to  be  sold.     Notwith- 
standing you  are  so  averse,  as  you  write  me,  to 
purchasing  the  gardens  of  Drusus,  yet  I  must  be 
content  with  them,  unless  you  can  find  me  out 
some  others.     I  am  not  alarmed  at  the  house 
being  what  it  is.     For  I  will  build  nothing  but 
what  I  would  have  built,  had  I  not  made  that 
purchase.     I  am  as  much  pleased  with  the  fourth 
and  fifth  books  of  the  work  entitled  Cyrus,  com- 
posed 

•  Orig,  Heredes  Scapuke,  sistos  hortos,  ut  scribis  till  otho' 
nem  dixisst,  par  HI  us  quatuor  factis,  liceri  cqgitant :  nihil  est 
scilicet  emptori  loci.  The  case  must  have  been,  as  I  have 
translated  this  passage,  and  indeed  the  word  liceri  implies  it. 

*  There  are  a  great  number  of  readings  here  in  the  original. 
I  read  Publicatus  after  the  most  ancient  editions. 


72 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


posed  by  Antisthenes  \  as  I  am  with  the  other 
works  of  that  author,  who  is  a  nan  of  more 
acuteness  than  learning. 


EPISTLE   XXXIX. 

W  HEN  my  messenger  returned  to  me  without 
a  letter  from  you,  I  thought  the  reason  of  your 
not  v^riting,  was,  because  you  had  written  tlie  day 
before  upon  the  very  business,  to  \^  hich  I  have 
sent  you  an  answer  in  my  last  letter^  I  was  in 
hopes,  however,  of  having  something  from  you 
concerning  the  letter  of  Asinius  Poilio ;  but  I  am 
too  apt  to  form  a  judgment  of  your  leisure  by  my 
own.  I  therefore  indulge  you  in  not  thinking 
yourself  under  any  necessity  of  writing  to  me, 
unless  you  have  something  very  important  to 
communicate,  or  unless  you  are  very  much  at  lei- 
sure. I  would  take  your  advice  concerning  the 
letter-carriers,  had  I  any  dispatches  of  impor- 
tance, especially,  as  when  the  days  were  shorter, 
our  expresses  arrived  daily  at  the  appointed  hour. 

Then 

1  They  are  mentioned  in  the  catalogue  given  us  by  Dioge- 
nes Laertius  of  the  works  of  this  author,  who  was  a  Cynic 
philosopher. 

2  Orig.  Mac  Epistoia.  I  should,  from  this  expression,  be  in- 
clined id  think  this  letter  to  have  been  a  kind  of  postscript  to 
the  foregoing,  after  the  arrival  of  a  messenger  without  any  let- 
ters from  Atticus. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


7S 


Then  indeed,  w^e  had  matter  for  dispatches;  we 
wrote  concerning  Silius,  Drusus,  and  other  af- 
fairs, but  now,  unless  Otho  had  been  in  bciivT, 
we  should  have  had  nothing  to  write  upon.  Yet 
at  present,  even  that  aftair  is  suspended  by  thus 
conversing  with  you  in  your  absence.  Rut  still 
I  am  much  relieved,  and  much  more,  whe  i  I  pe- 
ruse a  letter  from  you.  But  as  I  suppose  you 
are  not  now  at  Rome,  and  as  we  have  nothing  of 
importance  to  communicate,  let  us  suspend 
writing  till  something  new  shall  occur. 


EPISTLE  XL. 

Jr  ROM  a  book  sent  me  by  Hirtius,  in  which  he 
has  collected  the  faults  of  Cato,  hut  launches 
into  excessive  commendation  of  me,  I  can  gather 
in  what  respects  Ca?sar  will  censure  my  pane- 
gyric upon  Cato.  I  have  therefore  sent  the  book 
to  Musca,  that  he  might  give  it  to  your  transcri- 
bers; for  I  want  that  it  should  be  published,  and 
I  beg  you  to  command  your  people,  that  it  may 
be  done  with  all  possible  dispaPtch.  I  have  often 
attempted  to  address  Caesar  a  plan  how  to  re- 
gulate the  commonwealth^;  but  I  cannot  succeed 

to 


*  Orig.  IviA^HXivTiKov .  Consilium  dc  administravda  rep. 
This  was  a  very  noble  design,  and  suggested  toour  author  by  Atti- 
cus^ and  it  i%  tube  lamented^  that  it  never  wascKCcuted  by  him. 


74  CICERO  S  EPISTLES 

to  my  wishes,  though  I  have  before  me,  the  dj*- 
courses  addressed  by  Aristotle  and  Theopompus 
to  Alexander.  But  what  parallel  is  there  ber 
tween  our  situations?  What  they  wrote  did 
honour  to  themselves,  and  gave  pleasure  to 
their  patron.  Do  you  discover  any  point  in 
which  the  circumstances  of  the  present  are  si- 
milar to  those  times  ;  for  my  part,  I  93,11  perceive 

no  such  resemblance- 

You  express  your  apprehension,  that  the  indul- 
gence of  my  melancholy  will  impair    both  my 
interest  and  my  reputation.     What  men  blame  or 
require  I  know  not.     Shall  I  not  grieve  ?     How 
can  I  do  otherwise  ?     Shall  I  not  be  dejected  ? 
Was  ever  a  man  less  so  ?     While  I  had  the  re- 
Kef  of  living  in  your  house,  was  any  man  denied 
access  to  me !     Or  did  any  man  whom  I  saw 
complain  of  his  reception  ?     From,  your  hous^ 
1  wcntto  Astura.  Those  capricious  men,  who  find 
feult  with  me,  canaot  read  so  much  as  I  hav^ 
written  in  that  place.     How  well,  is  not  the  ques- 
lira.     But  the  subject  was  such,  as  no  man  in  a 
dejected  state  of  mind  could  well   4iscuss.     I 
afterwards  spent   thirty  days  at  my  seat  near 
Rome,  and  where  was  the  man,  during  all  th^.! 
time,  who  complained  of  any  difficulty  in  either 
having  access  or  conversation  with  me?     At  thi^ 
very  ttme,  my  application  to  reading  and  writing 
is  such,  and  upon  such  subjects,   that  they  who 
are  about  me,   feel  more  perplexities  from  their 
kisure,  than  I  from  my  labour.     But  some  one 

may 


TO  ATITCrS. 


71 


may  ask,  why  am  I  not  at  Rome?  I  answer,  be- 
cause all  other  men  of  distinction  have  left  it^ 
Then,  why  am  I  not  upon  some  of  my  estates 
w^hich  suit  with  this  season  ?  I  answer,  because 
I  cannot  bear  to  see  so  much  company.  I  am  at 
aplacewhere  the  man"  who  has  the  most  agreeable 
retirement  at  Baiae,  used  every  year  to  spend  the 
season.  When  I  shall  ret  irn  to  Rome,  1  will 
give  no  handle  to  find  fault  with  me,  eitlier  ivom 
my  looks  or  my  words.  But  never  more  can  1 
resume  that  cheerfulness,  with  which  we  used  to 
sweeten  the  bitterness  of  the  times  in  which  \vt 
live;  yet,  resolution  and  steadiness  shall  be  want- 
ing, neither  in  my  soul  nor  in  my  expressions. 

As  to  the  gardens  of  Scapula,  I  think  you  and 
I  may  have  interest  enough  to  bring  them  to  be 
put  to  sale.  Unless  we  can  do  that,  we  shall  be 
excluded  from  bidding.  But  should  they  come 
to  an  auction,  my  eagerness  would  go  much  far- 
ther than  Otho's  purse.  As  to  what  you  write 
me  concerning  Lentulus,  the  matter  does  not  rest 
there.  If  I  can  depend  upon  the  Faberian  es- 
tate, and  if  you  continue  your  friendly  efforts, 
I  shall  obtain  what  I  wish  for.  You  ask  me  how 
long  I  am  to  continue  here.  I  answer,  a  few 
days;  but  the  precise  day  when  I  shall  leave  this 
place,  I  know  not ;  when  I  do,  I  shall  inform  vou 

'by 

^  Orig.  Qua  discessus  est, 
*  Meaning  probably  Lucullus. 


K 


^ 


I 


76 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


by  a  letter.  Oral  and  written  accounts,  respect- 
ing your  wife  and  daughter,  and  agreeing  with 
those  which  you  write  to  me,  are  circulated  in 
this  place. 


EPISTLE  XLL 

I  HAVE  nothing  material  to  write  to  you,  but  I 
want  to  know  where  you  are.     Let  me,  therefore, 
tnow  if  you  are  from  Rome?  or  if  you  intend  to 
leave  it,  when  you  are  to  return?     You  want  to 
tnow  when  I  leave  this  place.     I  think  of  being; 
on  the  14th  at  Lanuvium,  and  the  day  after  that^ 
to  be  at  Tusculanum,  or  at  Rome,  you  shall  know 
which,  on  the  very  day  I  am  determined.     You 
tnow  that  sorrow  is  apt  to  be  peevish ;  you  have 
felt  no  such  effects  from  mine.     But  still,  I  own 
my  passion  for  this  temple  to  be  very  strong; 
unless,  I  will  not  say,  it  should  be  effected,  but, 
unless  I  shall  see  it  effexrted,  I  will  venture  ^o  say, 
and  you  will  take  it  with  your  usual  goodnature, 
you  will  feel  the  effects  of  my  grief.     Not  that 
they  are  justifiable,  but  you  will  bear  with  what 
I  now  write,  as  you  bear,  and  have  borne  with, 
every  thing  that  comes  from  me. 

I  desire  that  you  would  regard  all  the  means 
jou  have  of  affording  me  consolation,  as  con- 
centrated in  obtaining  for  me  the  object  which  I 

passionately 


TO  ATTICUS. 


77 


passionately  desire.  Endeavour,  in  the  first 
place,  to  procure  the  seat  of  Scapula ;  next,  that  of 
Clodia;  and  lastly,  if  Silius  should  be  unwilling, 
and  Drusus  unreasonable,  that  of  Cusinius  and 
Trebonius;  I  think  that  Terentius  is  its  present 
OTivner;  I  know  that  Ribilus  was.  But,  if  you  are 
in  the  same  mind  which  you  intimated  in  some 
of  your  letters  to  me,  that  I  should  build  my  tem- 
ple at  Tusculanum,  I  will  agree  to  it  If  you 
want  to  give  me  comfort,  let  this  affair  be  com- 
pleted. At  present,  you  reproach  me  more 
severely  than  is  consistent  with  your  usual  good- 
nature. But  that,  perhaps,  has  been  abused 
through  my  weakness,  and  what  you  do  is  from 
excess  of  affection.  But,  in  the  meantime,  if 
you  w^ant  to  comfort  me,  the  building  of  this 
temple  is  the  highest,  nay,  if  you  would  know 
the  truth,  the  only  comfort  I  can  admit  of. 

When  you  have  read  the  letter  to  Hirtius, 
which  to  me  appears  to  be  a  specimen  of  the  in- 
vective written  by  Caesar  against  Cato,  let  me 
know<  at  your  leisure,  what  you  think  of  it  I 
now  return  to  my  temple.  Unless  it  shall  be 
^nished  this  summer,  which  you  see  w^e  have  all 
before  us,  I  shall  think  myself  guilty  of  having 
violated  a  religious  vow. 


EPISTLE 


?s 


CICEBCrS  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  XLII. 

I  Ni^vFftyet  have  been  one  day  disappointed 
when  I  expected  to  hear  from  you  ;  for  Lknew 
what  you  write  to  me,  and  I  suspected,  or  rather 
I  understood   that  you  had   nothing  to  write. 
Ever  since  the  10th  of  this  month,  I  suppose  you 
have  been  from  Rome,  and  therefore,  could  ex- 
pect nothing  from  you.     Meanwhile,  I  send  you 
a  letter  every  day,  for  I  had  rather  be  imperti- 
nent than  that  you  should  be  without  an  oppor- 
trinity  of  writing  to  me,  in  case  any  thing  should 
occur  which  you    may  think  proper   I   should 
tnow.     Thus,   I  received  on  the   10th  a  letter 
from  you,  which  was  of  little  or  no  consequence, 
and  indeed,  what  could  you  say?     And  yet,  the 
contents,  such  as  they  were,  gave  me  pleasure. 
It,  gives  me  pleasure  to  hear  from  you,  were  it 
only  to  know  that  you  have  nothing  to  say.  You 
wrote    however,     something    concerning    Clo- 
dia.     Where  is  she,  or  when  will  she  come  to 
Rome  ?     Her  seat  next  to  that  of  Otho  accords  the 
best  with  my  purpose.     But  I  do  not  suppose 
that  she  will  be  willing  to  sell  it;  for  she  has  a 
fancy  for  it,  and  she  is  rich,  and  you  are  not  m- 
sensible  what  difficulties  attend  the  other  bar- 
gain.    But  I  conjure  you,  to  contrive  some  ex- 
pedient for  obtaining  what  I  so  passionately  de- 
sire? 


TO  ATtK3tJS- 


75 


Bir6.  I'ihink  of  leaving  this  place  to-morrow, 
iBut  I  will  gb  either  to  Tusculanum,  or  to  Rome, 
frothi^en(^e  I  may,  perhaps,  set  out  for  Arpinum. 
HV^en  I  come  tb  any  resolution,  I  will  let  you 
■fefibw  by  a  letter.  I  could  not  help  instigatitig 
'ja^uto  do  the  very  thing  that  you  are  doing;  for 
1  thou|;htthdt  you  could  go  through  that  affair 
wote  (conveniently  at  "your  own  house,  ^hen  you 
aire  free  from  all  interruption. 


EPISTLE  XLIIL 


V-In  the  14th,  as  I  formerly  wrote  to  you,  I  pro- 
posed to  sleep  at  Lanuvium,  from  whence  I  set 
out  either  for  Rome  or  Tusculanum.  But  I  will 
let  you  know  beforehand.  You  observe  a  judi- 
cious silence  as  to  my  receiving  great  relief  from 
the  temple  I  propose  to  build,  since,  take  my 
word  for  it,  it  will  be  greater  than  you  can  pos- 
sibly conceive.  My  very  venturing  to  lay  myself 
open  to  you,  is  a  proof  how  passionately  fond  I 
am  of  the  thing,  but  you  must  bear  with  this  mj 
infirmity ;  bear  with  it,  did  I  say  ?  Nay,  you 
must  encourage  it  I  am  afraid  I  shall  fail  as  to 
Otho,  because,  perhaps,  I  am  so  desirous  of  suc- 
ceeding, besides,  the  purchase  may  cost  more  than 
I  can  afford,  especially  as  my  competitor  i5  himself 
fond  of  the  seat,  a  rich  man,  and  one  of  the  heirs. 

Next 


%0 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


Next. to  that  seat,  I  have  an  eye  to  that  of 
Clodia.  But  if  it  cannot  be  had,  let  me  have 
some  one  or  other.  I  think  myself  more  sacredly 
bound  than  man  ever  was  by  the  most  solemn 
vow.  You  are  likewise  to  inquire  after  the  seat 
of  the  Trebonii,  though  the  owners  are  not  at 
Rome.  But,  as  I  wrote  to  you  yesterday,  you 
are  to  bestow  some  thoughts  about  Tusculanum ; 
for  we  must  by  no  means  let  the  summer  pass  m- 
active. 


EPISTLE  XLIV. 

It  gives  me  satisfaction  that  Ilirtius  has  so  feel- 
ingly  written  to  you  concerning  me.     In  this  he 
acts  with  good  nature ;  but  I  have  still  greater 
satisfaction  in  your  having  acted   with  so  much 
greater  good-nature,  in  not  sending  to  me  his 
letter,  which  might  have  renewed  my  griefs     I 
should  be  glad  that  your  people  would  publish 
the  treatise  which  he  has  sent  to  me  concerning 
Cato,  because  all  invectives  from  the  opposite  par- 
ty  does  honour  to  the  memory  of  that  patriot.    In 
yourmakinguse  of  Mustella,  you  have  a  very  pro- 
DeracTent,andonc  who  has  had  a  great  regard  for 
^       °  me 

1  I  have  added  these  words  as  well  as  Monsieur  Mongault 
has  others,  the  better  to  explain  this  passage. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


81 


me  ever  since  the  affair  of  Pontius.  There  is  no 
other  difficulty  than  to  have  the  sale  open.  It  may, 
therefore,  be  easy  for  you  to  come  to  some  con^ 
elusion,  as  this  may  be  effected  by  gaining  over 
anyone  of  the  heirs.  I  think,  Mustella  can  bring 
about  this,  if  you  ask  it  of  him.  You  will 
thereby  furnish  me  with  a  place  proper  for  the 
purpose  upon  which  I  am  bent,  and  likewise  a 
suitable  employment  for  my  old  age.  As  to  the 
seats  of  Silius  and  Drusus,  I  think  a  man  cannot 
spend  his  time  and  fortune  in  them  with  any 
grace;  for  who  would  be  confined  for  whole  days 
to  such  a  villa  ?  Therefore,  I  should,  in  the  first 
place,  choose  the  seat  of  Otho,  and  next,  that  of 
Clodia.  If  we  can  get  neither,  we  must  either  use 
some  management  with  Drusus,  or  I  must  build 
at  Tusculanum. 

You  are  in  the  right  to  shut  yourself  up  at 
home.  But  I  beg  you  will  finish  what  you  are 
about,  that  you  may  have  some  leisure  hours  to 
spare  upon  me.  I  am  to  set  out,  as  I  wrote  to 
you  before,  from  hence  to  Lanuvium  on  the  14th 
instant,  and  from  thence  to  Tusculanum  next 
day.  For  I  have  laboured  to  get  the  better  of 
this  despondency,  and  have,  perhaps,  succeeded, 
provided  I  can  persevere ;  you  shall,  therefore, 
be  informed  perhaps,  to-morrow  or  next  day 
at  farthest.  But  what,  I  beg  of  you,  is  the  mat- 
ter?    Philotimus  denies  that  Pompey  is  bloc- 

Vot.  III.  Q  kaded 


82 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUa 


8a 


kaded  witliin  Carteia* ;  (now  Oppius  and  Balbus 
sent  me  the  copy  of  a  letter  written  to  Clodius 
Patavinus,  expressly  in  the  affirmative,)  and  he 
says,  there  is  a  great  deal  yet  to  go  through  be- 
fore the   war  can  be   fini&hed.     Why,  he  is  the 
very  ape  of  Fulvius'  in  spreading  false  reports 
for  Ponipcy.     But  I  beg  you  will  inform  me,  if 
you  know  any  thing  for  certain.     I  likewise  want 
to  know,  if  there  is  any  truth  in  Caninius  being 
shipwrecked. 


EPISTLE  XLV. 

I  HAVE  here  finished  two  large  treatises,  for  I 
have  no  other  method  of  amusing  my  sorrows. 
I  see  you  have  nothing  to  write ;  but  though  you 
have  not,  yet  still  I  would  have  you  write  me 
that  you  have  nothing,  only  putting  it  in  other 
words.  I  am  glad  of  Attica  s  recovery.  I  am 
sorry  at  your  being  so  low-spirited,  though  you 
write  me,  that  there  is  nothing  in  it  It  will  be 
much  more  convenient  for  me  to  live  at  Tuscu- 
lanum,  both  because  I  can  more  frequently  cor- 

respond 

1  Some  place  this  city  in  Boetica,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river 
BoBtis ;  others  think  it  stood  where  Gibraltar  does  now. 

2  Orig.  Fulvimaster.  Oar  author  has,  in  a  preceding  letter, 
taken  notice  how  apt  this  Philotimus  was  to  exaggerate  every 
tkAi^  in  favour  of  Pompey's  party  ;  and  this  Fnlvius  probably 
was  a  person  eminent  for  the  same  quality. 


respond  with  you,  and  sometimes  enjoy  ypur 
company.  In  other  respects,  things  suited  me 
better  at  Astura.  Nor  can  the  objects^  here, 
that  recal  the  ideas  of  my  loss,  increase  my  an- 
guish ;  for  I  carry  that  about  with  me,  go  where 
I  will.  I  mentioned  Caesar  being  your  neigh- 
bour from  the  circumstances  you  wrote  me  in 
your  letter.  I  am  pleased  that  the  temple^  of 
Quirinus  should  be  appropriated  to  him,  rather 
than  that  of  the  goddess  of  health.  Do  not 
you,  however,  neglect  to  publish  the  writing 
of  Hirtius.  For,  I  think,  as  you  write,  that 
however  the  genius  of  our  friend  may  be  admired 
and  approved  of,  yet  still  to  attempt  an  invective 
against  Cato,  must  be  held  ridiculous. 

EPISTLJt 

^  Tullia  died  in  our  author's  house  at  Tusculanum,  where 
he  was  when  he  wrote  this  letter. 

2  2yi»vacoy,  properly  speaking,  is  one  of  two  gods,  who  had 
a  temple  dedicated  to  them  in  common,  or  were  co-inhabitants 
of  the  same  temple. — E. 

3  The  reader  is  here  to  observe,  that  after  Caesar  had  entirely 
vanquished  the  party  of  Pompey,  the  senate  carried  their  adtila- 
tion  of  him  so  far  as  to  erect  a  statue  for  him  in  the  temple  of 
Romulus,  with  the  inscription  Deo  invicto.  As  the  house  of  At- 
ticus  stood  near  the  temple  of  Romulus,  and  that  of  the  Bea 
Salus,  or  goddess  of  health  likewise ;  our  author  expresses  him- 
self better  pleased  that  Caesar's  statue  should  be  placed  in  the 
first  temple  than  in  the  latter,  for  Romulus  was  not  made  a 
god,  nor  had  he  the  name  of  Quirinus  till  after  his  death,  which 
gur  author  alludes  to  in  this  passage. 

G2 


84 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


85 


EPISTLE  XLVL 

I  BELIEVE  I  shall  get  the  better  of  my  despon- 
dency, and  go  from  Lanuvium  to  Tusculanum. 
I  either  never  must  again  enjoy  myself  at  that 
seat  (for  my  grief  may  be  diminished,  but  never 
can  it  cease)  or  it  is  immaterial  to  me  whether  I 
go  thither  now,  or  ten  years  hence.     For  the  re- 
membrances I  shall  meet  with  there,  cannot  be 
more  sensible   than  those  which  1  am  tortured 
with  night  and  day.     How  then,  say  you,  has 
study  had  no  effect  upon  you  in  this  affair?     I 
am  afraid  none,  but  for  the  worse.     Were  it  not 
for  letters,  I  should,  perhaps,  be  more  insensible. 
A  mind  that  is  refined  by  cultivation  has  no  sen- 
sations that  are  vulgar ;  it  has  no  feelings,  but 
what  are  exquisite. 


EPISTLE  XLVII. 

Well,  you  will  come  hither  as  you  have  pro- 
.posed,  provided  you  can  do  it  without  incom- 
moding yourself.  Even  the  smallest  hint  will  be 
sufficie'nt  to  me  in  that  affair,  nay,  I  would  go 
to  Rome  in  person,  were  it  necessary.  You 
may,  therefore,  manage  as  you  see  proper,  and 
speak   to    Mustella,     as   you  propose    in   your 

letter, 


letter,  though  it  is  a  matter  of  great  difficulty; 
for  which  reason  I  am  the  more,  inclined  to  treat 
with   Clodia.      In  either  case,  however,  I  must 
call  in  the  debt  due  to  me  from  Faberius,  and  if 
will  not  be  amiss,  that  you  speak  to  Balbus  con- 
cerning it,  to  let  him  know  the  plain  truth  of  the 
matter,  that  I  want  to  make  that  purchase,  but 
cannot  do  it,  unless  I  receive  that  money,  and  that 
I  will  not  venture  to  conclude  upon  any  thing, 
unless  I  am  sure  of  receiving  it.     But  as  Clodia 
is  at  Rome,  and  as  you  are  so  much  for  that  bar- 
'   gain,  I  have  fixed  my  mind  entirely  on  her  seajt. 
Not  that  I  prefer  it  to  the  other,  but  it  is  very 
difficult  and  disagreeable  to   contend   with  an 
opponent,  who,  besides  his  having  a  fancy  for 
it,  is  a  rich  man,  and  one   of  the  heirs.     It  is 
true,  I  have  as  great  a  desire  to  purchase  it,  as 
any  man  can   have,   which  is  the  only  circum- 
stance in  which  we  arc  upon  an  equality.     But 
w^e  will  talk  of  this  when  we  meet.  You  will  pro- 
ceed to  publish  the  writings  of  Hirtius.     I  am  of 
your  opinion  with  regard  to  Philotimus.    Caesaf  s 
neighbourhood,  I  foresee,  will  raise  the  value  of 
your  house.     To-day  I  look  for  the  return  of  my 
express,  who  will  bring  me   an  account  of  your 
wife  and  daughter. 


EPISTLE 


86 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  XLVIII. 

1  MAKE  no  doubt  of  the  satisfaction  you  feel  in 
being  at  home.  I  should,  however,  be  glad  to 
know  what  progress  you  have  made,  or  whether 
^ou  have  not  yet  finished.  I  look  for  you  at  Tusr 
culanum,  and  the  rather,  because  you  had  writ- 
ten to  Tyro,  that  you  were  to  set  out  without 
delay,  adding,  that  you  thought  your  imn^ediate 
departure  necessary.  I  ^m  always  sensible  how 
serviceable  you  have  been  to  me,  while  you  arc 
present ;  but  I  am  much  more  sensible  of  it  when 
you  are  gone.  Therefore,  as  I  wrote  you  before, 
1  will  either  wholly  come  to  you,  or  do  you  tq 
me,  as  shall  be  most  convenient 


EPISTLE  XLIX. 

Yesterday,  soon  after  we  parted,  you  must 
know  that  some  people,  who  seemed  to  be  men 
of  fashion,  brought  me  a  message,  and  a  letter 
from  Caius  Marius\  whose  father  and  grandfather 
were  of  the  same  name,  conjuring  me  in  the  most 

earnest 

J  This  person  was  an  imposter,  and  wanted  to  pass  for  the 
son  of  the  younger  Marius,  and  consequently  to  be  related  to 
our  author,  whose  grandfather  had  married  the  aunt  of  Marius. 
He  must  likewise,  have  been  related  to  the  family  of  Crassus^ 
and  to  Caesar  himself. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


87 


earnest^terms,  by  the  mutual  relation  between  us, 
by  the  Marius  whom  I  celebrated  in  my  poem  \ 
and  by  the  eloquence  of  his  grandfather  Lucius 
Crassus,  that  I  would  defend  him ;  and,  at  the 
same  time  he  instructed  me  in  his  cause.     I  wrote 
him  in  answer,  that  he  had  no  occasion  for  any 
body  to  plead  for  him,   because  Csesar  his  kins- 
man was  absolute  master  of  Rome,  a  man  of  the 
greatest  worth,  learning,  and  good  breeding.     I 
told  him,  however,  that  I  would  stand  his  friend. 
Could  I  ever  believe  that  I  should  live  to  see 
the  time  when  Curtius  would  have  the  presump- 
tion to  think  of  standing  for  the  consulate.     But 
enough  of  that;  I  am  concerned  about  Tyro, 
but  I  will  soon  know  how  he  does.     I  sent  a  per- 
son yesterday  on  purpose  to  see  him,   and  like- 
wise charged  him  with  a  letter  for  you.     I  have 
sent  you  my  letter  to  Caesar.     I  beg  you  would 
let  me  know  by  a  letter  the  precise  day,  when  the 
gardens  are  advertised  for  sale. 


EPISTLE  L. 

Your  departure  from  heijce  gave  me  as  much 
pain,  as  your  arrival  here  gave  me  pleasure. 
Therefore,  as  soon  as  you  can,  that  is,  as  soon 
as  you  have  attended  Sextus's  auction,  you  will 
let  me  see  you  again.  Even  one  day  of  your  com- 
pany 

*  Some  fragments  of  this  poem  still  remain. 


m 


88 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


89 


pany  would  be  of  service.     I  shall  not  lyention 
how  kindly  I  would  take  it.    I  myself  would  come 
to  Rome,  that  I  might  enjoy  your  conversatiouy; 
were  I  sufficiently  informed  how  to  proceed   iu 
a  certain  affair. 


EPISTLE  LI. 

X  YRO  is  restored  to  me  sooner  than  I  appre- 
hended. Nicias  too  is  come,  and  I  understand, 
that  Valerius  will  be  here  to-day.  Though  this 
is  a  large  number,  yet  I  should  be  more  solitary 
than  I  would  be,  had  I  nobody  with  me  but  your- 
self. But  I  look  for  you,  as  soon  as  you  have  dis- 
patched the  affair  of  Peduceus.  You  hint, 
however,  somewhat  as  if  you  might  be  here  be- 
fore. Let  that  be  as  you  can  conveniently.  You 
may  deal  with  Virgilius  as  you  propose.  I  should 
meanwhile,  be  glad  to  know  when  the  sale  is  to 
commence.  I  perceive,  that  you  are  for  my 
writing  to  Caesar.  Why  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I 
myself  was  strongly  of  the  same  opinion-,  and  the 
rather,  because  there  is  nothing  in  the  letter  I 
have  addressed  to  him,  but  what  is  suitable  to 
the  character  of  the  best  of  citizens.  I  mean, 
the  best  in  this  sense,  one  who  will  suit  himself 
to  the  times  with  that  temper  which  is  recom- 
mended by  all  writers  upon  government  You 
must  know,     however,   I   am    of  opinion,   that 

Cpesar's 


Cesar's  friends  should  see  it  beforehand.  You 
therefore,  will  manage  that  But  unless  you  are 
sure  that  they  will  be  pleased  with  it,  it  ought  by 
no  means  to  be  forwarded  to  Caesar.  Now  you 
will  be  a  judge  of  the  nature  of  their  approba- 
tion, whether  it  be  feigned  or  real.  If  it  should 
be  feigned,  it  is  the  same  thi«g  to  me  as  the  re- 
jection of  it  would  be.  But  you  have  sagacity 
enough  to  ascertain  this  \ 

Tyro  has  communicated  to  me  your  sentiments 
with  regard  to  Cserellia^  that  it  is  not  consistent 
with  my  dignity  to  borrow  money ;  that  you  are 
of  opinion,  I  ought  to  give  her  a  draft,  and 
that,  if  the  one  should  give  me  any  uneasiness, 
the  circumstance  of  beiag  in  her  debt,  ought  to 
give  me  much  more  \  But  we  will  talk  of  this 
and  a  great  many  other  matters  when  we  meet 

Meanwhile, 


*  The  term  f^v^t)  signified  an  instrument  which  surgeons  used 
to  explore  wounds ;  and  the  verb  fxnKovn  is  here  proverbially  ap» 
plied,  to  sift  with  art  and  sagacity. — E. 

«  This  was  the  celebrated  old  lady,  whom  our  author  is  said 
to  have  fallen  in  love  with  in  his  old  age,  though  he  was  younger 
than  she  was. 

'  Orig.  Hoc  metuere,  alterum  in  meiii  non  ponere.  This  is  a 
verse  often  made  use  of  by  our  author,  by  way  of  proverb,  but 
we  know  not  from  whom  he  h3d  it.  It  answers,  however, 
somewhat  to  the  English  proverb.  To  startle  at  molehills,  and 
leap  over  mountains.  The  meaning  here,  is,  that  Atticus  re- 
proaches our  author  with  preferring  the  greatest  evil,  that  of 
being  in  debt,  to  the  lesser  evil,  that  of  giving  a  draft  for  th§ 
ijioney. 


so 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


91 


Meanwhile,  if  you  think  proper,  I  must  suspend 
the  payment  of  that  debt  to  Cierellia,  till  I  know 
what  I  have  to  depend  upon  from  Meto  and 
Faberius. 


EPISTLE  LII. 

Y  ou  are  acquainted  with  Lucius  TuUius  Mon- 
tanus,  who  is  gone  to  Athens  with  my  son.  I 
have  received  a  letter  from  my  sister's  husband, 
informing  me,  that  by  his  becoming  bail  for  Fla- 
ninius,  he  oAves  Plancus  twenty  thousand  ser- 
teces,  and  that  Montanus  had  made  some  appli- 
cation to  you  on  that  head.  Why,  really  I  think 
my  connection  with  Montanus,  makes  it  my  duty 
to  beg  that  you  will  do  him  all  the  service  you 
can,  either  by  applying  to  Plancus  in  his  behalf, 
or  doing  any  thing  else  to  assist  him.  If  you 
know  more  of  the  matter  than  I  do,  or  if  you 
think  proper  that  any  application  should  be  made 
to  Plancus,  I  hope  you  will  write  to  me,  that  I 
may  know  how  the  matter  stands,  and  m- hat  it  is 
we  are  to  apply  for.  I  am  impatient  to  know 
what  you  have  done  with  regard  to  that  letter  to 
Caesar.  I  am  not  so  anxious  as  1  was  concerning 
the  seat  of  Silius ;  but  you  must,  by  all  means, 
procure  me  either  that  of  Scapula,  or  that  of 
Clodia.  You  appear,  however,  to  me  some- 
what 


what  at  a  loss  to  know  whether  Clodia  will  come 
to  Rome,  and  whether  she  will  ^ell  her  gardens. 
But  it  is  true  that  Spinther '  hath  divorced  his 
wife.  You  must,  say  you,  be  extremely  confi- 
dent of  the  power  and  copiousness  of  the  Latin 
language*  to  eipploy  it  on  such  subjects.      All  I 

do, 

1  He  was  the  son  of  Lentulus,  who  was  so  active  In  recalling 
our  author  from  h|s  banishment.  His  wife*s  namp  was  Me- 
jtella,  >yho  was  afterwards  famous  for  her  intrigue  with  the  sot> 
0f  the  comedian  iEsopUs.  This  Lentulus  had  the  nickname  of 
Spinthet,  from  the  great  resemblance  between  him  and  a  slave 
of  that  name.  There  is  a  pun  here  which  is  not  decent  to  ex- 
plain. 

8  I  have  elsewhere  observed,  that  our  author,  as  he  himself 
often  intimates,  was  the  first  who,  as  it  wefe,  moulded  the 
Latin  language  to  philosophical  terms,  which  Atticus,  who  was 
a  professed  champion  of  the  Greek  tongue,  had  thought  to  b« 
impracticable.     It  is  in  this  sense  that  I,  as  well  as  Monsieur 
Mongault,  have  translated  this  passage,  but  I  am  not  sure  whe^ 
ther  there  is  not  a  farther  allusion  in  the  words.    The  origi- 
nal is,  De  lingua  Latina  securi  es  animh  dices,  qui  talia  con- 
scrihis;  airoy^»(^x  rexempla)  sunt.  The  younger  Gronovius  veiy 
rightly  observes,   that  the  Animus  securus  here  may  imply  his 
mind  being  free  from  the  excessive  melancholy,  which  our  author 
had  long  entertained  for  the  loss  of  his  daughter,  and  which 
was  now  so  far  abated,  that  he  could  apply  himself  to  write 
philosophically  in  Latin.     But  I  must  observe  farther,  that  this 
passage  is  applicable  to  the  sneer  he  had  just  before  past  upon 
Spinther,  whose  name  in  Latin  was  Awoy^a^or,  that  is,  trans- 
cribed from  the  Greek,  by  which  our  author  brings  forth  this 
piece  of  low  wit,  without  having  recourse  to  a  Greek  word,  and 
which  he  supposes  Atticus  would  be  jealous  of;   neither  Mou- 
pieur  Mongault,  nor  any  of  the  commentators  seems  to  have  at- 
tended to  this. 


92 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES,  &c. 


do,  is  to  copy  the  sentiments  of  others.  There  is 
no  great  difficulty  in  that  All  I  have  to  do,  is 
to  furnish  words,  and  of  them  I  have  plenty. 


EPISTLE  LIIL 

X  WRITE  to  you,  even  though  I  have  nothing  to 
say,  because  I  have  a  pleasure  in  supposing  my- 
self to  be  conversing  with  you.  To-day  I  look 
for  your  morning  letters,  and  perhaps  I  shall 
have  a  packet  in  the  afternoon,  unless  you  are 
prevented  by  your  dispatches  from  Epirus,  which 
I  do  not  choose  to  interfere  with.  I  have  sent 
you  a  letter  to  Marcianus,  and  another  to  Mon- 
tanus.  Unless  you  have  already  delivered  them, 
I  beg  that  you  would  make  them  up  in  one 
packet 


CICERO'S 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO 


ATTICUS. 


BOOK  XIIL 


EPISTLE    L 


Nothing  could  be  more  weighty,  and  at  the 
same  time  more  engaging,  than  your  letter  to  my 
son  ^  was.  You  said  neither  more  nor  less  than 
what  I  most  earnestly  desired  you  should  say. 
You  have  likewise  written,  in  a  very  proper 
strain,  to  the  two  Tullii.  Either  your  letters  must 
have  a  due  effect,  or  I  must  take  another  course. 
As  to  the  money,  I  see  that  you  are  exerting  your- 
self, or  rather  you  have  exerted  yourself  most 
indefatigably ;  should  you  succeed,  I  shall  look 
upon  the  gardens  as  your  present     There  is  no 

kind 


^  He  had  been  guilty  of  some  little  irregularities  at  Athens. 


94 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


95 


kind  of  purchase  I  would  prefer  to  this,  espcci-* 
ally  consij^ering  the  use  to  which  it  is  to  be  appro- 
priated ;  neither  am  I  now  so  much  in  a  hurry  as 
1  was  before,  because  you  promise,  or  rather  you 
undertake,  that  the  building  shall  be  completed 
before  the  end  of  summer.  Let  me  tell  you  like- 
wise, that  I  know  of  no  place,  where  I  could  more 
comfortably  pass  my  old  age,  or  wear  away  my 
sorrows.  These  conBideration*  make  me  so  pas- 
sionately fond  of  this  purpose,  that  I  am  some- 
times upon  the  point  of  pressing  you  ;  but  then  I 
check  myself  as  having  no  manner  of  doubt,  that 
in  a  matter  in  which  you  know  me  to  be  very  ear- 
nest, you  are  more  earnest  than  I  am  myself. 
Therefore  be  persuaded,  that  this  is  the  only  con- 
sideration that  keeps  me  from  teazing  you. 

I  am  impatient  to  know  what  the  sentiments  of 
these  gentlemen  were  with  regard  to  my  letter 
to  Ca?sar.  Nicias  has  a  due  respect  for  you,  and 
it  gives  him  vast  pleasure  to  know  that  you  re- 
member him.  For  wy  own  part,  1  have  a 
great  aifection  for  our  friend  Peduceus.  I  feel 
for  him  all  the  affection  I  had  for  his  father  * ;  I 
love  him  equally  on  his  own  account,  and  there* 
fore  he  is  doubly  dear  to  me :  and  you  most  of 
all,  because  it  is  owing  to  your  recommendatioa 
that  we  live  on  these  friendly  terms.     After  you 

have 

^  Orig.  Nam  ecquanti  patrem  feci,  totum  in  hunc:  ipsum 
par  t€  (C(^ne  amo,  atque  iiium  atrr^vi. 


looked  upon  the  gardens,  and  told  me  your  sen- 
timents of  them  in  writing,  you  will  then  furnish 
me  with  some  subject  of  a  letter  to  you.  I  will 
write,  however,  at  all  events,  for  I  never  am  with- 
out some  subject  or  other. 


EPISTLE  IL 

JL  OUR  speed  in  communicating  to  me  is  far 
more  agreeable  than  the  subject  communicated. 
Was  there  ever  a  greater  insult  offered  to  a  man  ? 
But  I  am  now  become  insensible,  having  lost  all 
the  feelings  of  human  nature  \  This  day  I  looked 
for  your  letter,  not  that  I  expect  any  fresh  intel- 
ligence from  them. — For  what  more  can  be  said  ? 
—Well,  let  that  pass— You  will  order  these  let- 
ters to  be  delivered  to  Oppius  and  Balbus,  and 
talk,  when  you  have  an  opportunity,  to  Piso, 
about  the  gold.  Should  Faberius  give  a  draft, 
you  will  take  care  that  it  be  for  tlie  whole  sum  he 
owes  me.  You  will  learn  from  Eros  how  much 
it  is.     Ariarathes",  the  son  of  Ariobarzanes,   is 

at 

1  We  ate  perhaps  at  no  great  loss  in  not  linowing  the  parti- 
oular  hardship  which  Cicero  alludes  to  here^  whether  it  rela- 
ted to  Terentia,  or  which  I  think,  more  probably,  to  tlie  iiita-^ 
mous  reports  which  had  been  raised  against  him  of  his  too  great 
intimacy  with  TuUia. 

*  His  father  Ariobarzanes  was  elected  king  of  Cappadocia, 
Upon  the  failure  of  the  old  line  of  the  Cappadocian  royal  fa- 
mil  r. 


I 


il 


96 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


97 


at  Rome.  It  is  my  opinion  that  he  intends  to 
purchase  some  kingdom  or  other  from  Caesar ;  for, 
in  his  present  situation,  he  has  not  one  foot  of 
ground  to  call  his  own.  Our  friend  Sextius,  who 
is  master  of  the  ceremonies  in  ordinary  \  has 
wholly  engrossed  him.  To  this  I  have  no  objec- 
tion. But  as  I  was  greatly  obliged  to  his  brothers, 
and  very  intimate  with  them,  I  have  sent  him  a 
letter  of  invitation  to  the  use  of  my  house.  When 
I  sent  off  Alexander  express  for  this  purpose,  I 
charged  him  with  this  letter.  To-morrow,  it 
seems,  is  appointed  for  the  sale  of  Peduceus. 
You  will  then  be  more  at  liberty  to  set  out  for 
this  place,  unless  you  should  be  detained  by 
settling  matters  with  Faberius.  But  take  your 
own  time.  Our  acquaintance,  Dionysius,  com- 
plains bitterly,  and  not  without  justice  of  his  long 
absence  from  his  pupils".     He   has  written  very 

fully 

mily.  As  his  elder  brotlier  had  no  children,  Ariarathes  was  the 
presunoptive  heir  of  that  crown,  which  gave  Caesar  some  jea- 
lousy of  him,  and  therefore  he  had  no  territories  assigned  him 
in  the  general  settlement,  which  Caesar  was  now  making  of  the 
empire.  He  afterwards  succeeded  his  brother,  who  was  put  to 
death  by  Cassius,  but  Antony  stript  him  of  his  crown  and  gave 
it  to  Archelaus. 

1  Orig.  Nostcr  Parochus  puUicus.  The  business  of  the  Pa- 
rochi  was  to  furnish  foreign  princes  and  ambassadors  with  the 
money  and  provisions  allotted  them  by  the  public.  They  like- 
wise furnished  the  masters  and  governors  of  provinces  on  the 
road  with  their  perquisites  of  salt,  wood,  hay,  and  the  like. 

*  Meaning  himself  and  Atticus,  for  he  cannot  mean  his  son, 
and  his  nephew,  to  whom  Dionysius  had  formerly  been  tutor. 


fully  to  me,  and  I  suppose,  to  you,  likewise.  He 
is  in  a  fair  way  to  be  much  longer  absent  from 
them,  which  I  am  sorry  for,  because  I  am  uneasy 
for  the  man's  company. 


EPISTLE  III. 

1  AM  so  impatient  for  a  letter  from  you,  that  I 
wonder  none  has  yet  come,  though  I  write 
this  in  the  morning.  With  regard  to  the  assign- 
ments, I  am  so  well  assured  of  the  credit  of  the 
parties,  that  nothing  alarms  me,  but  your  seeming 
apprehension.  I  own  1  think  it  no  good  sign 
when  you  leave  the  matter  to  me,  for  had  I  been 
my  own  agent  in  this  affair,  I  should  not  have 
taken  one  step,  but  by  your  advice.  Meanwhile, 
I  am  persuaded  that  your  doubt  arises  from  your 
own  usual  scrupulous  exactness  in  business, 
rather  than  from  any  real  doubts  you  have  as  to 
the  parties \  For  you  do  not  approve  of  my 
transaction  with  Coelius",  and  you  are  against 

my 

^  Gronovius  is  in  some  doubt  whether  the  scruple  mentioned 
here,  does  not  relate  to  that  which  Atticus  supposed  the  heirs  of 
Scapula  would  have,  with  regard  to  the  assignments  which 
Cicero  was  to  give  for  payment. 

*  The  reader  may  remember,  that  our  author  proposed  io 
convert  his  effects  into  ready  money,  which  he  was  to  receive 
from  his  banker,  and  that  he  was  income  doubt  as  to  the  good- 
ness of  the  gold  in  which  the  payment  was  to  be  made. 

Vol.  III.  H 


98 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


Bay  selling  off  any  more  off  my  effects.  I  think 
you  are  in  the  right  as  to  both.  There  is,  there- 
fore, a  necessity  for  my  making  use  of  this  assign- 
ment, or  otherwise,  you  must,  once  in  your  life, 
and  in  this  very  bargain,  become  a  surety  \  But 
now  the  whole  rests  upon  myself".  The  day  when 
I  am  to  be  paid,  indeed,  is  at  some  distance,  but 
let  there  be  no  obstacle  in  that,  lor  if  I  can  but 
purchase  the  gardens,  1  believe  the  auctioneer 
will  give  me  as  long  a  time  for  paying  them. 
This  indulgence  the  heirs  Avill  certainly  grant  me. 
You  must  speak  to  Crispus  and  MusloUa,  and  I 
want  to  know  what  shares  they  have  in  this  suc- 
cession.    iEgypta,  the  freedman  of  Brutus,   has 

brought 


^  1  have  been  at  some  pains,  and  I  hope  I  have  succeeded  in 
translating  this  difficult  Epistle.  I  have,  in  the  course  6f  these 
notes,  observed,  more  than  once,  that  notwithstanding  the  ce- 
lebrated friendship  between  our  author  and  Atticus,  the  latter 
dealt  with  the  former  with  great  exactness,  not  to  say  rigour, 
in  all  money  matters  j  and  the  author  of  his  Life  gives  us,  in  his 
commendation,  a  circumstance  which  really  turns  to  his  re- 
proach ;  that  he  laid  it  down  as  a  rule  to  be  bail  for  no  man. 
Cicero  was  no  stranger  to  this,  and  what  he  writes  here  is  in  a 
vein  of  pleasantry,  because  he  will  not  seem  to  suppose  that  any 
such  resolution  could  be  consistent  with  the  friendship  between 
them.  The  reason  therefore,  why  Atticus  was  in  seme  doubts 
about  the  validity  of  the  assignments  was,  lest  Cicero  might 
have  called  upon  him  to  bave  answered  for  them  to  the  sellers, 

^'Or  tbcir  agents . 

2  yi%.  Becaiise  the  assignments  were  so  good,  tot  he  did 
not  doubt  but  that  the  sellers  wewld  lake  hb  own  personal  se- 
curity for  making  them  good. 


TO  ATTICUS, 


99 


brought  me  a  letter  from  his  master  with  the 
news  of  his  arrival.  I  have  sent  the  letter  to 
you,  because  it  is  written  with  a  complaisance 
unusual  to  him. 


EPISTLE  IV. 

jL  have,  through  your  labour,  the  list  of  the  ten 
deputies  \  which  indeed  has  put  me  upon  exam- 
ining. For  the  younger  Tuditanus  was  not  so 
much  as  quasstor,  till  the  year  after  Mummius 
had  been  consul,  so  it  must  be  the  elder,  who 
is  mentioned  in  the  list  of  deputies.  You  are 
frequently  teazing  me  to  know,  whether  I  am  sa- 
tisfied with  that  assignment,  and  I  have  as  often 
told  you  that  I  am.  If  you  can  finish  any  thing 
with  Piso  do  it.  As  to  Avius,  I  make  no  doubt 
of  his  acting  as  he  ought.  I  wish  you  could  be 
here  before  Brutus;  if  you  cannot,  let  us  at  least 
meet  altogether  at  Tusculanum.  It  is  of  great 
importance  for  me  to  see  you.  If  you  will  order 
one  of  your  slaves  to  make    inquiry,   you  may 

learn  on  what  day  Brutus  is  to  be  here. 

EPISTLE 

^  After  Mummius  had  conquered  Achaia,  the  senate,  as 
Visual,  sent  ten  deputies,  to  regulate  the  civil  gqyernnient  of  |lie 
conquered  countries,  ai\d  our  author  intetiled  to  have  iiiad«j 
themipterlocutors  in  a  political  treatise  he  was  abput  to  compose. 
,The  original  here  is  dark,  bit  I  have  supplied  it  from  other 
parts  of  our  author  s  writings. 

H  S 


100 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


101 


EPISTLE  V. 

1  TOOK  it  that  Spurius  Mummius  was  one  of 
the  ten  deputies,  but,  now  I  think  of  it,  he  ser- 
ved probably  as  lieutenant  to  his  brother,  for  it 
is  certain  that  he  was  then  at  Corinth.     I  have 
sent  you  my  Torquatus\     I  beg  you  will  talk, 
as  you  propose,  with  Silius,  and  urge  him.     He 
refused  to  defer   the  payment  so  long  as  May, 
but  he  agreed  to  every  thing  else*.     But  I  beg 
you  would  transact  this  with  the  prudence  which 
you  usually  discover  in  other  things.     After  you 
have   spoken  to  Crispus   and  Mustella,  let  me 
know  what  you  have  concluded  with  them.   Now 
that  you  have  promised  me  to  be  here  when  Bru- 
tus shall  arrive,  I  am  quite  satisfied ;  and  the 

more 


1  Viz.  The  first  book  of  his  conferences  dejinilus,  in  which 
Torquatus  explains,  and  defends  the  Epicurean  system. 

2  Manutius  is  of  opinion,  that  this  passage  ought  to  beread^ 
Illam  diem  negahat  esse  mense  mcdo,  is  tarn  non  negalat;  and 
Monsieur  Mongault  lets  the  whole  pass  without  any  note.  Ma- 
nutius thinks  farther,  that  the  matter,  alluded  to  here,  was,  that 
Silius  was  willing  to  delay  the  payment  for  his  gardens,  till  tlie 

'  month  of  May,  but  that  the  heirs  of  Scapula  refused  to  lie  so 
long  out  of  tlieir  money  for  their  payment.  But  if  this  could 
be  the  sense,  I  cannot  see  with  what  propriety  Silius  could  be 
the  nominative  to  negahat. 


more  so,  as  I  suppose  you  will  spend  the  inter- 
mediate time  in  finishing  the  affair  which  I  have 
much  at  heart 


in 


EPISTLE  VI. 

You  have  done  quite  right  as  to  the  aqueduct. 
Take  care  that  the  columns^  do  notexceed  the 
limits  of  the  sumptuary  law!  Though  I  think  I 
have  heard  from  Camillus  that  the  law  in  this  respect 
is  altered.  W.hat  answer  more  proper  can  we  re- 
turn to  Piso,  than  that  the  younger  Cato  is  here  all 

alone  ? 


1  Orig.  Columnariumy  vide,  ne  nullum  deleamus.  This  al- 
ludes to  part  of  the  sumptuary  law  enacted  by  Caesar.  Some  of 
the  commentators  imagine,  that  the  Columnarium,  here  men- 
tioned in  the  original,  was  a  tax  upon  columns,  as  Ostiarium, 
was  upon  doors,  which  Caesar  exacted  of  the  citizens  of  Rome, 
upon  buildings  already  raised.  But  this  is  not  very  prooable, 
because,  in  his  third  book,  of  the  civil  wars,  we  hnd  him  bla- 
ming Scipio  for  exacting  that  very  tax.  It  is  more  probable, 
that  his  sumptuary  law  laid  a  tax  upon  all  new  columns  em- 
ployed in  building.  There  is  however  an  obscurity  in  the  ori- 
ginal which  leaves  it  uncertain,  whether  our  author  does  n<  ' 
mean  to  desire  Atticus  to  take  care  that  he  should  not  be  loaded 
with  that  tax}  in  which  case,  for  nullum,  we  must  read  ///  .'^rt. 
The  columns,  here  spoken  of,  were  perhaps  those  uhich  were 
to  be  employed  in  building  the  temple,  in  memory  ofhr'; 
daughter. 


^ 


,t 


102 


CICEflOS  £PISTLES 


TO  ATTICyS. 


103 


alone  ^?  and  this  answer  will  serve  not  only  the 
coheirs  of  ilirennius,  but,  as  you  know,  (for  you 
was  concerned  in  the  same  affair  with  itie)  for 
the  younger  Lucullus.  For  it  is  naaterial  to 
know,  that  his  guardian  took  up  that  money  in 
Achaia.  But  Piso  acts  like  a  man  of  honour, 
for,  he  says,  he  will  do  nothing  that  can  disoblige 
us.  Therefore,  as  you  write  to  me,  we  will, 
when  we  meet,  consult  how  to  settle  this  matter. 
You  have  done  well  in  having  a  meeting  of  the 
other  coheirs. 

As  to  your  wanting  to  see  my  letter  to  Brutus, 
I  have  no  copy  of  it.     Tyro  says,  that  you  cer- 
tainly have  one,  and  I  remember  that,  at  the  tinie 
1  sent  you  his  uncivil  letter,  I  sent  you  a  copy  of 
my  answer.     You  will  take  care  that  I  am  not 
troubled  with  any  judicial  matters.     I  was  utter- 
ly ignorant  of  that  Tuditanus,  the  great  grandfa- 
ther of  Hortensius,  and  I  took  him  to  have  been 
tis  son,  who  was  the  deputy,  which  was  impossi- 
ble.    I  am  quite  certain  that  Mummius  was  at 
Corinth,  for  the  late  Spurius  often  read  over  to 
me  his  letters  full   of  quaint  verses,  which  he 
wrote  from  Corinth  to  his  friends.      But  I  make 
no  doubt  of  his  having  been  lieutenant  to  his  bro- 
ther 

*  Orig.  SoUluftin'em  Calofiis,  The  reader  is  to  understand 
that  our  author  was  guardian  to  yoting  Lucallus  and  probably  to 
the  younger  Cato  likewise,  whose  estate  was  in  arrears  to 
Pisoj  and  the  coheirs  of  Hirennius, 


ther,  and  not  one  of  the  ten  deputies.     I  have 
likewise  learned,  that  our  ancestors  never  nao^ed 
any  relations  of  a  general  amongst  the  ten  depu- 
ties, who  were  to  controul  him,  though  later  tmies 
have  been  so  ignorant,  or  rather  so  neglectful, 
of   this  most  salutary  maxim,  as   to  send  Mar- 
cus Lucullus,  and  Lucius  Murena,  and  other  of 
his  nearest  relations,  to  Lucius  Lucullus  as  his 
deputies.     It  is  likewise  natural  to  suppose,  that 
his  brother  would  prefer  him  before  any  other, 
to  be  his  lieutenant.      What  work  do  I  cut  out 
for  you  !  who  thus  both  read  for  me,  and  nego- 
tiate for  me,   and  that  too  with  more  attention 
to  my  concerns  than  you  give  to  your  own. 

EPISTLE  VII. 

Sestius  and  also  Theopompus '  were  with  me 
the  day  before.  The  former  tells  me,  that  he  re- 
ceived a  letter  from  Caesar,  informing  him,  that 
he  was  determined  to  remain  at  Rome ',  and  that 
he  gives  the  very  reason,  mentioned  in  my  letter, 
lest,  in  his  absence,  his  laws  should  be  neglected, 
as  his  sumptuary  law  has  been.  This  is  very  pro- 
bable,   and  is  no  more  than  what  occurred   to 

myselt 

1  HewasanativeofCuidos,  and  a  favourite  with  Caesar. 

£  This  seems  to  contradict  a  report  which  has  obtained  in  his- 
tory, as  if  Caesar  intended,  upon  his  being  peaceable  possessor 
of  the  empire,  to  underUke  an  expedition  in  person  against  the 
Parthians. 


n 


104 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


105 


myself  before.  But  those  gentlemen  must  be  hu- 
moured, unless  I  should  think  proper  to  resume 
what  I  at  first  proposed.  It  is  certain  then  that 
Lentulus  has  divorced  Metella;  but  you  know  all 
these  things  better  than  I  do  ;  \vnte  me  therefore 
somewhat  in  answer.  It  matters  not  what,  pro- 
vided you  do  write.  For,  at  present,  nothing  oc- 
curs to  me  that  you  can  write,  unless  you  think 
proper  to  write  somewhat  concerning  Mustella  or 
Silius.  Brutus  came  to  Tiisculanum  yesterday 
about  five  in  the  evening.  To-day  therefore  he 
will  visit  me,  and  I  wish  that  you  were  present  when 
he  does.  For  I  ordered  him  to  be  to'd,  that  you 
waited  as  long  as  you  could  for  his  arrival ;  that 
you  would  return  if  you  heard  of  it,  and  that  I 
would  instantly  inform  you,  as  I  do  by  this  letter, 

EPISTLE  VIII. 

I  REALLY  have  nothing  to  write  to  you,  for 
you  had  no  sooner  left  me  than  you  sent  me  back 
a  letter  of  three  pages  ^  in  answer  to  mine.  I 
hope  you  will  take  care  to  convey  this  packet  to 
Vestorius,  and  employ  some  one  or  other  to  in- 
quire 

^  Orig.  Triplices  remiseras.     In  matters  of  small  moment, 
the  ancients  used  to  send  their  tablets,  or  pocket-books,  to  one 
another  with  their  business  written  in  them,  and  an  answer  was 
returned  on  the  same  tablets.    The  business  mentioned  here 
took  up,  it  seems^  three  pages  of  those  tablets. 


quire  whether  Quintus  Faberius  has  any  estate 
that  is  to  be  sold  in  the  territory  of  Pompeii,  or 
in  that  of  Nola.  I  beg  you  would  send  me  Cse- 
lius's  annals  abridged  by  Brutus  \  and  get  for  me, 
from  Philoxemus,  the  treatise  of  Panaetius'  con- 
cerning providence.  I  hope  to  see  you  on  th« 
13th,  with  your  family. 


EPISTLE   IX. 

You  were  but  just  gone  yesterday  when  Treba- 
tius  and,  soon  after,  Curtius  arrived  here.  The 
latter  came  only  to  pay  me  his  compliments,  but 
he  stayed  here  upon  my  invitation,  and  I  have 
Trebatius  with  me  likewise.  Dolabella  arrived 
this  morning.  We  conversed  together  for  a  long 
time ;  and  indeed  nothing  could  be  more  open, 
nothing  more  affectionate,  than  what  he  said  to 
me.  Meanwhile  we  fell  upon  the  subject  of  my 
nephew,  of  whom  he  told  me  many  things  that  are 
not  to  be  expressed,  and  ought  not  to  be  rela- 
ted. One  circumstance,  however,  was  of  such 
a  nature,  that,  unless  the  whole  army  knew  it,  I 
should  not  venture  to  dictate  it  to  Tiro,  nay,  not 

to 

^  They  were  composed  by  Lucius  Coelius  Antipater.  Bru- 
tus was  a  great  epitomistr  ot  works  of  that  kind. 

*  He  was  a  stoic  philosopher,  and  wrote  in  defence  of  an 
immediate  providence. 


•*»,»^ti^. 


m^  .«  4»  »i|Wr  «««•.« 


104 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


105 


myself  before.  But  those  gentlemen  must  be  hu^ 
moured,  unless  I  should  think  proper  to  resume 
what  I  at  first  proposed.  It  is  certain  then  that 
Lentulus  has  divorced  Metella;  butyou  know  all 
these  things  better  than  I  do  ;  write  me  therefore 
somewhat  in  answer.  It  matters  not  what,  pro- 
vided you  do  write.  For,  at  present,  nothing  oc- 
curs to  me  that  you  can  w  rite,  unless  you  think 
proper  to  write  somewliat  concerning  MnstcUa  or 
Silius.  Brutus  came  to  Tasculanum  yesterday 
about  five  in  the  evening.  To-day  therefore  he 
will  visit  me,  and  1  wish  that  you  were  present  when 
he  does.  For  I  ordered  him  to  be  to'd,  tiiat  you 
waited  as  long  as  you  could  for  his  arrival ;  that 
you  would  return  if  you  heard  of  it,  and  that  I 
would  instantly  inform  you,  as  I  do  by  this  letter, 

EPISTLE  VIII. 

jL  really  have  nothing  to  write  to  you,  for 
you  had  no  sooner  left  me  than  you  sent  me  back 
a  letter  of  three  pages  ^  in  answer  to  mine.  I 
hope  you  will  take  care  to  convey  this  packet  to 
Vestorius,  and  employ  some  one  or  other  to  in- 
quire 

*  Orig.  TripJices  remiseras.     In  matters  of  small  moment, 
the  ancients  used  to  send  their  tablets,  or  pocket-books,  to  one 
another  with  their  business  written  in  them,  and  an  answer  was 
returned  on  the  same  tablets.     The  business  mentioned  here 
took  up,  it  seems,  three  pages  of  those  tablets. 


) 


I 


quire  whether  Quintus  Faberius  has  any  estate 
that  is  to  be  sold  in  the  territory  of  Pompeii,  or 
in  that  of  Nola.  I  beg  you  would  send  me  Cae- 
lius's  annals  abridged  by  Brutus  \  and  get  for  me, 
from  Philoxemus,  the  treatise  of  Pangetius'  con- 
cerning providence.  I  hope  to  see  you  on  th« 
13th,  with  your  family. 


EPISTLE   IX. 

jL  ou  were  but  just  gone  yesterday  when  Treba- 
tius  and,  soon  after,  Curtius  arrived  here.  The 
latter  came  only  to  pay  me  his  compliments,  but 
he  stayed  here  upon  my  invitation,  and  I  have 
Trebatius  with  me  likewise.  Dolabella  arrived 
this  morning.  We  conversed  together  for  a  long 
time ;  and  indeed  nothing  could  be  more  open, 
nothing  more  affectionate,  than  what  he  said  to 
me.  Meanwhile  we  fell  upon  the  subject  of  my 
nephew,  of  whom  he  told  me  many  things  that  are 
not  to  be  expressed,  and  ought  not  to  be  rela- 
ted. One  circumstance,  however,  was  of  such 
a  nature,  that,  unless  the  wdiole  army  knew  it,  I 
ijhould  not  venture  to  dictate  it  to  Tiro,  nay,  not 

to 

^  They  were  composed  by  Lucius  Coelius  Antipater.  Bru- 
tus was  a  great  epilomi^tr  o\  works  of  that  kind. 

2  He  was  a  stoic  philosopher^  and  wrote  in  defence  of  an 
immediate  providence. 


106 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


107 


to  write  it  with  my  own  hand.  But  I  shall  find 
time  enough  for  this.  While  Dolabella  was  with 
n>€,  Torquatus  arrived  very  seasonably,  and 
Dolabella  very  handsomely  told  him  in  what 
terms  I  had  expressed  myself  concerning  him, 
for  I  luckily  had  talked  with  him  in  the  most 
earnest  manner,  which  seemed  to  Torquatus  sen- 
sible pleasure. 

I  expect  to  hear  from  you  if  you   know  any 
thing  of  Brutus.     Nicias   thinks  the  marriage  is 
finished,  but  he  says   that  his  divorce,  from  his 
first  wife,  is  generally  disapproved.     I  therefore, 
as  well  as  you,  am  earnest,  that  the  affair  should 
be  finished.     For  if  he  has  given  any  offence,  this 
step  will  remedy  it  \     I  must  go  to  Arpinum  ;  for 
I  must  settle  the  affairs  of  that  little  farm,  and  I 
am  afraid  I  shall  not  be  at  liberty  to  leave  Rome 
after  Csesar's  arrival,    of  which   Dolabella's  opi- 
nion is  conformable  to  the  conjecture   you  had 
formed  from  Messala  s  letter.      Wlien  I  shall  ar- 
rive  at  Arpinum,  and  see  what  business  I  have 
there,  I  will  specify  to  you  the  precise  day  of  my 
return. 

EPISTLE 

1  We  see,  by  this  passage,  that  Plutarch  was  mistaken  in 
saying,  that  Brutus  was  married  to  Porcia  in  the  lifetime  of 
her  father  Cato.  Our  author  here  means,  that  Brutus,  by  mar- 
rying the  excellent  daughter  of  the  great  Cato,  would  be  a  suffi- 
cient  vindication  for  his  divorcing  Clodia,  who  had  given  him 
no  cause  of  disgust. 


\ 


\l 


EPISTLE  X. 

1  AM  not  at  all  surprised  at  your  being  sensibly 
stffected  by  the  death  of  Marcellus,  and  at  your 
being  apprehensive  in  many  other  respects.     For 
how  can  we  be  on  our  guard  against  an  accident, 
whic|i  never  had  any  precedent,  and  which  seem- 
ed to  be  inconsistent  with  nature  to  permit  \     We 
therefore  have  every  thing  to  fear.     But  how  can 
you,  who  are   so   exact  in  these   matters,  be   so 
much  mistaken  as  to  say,  that  1  am  the  only  sur- 
viving consular^?     Make  you  then  no  account 
of  Servius  ?     But  this  is  of  no  kind  of  importance, 
especially  with  me,  who  think  that  those  who  are 
dead  are  as  happy  as  w^e  are.     For  what  are  we, 
or  what  can  we  do?     Of  what  importance  are 
we  at  home  or  abroad  ?     Had  I  not  taken  it  in 
my  head  to  amuse  myself  with  writing  such  trifles 
as  these,  I  should  not  have  known  how  to  have 
borne  my  own  existence, 

I  am 

1  We  have  a  curious  account  of  the  death  of  this  great  man, 
in  a  letter  from  Sulpicius  to  our  author.  After  Caesar,  at  the 
universal  request  of  the  senate,  had  pardoned  him,  he  was  stab- 
bed to  death  in  his  return  home  by  this  Magius,  who  was  his 
intimate  friend  and  client. 

*  There  were  many  consulars  besides  our  author,  and  Ser- 
vius alive  at  this  time,  but  they  behaved  so,  as  they  had  notliing 
to  fear  from  Caesar. 


i08 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


109 


I  am  of  the  same  opinion  with  you  concerning 
Dolabella.  A  treatise  of  a  popular  or  a  poHtical 
nature  would  suit  him  best.  In  short,  something 
must  be  done  for  him,  for  he  is  very  anxious 
about  it.  You  will  take  care  to  acquaint  me,  if 
jou  know  any  thing  of  Brutus.  The  sooner,  if 
he  is  determined  upon  it,  that  he  finishes  his 
marriage,  the  better;  for  he  will  thereby  put  an 
end  to,  or  at  least,  moderate  the  publij  talk 
about  him.  Some  people  have  talked  of  him, 
even  to  myself  But  Brutus  knows  best  what 
measures  to  take,  especially  if  he  consults  with 
you.  I  think  of  setting  out  on  the  ^22nd,  for  I 
have  no  business  either  here  or  there,  or  indeed 
any  where.  Yet  I  had  some  little  matters  to 
settle  there. 

This  day  I  look  for  Spinther,  from  what  Brutus 
wrote  to  me.  In  the  same  le.ter,  he  clears  Cas- 
sar  from  having  any  hand  in  the  death  of  young 
Marcellus,  nor  indeed,  had  he  been  killed  by 
treachery  in  the  dark,  and  by  an  unknown  hand, 
could  any  suspicion  have  been  fixed  on  him.  But 
now,  that  Magius  is  known  to  be  the  assassin, 
does  not  his  frenzy  explain  the  whole  affair  ?  I 
am  entirely  ignorant  what  his  motive  could  be ; 
you  will  therefore,  let  me  know,  though  I  have 
no  grounds  for  doubt  excepting  the  cause  of  his 
vengeance.  At  Sunium  Marcellus  engaged  for  a 
friend  to  pay  Magius  a  sum  of  money.  His  be- 
ing unable  to  make  good  the  engagement  was 

probably 


probably  the  cause  of  Magius's  fury.  I  suppose 
he  asked  Marcellus  for  the  money,  and  that  Mar- 
cellus replied,  as  was  usual  with  him,  in  harsh 
terms. 


EPISTLE  XL 

1  HERE  is  no  judging  of  things  at  a  distance^ — 
I  believed  I  could  have  easily  lived  without  you, 
but  I  find  it  quite  the  reverse  now  that  we  are 
separated.     But  I  was  obliged  to  go  to  Arpinum, 
both  that  I  might  settle  the  concerns  of  my  small 
estate  there,  and  lest  1  should  make  our  friend 
Brutus  tired  of  his  waiting  upon  me ;  for  we  can 
hereafter  enjoy  one  another's  company  with  great- 
er pleasure  at  Tusculanum.     But  at  this   time, 
while  he  wanted  every  day  to  see  me,  and  I  could 
not  possibly  go   to  him,    he  was  deprived  of  all 
the  pleasure  of  his  seat  at  Tusculanum.    Do  you, 
therefore,  inform  me  by  a  letter,  whether  Servilia 
is  come  to  Rome,    whether  Brutus  has  made  any 
^  advances,  or  whether  he  proposes  any  thing,  and 
when  he  is  to  meet  the  great  man ;  in  short,  let  me 
know  every  thing  that  may  be  proper  for  me  to 

know 

1  Orig.  ov  racvrov.  This  is  part  of  a  verse  of  Euripides,  and 
the  meaning  is,  that  things  do  not  exhibit  the  same  appearan- 
ces, when  near,  as  they  do  when  viewed  at  a  distance.  In  the 
common  editions,  these  words  conclude  the  preceding,  but  as 
Causabo©  has  pointed  out,  they  ought  to  begiii  this  leUer.— E, 


no 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


Jyiow.  I  beg  you  will,  if  possible,  talk  with  Piso, 
You  are  sensible,  it  is  now  high  time,  but  let  that 
be  as  your  conveniency  can  admit  of. 


EPISTLE  XII. 

Your  letters  concerning  our  darling  Atti(*a  gave 
me  great  concern,  but  they  gave  me  comfort  at 
the  same  time.  For,  I  thought  I  had  sufficient 
grounds  for  moderating  my  affliction,  as  you 
yourself  take  comfort  in  the  same  letter.  You 
have  disposed  of  my  orations  for  Ligarius  to  great 
advantage ;  you  shall  be  my  publisher,  for  what- 
ever I  shall  write  hereafter.  As  to  what  you 
write  concerning  Varro,  you  know,  that  till  late- 
ly, I  composed  nothing  but  orations,  or  some 
such  serious  works,  into  which  I  could  not  intro- 
duce Varro  with  any  propriety.  Afterwards, 
when  I  undertook  a  work  of  more  general  erudi- 
tion, Varro  acquainted  me,  that  he  intended  to 
address  to  me  a  work  of  great  extent  and  impor- 
tance. Two  years  passed  over,  without  his  ad- 
vancing one  inch,  though  he  is  a  very  rapid  wri- 
:ler.  ^  Now,  all  this  while,  I  was  making  prepara- 
tions for  returning  his  compliment  in  the  same 

coin 


*  Jllc  KaAXx-Tr/Sijy,  he  is  swift-footed,  or  this  might  be   the 
name  of  a  man  remarkable  for  his  swiftness— A^  i^^  a  Callipu 


TO  ATTICUS. 


HI 


coin  \  and  with  interest,  *'  if  I  could,"  for  Hesiod 
in  such  cases,  recommends  the  clause  "If you 
can."  At  present,  I  have  addressed  to  Brutus, 
as  you  desired  me  to  do,  my  treatise  *'  concerning 
the  ends  of  things  good  and  evil,"  of  which  I  own 
I  am  fond ;  and  you  signified  to  me,  that  such  an 
address  would  not  displease  him.  I  will,  there- 
fore, introduce  Varro  into  my  academical  dis- 
courses, where  the  speakers  are  men  of  eminence 
indeed,  but  by  no  means  proper  to  handle  philo- 
sophical distinctions  and  niceties.  Besides,  those 
discourses  proceed  upon  the  principles  of  Antio- 
chus^  which  he  greatly  approves  of.  I  will  ia 
•other  places  introduce  Catulus  and  LucuUus,  pro- 
vided, however,  that  you  approve  of  my  plan ; 
and  I  expect  you  will  write  to  me  concerning  it 

I  have  received  a  letter  from  Vestorius,  con- 
cerning the  sale  of  the  effects  of  Brinnius.  He 
says,  there  was  not  the  least  opposition  in  fixing 
it  at  my  house  (for  they  supposed  I  should  be  at 
Rome  or  Tusculanum)  on  the  24th  of  June.  You 
will,  therefore,  desire  your  friend  and  my  coheir 
S.  Vettius,  or  my  friend  Ladeo,  to  put  off  the 
^ale  for  a  short  time,  for  I  shall  be  at  Tusculanum 

aboiit 


1  Varro  afterwards  addressed  his  book  upon  tlie  Latin  tongue 
itoour  author. 

2  Orig.  Avrioxtix.  Antiochia.  He  was  a  disciple  ofCaraea- 
des.  .Both  Cicero  and  Atticus  had  studied  under  him  at  Athens^ 
iuidXucullus  had  afterwards  brought  him  to  Kome. 


112 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


about  the  7th  of  July.  Eros  is  at  Rome  with  Piso, 
Let  us  bestow  all  our  thoughts  upon  the  gardens 
of  Scapula;  the  day  of  sale  approaches. 


EPISTLE  XIIL 

X  HE  letter  you  wrote  me  concerning  Vairo,  had 

the  effect  of  making  me  transfer  my  academical 

treatise  from   those  men  of  great  quality  to  our 

companion,    and  instead   of  two  books,   I  have 

made  four.     Though  many  things  are  supprest  in 

them,  yet  they  are  much  larger  than  the  others 

A\ere  ;  you  will  write  me,  however,  what  his  real 

sentiments   are.     I  feel   very  desirous  to  know 

who  the  person   is,    you  think  he  is  jealous  of ; 

whether  he  is  not  Brutus  ?  The  knowledge  of  that 

would  finally  determine  me;  but  I  want  to  be  sure 

of  the  fact.     As  to  the  books   themselves  (unless 

an  author's  fondness  for  his   own   works  deceive 

me),  I  have  finished  them  in  such  a  manner,  that 

even  Greece  itself  can  produce   nothing  of  that 

kind.     I  hope,  you  will  patiently  put  up  with  the 

expence,    of  having  my  academics   transcribed 

in  the  form  I  sent  them  to  you.     In  their  present 

form  they  arc  a  umch  more  perspicuous,  succinct 

and  agreeable. 

But,  I  am  now  at  a  loss  what  to  do;  I  want 

to  gratify  DolabcUa,  who  passionately  desires  I 

should^address  somewhat  to  him.     I  can  find  no- 
thing 


TO  ATTICUS. 


113 


thing ;  I  am  afraid  people  talk  already  ;  if  I 
should  find  any  thing  that  would  be  suitable,  how 
could  I  escape  censure '  ?  I  must,  therefore,  drop 
that  design,  or  justify  it  by  some  expedient.  But 
why  should  such  trifles  employ  me?  I  beg  you 
will  let  me  know,  how  my  darling  Attica  does :  I 
am  greatly  concerned  about  her.  But  after  often 
examining  your  letters,  I  am  more  at  ease.  \  et 
I  look  for  fresh  accounts. 


EPISTLE  XIV. 

1  HE  freedman  of  Brinnius,  and  one  of  his  co- 
heirs with  me,  has  written  to  me,  that  he  and  Sabi- 
nus  Albius  the  third  coheir,  would,  if  it  was  agree- 
able to  me,  wait  upon  me.  To  this  I  absolutely 
object.  For  the  legacy  is  not  worth  the  while. 
And  yet,  they  might  easily  advertise  the  day  of 
sale  (for  it  is  to  be  on  the  1 1th)  if  they  came  to 
me  at  Tusculanum  on  the  morning  of  the  6th.  If 
they  want,  however,  to  protract  the  time,  they 
may  do  it  two  or  three  days  as  they  think  pro- 
per, 

^  Orig.  f/.t^^iv  accusation.  It  was  indeed,  very  extraordina- 
ry, that  our  author  should  live  in  such  intimacy  with  Dolabella^ 
who  had  but  just  repudiated  his  beloved  daughter.  But  Cice- 
ro might  likewise  be  afraid,  lest  he  should  be  censured,  as  if 
his  courtship  ofDolabella  was  in  order  to  keep  himself  with 
Caesar. 

Vol.  III.  I 


114 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


per,  for  such  a  delay  will  be  of  no  consequence. 
You  will  then  stop  those  persons,  if  they  are  not 
set  out  before  this  comes  to  your  hand.  Let  me 
know,  if  you  hear  any  thing  of  Brutus,  or  of 
Caesar,  or  any  other  news.  I  again  beg  of  you 
to  take  it  into  your  consideration,  whether  it  may 
be  proper  to  send  my  work  to  Varro.  And  in- 
deed, this  matter  somewhat  concerns  yourself. 
For  be  it  known  unto  you,  that  I  have  made  you 
and  him  two  speakers  in  the  conference.  I, 
therefore,  think  it  is  high  time  for  us  to  come 
to  a  resolution.  For  though  the  names  are  in- 
serted, yet  still  they  may  be  erased,  and  others 
put  in. 

EPISTLE  XV. 

Xxow,  I  pray  you,  does  our  darling  Attica  do, 
for  I  have  heard  nothing  from  you  for  these 
three  days  ?  How  should  I  ?  Since  we  had  no- 
body to  convey  our  letters,  and  perhaps,  you 
had  no  more  to  communicate,  than  I  had.  I 
am  this  day,  when  I  give  this  letter  to  Valerius, 
in  expectation  of  some  of  my  people.  Should 
any  one  come  with  letters  from  you,  I  shall  then 
have  subject  matter  for  writing. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


115 


II 


EPISTLE  XVL 

5)ucH  heavy  and  such  incessant  rains  have  fallen 
here,  that  I  have  not  as  yet  been  able  to  stir  with- 
out doors,  though  all  I  now  court  are  rivers  and 
retirement  for  the  abatement  of  grief.  I  havo 
inserted  Varro  as  a  speaker  through  the  whole 
of  my  academical  treatise.  At  first,  I  had  made 
Catulus,  LucuUus,  and  Hortensius,  the  interlo- 
cutors ;  reflecting  afterwards,  that  there  was  some 
impropiety  in  this,  because  the  public  knew,  that 
thouglr  those  persons  were  not  illiterate  yet,  that 
they  were  not  conversant  in  those  matters,  as 
soon  as  I  came  to  my  country-seat,  I  put  their 
parts  into  the  mouths  of  Cato  and  Brutus.  This 
produced  your  letter  concerning  Varro,  and  I 
thought  no  body  more  proper  than  he  was  for 
defending  the  doctrine  of  Antiochus.  Still,  I 
hope  you  will  write  to  me  in  the  first  place,  whe- 
ther it  may  be  proper  for  me  to  address  any  thing 
to  him  ;  and,  in  the  next  place,  if  it  is,  whether 
I  should  address  this  work  ?  What  is  Servilia  ? 
Is  she  arrived  ?  How  does  Brutus  go  on?  Is  the 
day  fixed  yet  ?  What  do  you  hear  of  Ceesar  ? 
I  remain  here,  as  I  told  ypu,  till  the  7th.  En- 
deavour to  come  to  some  terms  with  Piso. 


EPISTLE 


12 


XPISTLB 


116 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


\ 


TO  ATTICUS. 


117 


EPISTLE  XVII. 

About  the  27th,  I  expect  to  hear  somewhat 
from  Rome,  not  that  I  ordered  any  of  my  people 
to  come  to  me.  1,  therefore,  expect  to  learn  by 
yours,  what  I  have  so  often  written  about  to  you> 
what  Brutus  designs  to  do  ?  whether  he  has  con- 
cluded upon  any  thing?  and  whether  any  news 
is  come  from  Coesar  ?  But  how  can  those  mat- 
ters concern  me  ?  I  want  to  know  how  your 
sweet  daughter  does.  Though  your  letters  bid 
me  hope  for  the  best,  yet  they  are  of  too  old  a 
date.  Meanwhile,  I  expect  more  fresh  intelli- 
gence. 


EPISTLE  XVill. 

Y  ou  see  the  benefit  of  our  being  neighbours. 
For  my  part,  I  am  determined  to  purchase  that 
seat  near  Rome.  While  I  was  at  Tusculanum, 
our  correspondence  by  letters  was  so  frequent, 
that  I  imagined  myself  to  be  talking  with  you 
in  person.  Now  I  shall  have  the  same  benefit  as 
you  advise  me.  I  have  completed  the  treatises 
which  I  addressed  to  Varro.  They  will  appear,  I 
fear,  too  subtle  and  refined.  I,  however,  am  impa- 
tient till  you  write  to  me,  and  let  me  know,  in  the 

first 


first  place,  how  you  came  to  be  informed  that  a 
man,  who,  like  Varro,  has  written  so  much,  with- 
out addressing  any  thing  to  me,  should  desire  me 
to  pay  him  that  compliment  ?  In  the  next  place, 
who  the  person  is  of  w^hom  he  is  jealous,  whether 
he  be  not  Brutus?  If  he  is  not  jealous  of  him, 
he  can  be  far  less  so  of  Hortensius,  or  any  of  the 
speakers  in  my  treatise  concerning  government. 
I  would  have  you  to  be  express  with  me  upon  the 
two  following  points;  whether  you  are  still  of 
opinion,  that  I  ought  to  send  my  work  to  Varro, 
or  do  you  think  I  have  no  occasion  to  do  it  ? 
But  we  will  talk  of  these  matters  when  we  meet. 


EPISTLE  XIX. 

jSf±Y  amanuensis  Hilarus  was  but  just  gone  from 
hence  on  the  27th,  at  which  time  I  gave  him  a 
letter  for  you,  when  your  letter-carrier  came 
with  your  letters  dated  the  day  before,  in  which 
I  read  with  the  greatest  pleasure,  that  your 
daughter  desired  you  not  to  be  concerned,  and 
you  tell  me  she  is  out  of  danger.  The  good 
opinion  you  had  of  my  oration  tor  Ligarius  has, 
I  perceive,  set  it  off  to  great  advantage.  For 
Balbus  and  Oppius  write  to  me  that  they  are 
w^onderfuUy  pleased  with  it,  and  cannot  helo 
sending  it,  short  as  it  is,   to  Caesar.     This  ih   . 

n. 


118 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


more  than  what  you  yourself  wrote  to  me  some 

time  before. 

As  to   Varro,  I  pay  no  regard  to  the  public 
suspicion,  that  I  court  him,  as  the  means  of  ex- 
tending my  own  fame ;  (for  I  had  laid  it  down  as 
a  resolution  to  introduce  no  living  characters  as 
speakers  in  any  dialogue  of  mine),  but  because 
you  write  me,  that  Varro  is  desirous  of  having 
such  an  address,  and  that  he  would  be  very  proud 
of  it.     I  have,  therefore,  finished  the  dialogues. 
I  have  in  four  books  comprehended  the  whole 
academic  system.     How  well  it  is  executed,  I 
shall  not  pretend  to  say.     But  it  is  impossible 
for  me  to  finish  any  thing  more  highly.     I  have 
put  into  Varro's  mouth  all  the  arguments  which 
were  so  accurately  collected  by  Antiochus  against 
those  who  maintain   that  no  certainty  is  attain- 
able in  human  knowledge.     These  1  have  an- 
swered myself,  and  you  are  the  third  party  in  our 
conversation.       Had   I    brought  in    Gotta  and 
Varro  disputing  together  as  you  advised  me  to 
do  in  your  last  letters,  I  must  then  have  appeared 
a  silent  character.  Persons  venerable  for  their  age 
or  learning,-  when  introduced  as  speakers,  have 
often  a  fine  effect :  and  this  artifice  has  been  suc- 
cessfully practised  by  Heraclides '  in  several  of 
his  dialogues:  and  also  by   myself,    in  my  six 
books   concerning  government.     I  am  likewise 

proud 

1  He  was  a  native  ot  Pontus,    and  a  disciple  of  Plato  and 
Aristotle,  but  none  of  his  works  are  now  remaining. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


119 


proud  of  my  three  books  upon  the  character  of 
an  orator,  where  I  have  done  the  same  thing, 
and  where  the  speakers  are  such  as  necessarily 
rendered  me  silent.  Thev  are  Crassus,  Anto- 
nius,  the  elder  Catulus,  Caius  Julius  the  brother 
of  Catulus,  Cotta  and  Sulpicius.  I  was  but  a  boy 
when  this  conference  is  supposed  to  have  hap- 
pened, so  that,  properly,  I  could  have  no  share 
in  it.  But  as  to  my  later  compositions,  they  are 
in  the  manner  of  Aristotle,  and  the  speeches  of 
the  other  speakers  are  so  disposed,  that  I  make 
the  principal  figure  myself.  Thus,  in  my  w^ork 
concerning  the  Ends  of  Things,  good  and  evil,  I 
have  assigned  the  defence  of  the  Epicurean  doc- 
trine to  Lucius  Torquatus,  that  of  the  Stoics  to 
Marcus  Cato,  and  that  of  the  Peripatetics  to 
Marcus  Piso.  All  whom  I  answer  \  This  I 
thought  I  could  do  without  giving  any  offence, 
because  all  of  them  are  deceased. 

You  know,  that  I  introduced  Catulus,  Lucul- 
lus,  and  Hortensius  disputing  in  this  academical 
treatise  ;  but  that  was  with  no  kind  of  propriety. 
For  they  were  made  to  discuss  the  subtleties 
which  they  could  not  be  supposed  so  much  as  to 
have  dreamed  of.  Therefore,  as  soon  as  I  read 
your  hint  concerning  Varro,  I  laid  eager  hold  of 
it  as  an  unexpected  prize.  Nothing  can  be  bet- 
ter 


*  I  have,  after  Monsieur  Mongault,  inserted  these  words  for 
the  better  understanding  our  author's  meaning  in  the  original. 


120 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


ter  suited  than  his  partis  to  that  kind  of  philoso- 
phy which  he  has  chiefly  adopted,  and  liis  argu- 
ments are  urged  with  such  force,  thai  I  do  not 
think,  I  make  myself  a  greater  figire  than  he 
does,  in  the  debate.  1  have  been  at  pains  to 
give  the  doctrines  of  Antiochus,  all  the  strong  air 
of  truth  wliich  he  is  master  of.  Tiiey  have  all 
the  ejiergy  of  his  reasoning,  clothed  in  the  beauty 
of  my  laiigua  ^e,  provided  you  How  it  to  have 
any  beauty.  But  I  beg  you  will  take  some  pains 
to  know  whetlier  it  s  proper  I  should  address 
these  treatises  to  Varro?  Several  things  occur- 
red to  me  on  that  head;  but  of  that  when  we 
meet. 


EPISTLE  XX. 

X  HAVE  received  letters  of  condolence  from  Cie- 
sar,  dated  from  Hispalis  the  last  of  April.  I  do  not 
understand  the  news  about  enlarging  the  city; 
I  wish  I  did.  I  am  glad  that  my  endeavours  to 
oblige  Torquatus  have  been  agreeable  to  him. 
I  will  continue  to  increase  them.  I  can  neither 
add  any  thing  to  my  oration  concerning  Tu- 
hero's  ^  wife  and  his  stepdaughter,  (for  it  is  al- 
ready 


*  He  was  a  prosecutor  of  Llgarius,  but  was  so  ashamed  of 
the  prosecution  upon  Ligarius  being  acquitted,  that  he  wanteci 
to  lay  all  the  fault  upon  his  own  wife  and  stepdaughter. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


121 


ready  published)  nor  do  I  much  incline  to  make 
any  apology  for  Tubero,  for  he  is  a  very  trou- 
blesome person.  You  must  have  had  very  excel- 
lent diversion  in  the  scene  you  mention.  Though 
I  enjoy  myself  with  great  satisfaction  in  this 
place,  yet  I  earnestly  desire  to  see  you.  I  will, 
therefore,  return  as  I  purposed.  I  suppose  you 
have  met  \vith  my  brother,  for  which  reason  I 
should  be  glad   to  know  what  passed  between 

you. 

I  am  quite  unconcerned  with   regard   to  the 
public  report  respecting  me,  notwithstanding  the 
foolish  things  I  formerly  wrote  to  you.     For  it 
is  below  my  concern.     All  that  man  has  to  do  is, 
through  the  whole  course  of  his  life^  not  to  devi- 
ate in  the  least  from  the  dictates  of  a  good  con- 
science.    Do  not  you  see  how  philosophical  I  am 
grow  n  ?     Do  you  now  think  that  I  have  perused 
these  scientific  treatises  to  no  purpose  ?     What 
I  mentioned  ^   was  of  no  consequence.     There- 
fore, I  would  not  have  you  to  be  uneasy.     For 
now  I  return   to  my  former  purpose.     Do  you 
imagine,  that  I  had  any  other  view   all   along, 
than  not  to  be  wanting  to  my  friend  ?     You  may 
say,  that  I  do  it,  that  1  may  once  more  assert  my 
superiority  at  the  bar  of  justice      But  even  that 
has  no  intiuence  with  me.     I  wish  that  I  could  be 
as  much  superior  to  all  domestic  troubles  as  I  am 

to 


Meaning  the  railing  of  his  nephew  against  him. 


122 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


to  these  idle  rumours.  What !  do  you  imagine 
that  I  aspire  at  any  thing  *  which  I  have  not  yet 
effected  ?  Well  then,  may  not  a  man  change  his 
way  of  thinking  ?  And  yet  I  cannot  but  approve 
of  what  I  have  done  already.  At  the  same  time^ 
I  can  with  great  consistency  lay  aside,  as  I  do, 
all  thoughts  of  doing  so  any  more.  But  enough 
of  trifles. 


EPISTLE  XXL 

1  SENT  you  a  pretty  long  letter  by  Hirtius, 
which  I  had  written  but  a  little  before  at  Tuscu- 
lanum.  I  shall  at  another  time  answer  yours  of 
the  same  date;  but  at  present,  I  choose  to  an- 
swer your  other  letters.  How  should  I  do  any 
thing  with  regard  to  Torquatus,  without  hearing 
somewhat  from  Dolabella?  A  soon  as  I  do,  you 
shall  know.  I  look  for  the  return  of  my  express 
from  him  to-day,  or  to-morrow,  at  farthest.  As 
soon  as  the  dispatches  arrive,  I  will  forward  them 
to  you.  I  expect  to  hear  from  my  brother,  for 
you  know  1  sent  an  express  when  I  left  Tuscula- 
num  upon  the  S24th. 

But  now  to  my  purpose.  The  term  inhibere 
which  you  suggested,  and  which  at  first  pleased 
me,  does  not  now  meet  my  approbation.     It  is 

quite 


*  To  be  at  the  head  of  Roman  eloquence. 


TO  ATTICUS, 


1S3 


quite  a  sea  term ;  I  knew  that  before,  but  still  I 
thought,  that  when  it  was  made  use  of  as  a  word 
of  direction  to  rowers,  they  then  rested  upon 
their  oars.  But  I  was  undeceived  in  this  notion 
yesterday,  while  a  vessel  was  plying  near  my  villa; 
for  when  that  was  the  word,  they  did  not  rest 
upon  their  oars,  but  they  rowed  in  another  man- 
ner than  before.  Now^  this  is  quite  a  different 
sense  from  the  term  Epochs.  You  will,  there- 
fore, insert  sustinere  in  your  copy ;  and  apprise 
Varro  likewise,  unless  he  has  changed  it  already. 
No  better  word  can  be  used  than  sustinere  in  the 
sense  LucuUus  ^  uses  it 


Sustineat  currum  ut  bonus  scEpe  agitator  equosquCf 

Carneades  always  expresses  by  Epochs   the 

posture  of  a  boxer  taking  aim  at  his  antagonist, 

or  a  charioteer  holding  in  his  steeds  before  he 

starts.      But   inhibitio    implies   motion,    and   a 

strong  motion  too ;  for  it  signifies  a  ship  going 

backwards  ^ 

You 

1  T  cannot  easily  believe  that  the  verse  here  quoted  was  writ- 
ten by  LucuUus.  It  was  more  probably  put  into  his  mouth  by 
our  author  in  the  first  edition  of  his  academics,  in  which  that 
great  man  is  made  an  interlocutor, 

2  The  criticism  which  Cicero  here  makes  on  the  word  sfnx^tv, 
inhiheray  shews  that  he  was  much  less  accurately  acquainted 
with  the  Greek  language  than  his  friend  Atticus.    To  express 
that  suspense  of  the  judgment^  which  the  academy  recom- 
mended 


124 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


1£5 


You  see  how  much  more  I  am  concerned  about 
this  matter  than  I  am  about  the  talk  you  men- 
tion,  or  about  the  news  concerning  Pollio  '.  Let 
me  know  if  the  news  from  Pansa'  be  true;  for  I 

suppose 

mended,  before  it  proceeded  to  pronounce  upon  the  subject  of 
deliberation,  Atticus   proposed  the  use  of  the  term  tn^yy,  or 
tnhihltio,  as  very  appropriate  for  the  purpose.     This,  at  first, 
pleased  Cicero,  but  as  it  was  applied  to  a  ship  whose  motion 
was  not  suspended,  but  changed,  he  rejects  it  for  another.  But 
Atticus  must  have  replied  to  this,  that  e7ro;^„,  as  its  etymology 
suggests,  signifies  not  merely  the  act  of  the  mind  in  restraining 
Its  impulse  from  passing  on,  as  it  were,  to  assent  or  dissent,  but 
in  dwelling  upon  and  retracing  its  progress,  so  as  to  have  a  new 
and  a  more  accurate  view  of  the  subject  of  its  deliberation.     In 
this  respect,  its  conductis  analogous  to  the  reverted  motion  of  a 
ship,  or  of  a  chariot,  as  mentioned  by  Cicero;  and  these  analo- 
gous  ideas  might  with  perfect  propriety  be  expressed  by  the 
same  term.       On  the  other  hand,  the  word  sustincre  is  not  pro-' 
per,  because  it  does  not  follow,   that  when  the  oars  are  sus< 
pend<id  or  stopped,  the  ship  also  is  immediately  stopped.    Ci-  • 
cero  is  more  egregiously  mistaken,  when  he  says,  semperque 
Carneades  tr^'^^.X-ny  pugilis,  et  retentionem  aurigce,  similemfacit 
vnoxn-     The  7r^o/3oX„  of  the  pugilist  is  when   he  puts  forth  his 
arm  against  his  antagonist:   while  .7rox*»  expresses  his  clinging 
io  him  or  dwelling  upon  him,  when  brought  to  the  ground, 
and  both  of  them  different  in  this  instance  from  the  retentionem 
aurigoe,  or  the  backward  motion  of  a  chariot.     It  might  appear 
presumptuous  in  a  modern  critic  thus  to  call  in  qu^'estion  the 
judgment  of  Cicero,  but  he  is  supported  by  the  more  accurate 
autharity  of  Atticus. — E. 

^  He  was  left  by  Caesar  in  Spain  to  watch  the  motions  of 
Sextus  Pompeius. 

*  He  was  then  governor  of  the  Gauls. 


It     i 


suppose,  by  this  time  it  is  public ;  whether  you 

hear  any  thing  of  Critonius;  or  have  any  certain 

account  concerning  Metellus  and  Balbinus  ?  But 
let  me  ask  you,  Do  you  think  it  proper  my  works 

should  be  published  without  my  orders  ?  Her- 
modorus  himself*,  who  published  the  works  of 
Plato,  from  whence  came  the  proverb,  Her- 
modorus  trqfficks  in  the  works  of  other  men,  never 
did  so  by  Plato.  Tell  me  again,  is  it  proper 
they  should  be  public  to  any  body  before  Brutus 
sees  tiiem,  as  I  have  addressed  them  to  him  by 
your  advice?  Now  Balbus  has  wTitten  me  word, 
that  by  your  leave,  he  has  transcribed  the  fifth 
book  of  my  treatise  ''concerning  the  Ends  of 
Things."  I  have  not,  indeed,  made  many  altera- 
tions in  it,  but  some  I  have  made.  You  will 
please,  therefore,  to  reserve  the  other  books,  lest 
Balbus  should  have  what  is  incorrect,  and  Bru- 
tus what  is  not  new.  But  I  say  no  more  on  this 
head,  lest  I  should  seem  to  make  much  ado  about 
nothing.  But  indeed,  at  this  time,  these  are 
to  me  matters  of  importance,  for  what  have  I  to 
think  of  besides  ? 

As  to  what  I  have,  at  your  request,  addressed 
to  Varro,  I  make  such  dispatch  to  send  it  to  him, 
that  I  have  sent  it  already  to  Rome  to  be  trans- 
cribed. You  may  have  that  worJk  when  you 
please,  for  I  wrote  to  the  transcribers,  that  if 
you  desire  it,  your  transcribers  should  have  leave 


to 


^  He  was  tlie  cot^ijQ^rary  and  disciple  of  Plato. 


126 


CICERO'S  fiPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


127 


to  copy  it  out.     You  will  not,  however,  make 
it  public  before  I  see  you  ;  and  I  know  you  are 
very  observant  when  I  put  you  upon  your  guard, 
I  forgot  to  tell  you,  that  Cjerelia,  who  is  pas- 
sionately fond   of  the  study  of  philosophy,    is 
writing  over  my  works  from  your  copies;  and 
she  has  already  my   treatise   "  concerning  the 
Ends  of  Things."     Now  I  give  you  my  word  for 
it  (though  all  mankind  is  liable  to  mistake)  that 
she  did  not  transcribe  them  from  my  copy,  for 
I  never  suffered  it  to  go  out  of  my  sight,  and  my 
transcribers  were  so  far  from  making  two  copies, 
that  they  have  scarcely  completed  one.    I  would 
not,  however,  have  you  imagine,  that  your  tran- 
scribers are  any  way  in  fault,  for  I  neglected  to 
tell  them,  that  I  did  not  choose  my  work  sliould 
be  published  so  soon.     How  long  I  dwell  upon 
trifles  !    Indeed,  I  have  no  business  of  import- 
ance upon  which  to  write.     I  agree  with  you  in 
respect  to  Dolabella.     The  co-heirs,   as  you  ad- 
vise, will  come  to  Tusculanum.    Balbus  has  sent 
me  word,  that  he  does  not  believe  Caesar  will 
come  to  Rome  before  the   1st  of  August     It 
gives  me  pleasure  to  hear  that  your  daughter  is 
better,  and  more  tranquil  and  cheerful 

You  solicit  my  opinion  on  an  affair,  which  is 
as  near  to  my  heart  as  to  your  own^     Hitherto, 

I  approve 

*  This  probably  was  a  marriage  proposed  between  a  female 
relation  of  Atticus,  perhaps  his  daughter^  (though  she  seems 

to 


'.  I 


I  approve  greatly  of  the  match,  so  far  as  I  have 
any  knowledge  of  him,  I  mean  his  rank,  his  fa- 
mily, and  his  estate.  With  respect  to  his  per- 
sonal character,  which  is  the  principal  thing,  I 
am  indeed  ignorant ;  but  I  hear  an  exceeding 
good,  character  of  him  from  Scrofa.  He  is  like- 
wise to  be  my  neighbour  \  if  that  can  be  of  any 
service;  and  I  know  he  can  boast  of  nobler 
blood  than  his  father^.  But  when  we  meet,  I 
will  talk  to  you,  and  that  in  a  manner  which 
shall  convince  you  how  much  I  am  for  the  match. 
For,  I  suppose,  you  know,  that  I  love,  and 
have  had  reason  for  a  long  time  to  love,  his  fa- 
ther, not  only  more  than  you  love  him,  but 
more  than  he  himself  knows  of. 

EPISTLf: 

to  have  been  rather  too  young  for  marriage  at  this  time),  and 
some  Roman  nobleman  of  distinction. 

*  Orig,  Proxime  accedit.  Monsieur  Mongault  has  followed 
the  sense  o(  Bosius  and  Manutius,  in  translating  this  passage, 
//  loge  aupres  de  vous,  and  he  owns,  that  he  is  far  from  being 
satisfied  that  it  is  Cicero's  meaning,  but  that  he  cannot  find  any 
better  in  the  words.  I  cannot,  however,  lielp  thinking,  that  it 
is  more  natural  to  apply  them  to  the  neighbourhood  of  our 
author,  than  of  Atticus,  because  of  the  following  expression. 
Si  quid  hoc  ad  rem,  as  if,  he  would  make  it  his  business  to  be 
acquainted  with  the  young  nobleman  if  that  would  do  At- 
ticus any  service. 

*  Meaning  that  his  mother  was  more  noble  than  the  fa- 
ther. 


\ 


1128 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


129 


EPISTLE  XXIL 

XT  is  not  without  reason  I  am  so  importunate 
that  you  will  let  me  know  your  mind  with  regard 
to  Varro.  Certain  things  have  occurred  to  myself; 
but  of  these  when  w^e  meet.     As  for  you,  it  i» 
with    the   greatest  pleasure  that  I  have    intro- 
duced you  into  my  works,  and  hereafter  I  will 
take  every  opportunity  to  do  the  same.     For  by 
your  last  letters,    I  knew,   (for  the  first  time,) 
that  it  would  not  be  disagreeable  to  you.     Cas- 
sius  had  already  written  to  me  concerning  Mar- 
cellus,    and  I   had    a  very    particular  account 
from  Sulpicius.     What  a  lamentable  event !   But 
to  return  to  my  w  ritings ,  I  never  can  wish  them 
to  be  better  deposited  than  in  your  hands.     But 
let  us  agree  that  they  never  shall  become  public, 
but  when  both  of  us  think  proper ;  and  yet  I  in- 
timated that  tlie  case  was  otherwise  when  I  wrote 
you,  that  Caerelia  had.  got  some  of  them  in  her 
hands,  which  she  could  not  have  got  but  through 
you.     I  perceive   that   you   was  determined  to 
oblige  Balbus,   but  I  was  unwilling  that  the  work 
should  lose  the  grace  of  novelty  before  it  came 
into  the  hands  of  Brutus,  or  that  it  should  be 
imperfect  when  it  came  into   those  of  Balbus. 
If  you  think  it  proper,  I  will  send  my  work,  as 
soon  as  I  have  seen  you,  to  its  Patron  Varro, 

and 


/ 


/ 


'^4 


and  when  we  meet,  I  will  impart  to  you  the  diffi* 
culties  I  have  hinted  at. 

I  think  you  have  done  extremely  right  ^  in 
serving  those,  who  have  given  me  drafts,  with 
notice  of  payment.  I  am  sorry  that  you  have 
so  much  trouble  concerning  the  estate  which  be- 
longed to  your  Grandmother.  What  you  say 
concerning  Brutus  must  be  very  mortifying  to 
him,  though  such  rubs  are  common  in  life. 
With  regard  to  the  ladies,  it  is  unnatural  in 
them  to  be  at  such  variance  w  ith  one  another, 
while  they  agree  in  every  other  point  of  duty  ^ 

You  had  no  occasion  to  serve  Tullius,  my 
secretary,  with  notice,  for  if  he  had  received  the 
money  of  me,  I  would  have  desired  you  to  call 
upon  him  for  it.  .But  there  is  no  part  of  that 
which  was  designed  for  building  the  temple  in 
his  hands.  He  has  however  some  money  of 
mine,  which  1  am  now  determined  to  apply  to 
that  purpose.  I  therefore  was  in  the  right  to 
tell  you  that  I  had  money  there,  and  he  was  in 
the  right  to  deny  that  I  lodged  it  there  with  that 
view.  But  let  us  forthwith  set  about  the  work 
itself.     I  do  not  think  a  grove  to  be  a  proper 

situation 

*  Orig,  Attrihutos  quod  appellaSf  valde  prolo. 

2  This  relates  to  some  differences  between  Servilia,  the  mo- 
ther of  Brutus,  and  Porcia  his  new  married  wife.  There  h 
a  great  elegance  in  the  original  here.  Cum  utraque  qffUiit 
par  eat. 

Vol.  III.      •  K 


130 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


131 


situation  for  a  building,  the  object  of  which  is 
to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  human   beings  ^ 
because  of  its  being  but  little  frequented.     It  is 
however  convenient.      But   in   this,    as   in   all 
things,  your  opinion  will  be  decisive  with  me. 

I  shall  be  at  Tusculanum  as  I  appointed,  and 
I  wish  you  could  be  there  the  same  day.  But 
should  any  thing  happen,  as  many  things  may, 
let  it  be  next  day,  when  the  coheirs  are  to  meet 
me,  and  it  would  be  spiteful  in  you  to  suffer 
them  to  surprise  me  alone.  In  your  two  last 
letters,  you  mention  nothing  concerning  your 
daughter,  but  this  gives  me  hopes  that  she  is 
quite  recovered.  In  one  respect  I  am  displeased, 
not  with  you,  but  with  her,  for  not  sending  me 
her  compliments.  But  I  desire  you  will  make  a 
thousand  on  my  part,  both  to  her  and  to  your 
wife,  without  the  least  hint  that  I  take  any  thing 
amiss.  I  have  sent  you  Caesar's  letter,  in  case 
you  had  not  read  it. 


EPISTLE 


Orig.  Lucum  hominilus  non  sane  prolo.  I  think  I  have 
hit  upon  the  meaning  of  this  expression,  though  the  learned 
Manutius  is  of  opinion,  that  Cicero  disapproves  of  the  situation 
of  a  grove,  because  he  intended  to  make  his  dwelling-house, 
and  the  temple  he  designed  to  build,  as  it  were,  under  the 
same  roof.  Therefore  such  a  situation  was  not  fit  hominibui 
for  living  people. 


EPISTLE  XXIIL 


X  ANSWERED  without  delay  your  letters  of 
yesterday  morning;  I  now  reply  to  those  of 
the  evening.  I  should  have  chosen  that  Bru- 
tus had  invited  me  to  come  to  Rome.  As 
he  was  speedily,  and  on  a  sudden,  to  set  out 
upon  a  long  journey,  there  was  the  more  reason 
for  me  to  have  waited  upon  him,  and,  indeed, 
we  are  both  of  us  now  in  such  a  state  of  mind, 
as  to  have  little  relish  for  one  another's  com- 
pany ;  for  you  know  in  what  consists  the  princi- 
ple of  social  harmony,  and  therefore  I  should 
prefer  to  see  him  at  Rome,  rather  than  at  Tus- 
culanum. The  books,  I  have  addressed  to  Varro, 
could  not  detain  me  in  this  place.  For  they 
were  transcribed,  as  you  saw  them,  and  they 
are  now  correcting  the  typographical  errors.  You 
know  my  difficulties  with  regard  to  this  work  ; 
but  I  leave  all  to  you.  My  transcribers  are  like- 
wise at  work  upon  the  treatise  I  have  addressed 
to  Brutus. 

I  beg  that  you  would  finish  the  commission 
with  which  I  charged  you  in  the  manner  you 
mention;  though  Trebatius  says,  that  all  my 
debtors  have  taken  the  advantage  of  that  deduc- 

K  2  lion 


132 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


tion\     What  is  your  opinion  of  them? — You 
know  the  house  which  I  am  offered  at  the  ap- 
praisement; let  us  therefore  upon  the  best  terms 
conclude  the  transaction.     You   cannot  believe 
how  little  I  trouble  myself  about  these  matters. 
I  affirm  to  you,  by  all  that  is  sacred,  and  I 
hope  you  will  believe  me,  that  any  little  estate 
I  have,  gives   me  more  pain  than  pleasure ;  I 
mean,  that  I  am  more  afflicted  at  not  having  my 
daughter  to  share  in  it,  than  I  am  pleased  with 
having    what    serves   my   necessary   expences". 
Trebatius  informed  me,    that  he  told   you  the 
same  thing  as  he  did  me,  about  that  transaction. 
But  you  perhaps  was  afraid  lest  I  should  not 
have  cared  to  hear  it.     This  was  indeed  a  good- 
natured  consideration  in  you,  but,  believe  me, 
these  are  matters,  which,   at  present,  I  do  not 
mind.     Let  your  interview  with  him  occupy  your 
whole  mind ;    use  a  language  that  shall  pierce 

and 

1  This  probably  related  to  a  debt,  which  had  been  owing  to 
our  Author  before  the  civil  wars  broke  out,  and  during  which 
so  much  had  been  paid  for  interest,  which,  by  Caesar's  law, 
was  to  be  now  deducted  from  the  principal.  By  the  same 
law  Cicei  o  seems  to  have  been  obliged  to  receive  tlie  house 
here  mentioned  as  part  of  payment,  at  the  appraisement  which 
it  bore  before  the  civil  war. 

-  Ortg.  Me  non  habere  cui  tradam,  quam  habere  qui  utar. 
If  our  Author  had  not  had  a  son,  and  a  grandson,  or  no  issue 
of  his  own  body,  there  could  have  been  no  difficulty  in  this 
passage.  The  meaning  of  it  must  have  been  as  I  have  trans- 
lated it. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


133 


and  mortify  him ;  excite,  flatter,  and  speak,  and 
yet  do  not  forget  that  you  are  speaking  to  Scae- 
va  \  You  are  not  however  to  think,  that  they, 
who  used  to  command  other  people's  properties, 
will  relinquish  their  own.  You  are  only  to  en- 
deavour to  fix  the  day  of  payment,  and  even 
that  must  be  delicately  handled. 


EPISTLE  XXIV. 

Is  it  true,  as  Hermogenes  Clodius  told  me, 
that  Andromenes  had  seen  my  son  at  Cor- 
cyra?  I  suppose,  if  it  was  so,  you  must  have 
heard  it— No  letters  then  from  him?— Or  is 
the  information  false  ?— Pray  let  me  come  to  a 
certainty.  What  shall  I  answer  you  with  regard 
to  Varro  ?  You  are  in  possession  of  the  four 
books.  I  will  approve  of  whatever  you  do,  with- 
out fear  of  the  public  talk.  For  why  should  I  ? 
I  was  more  apprehensive  as  to  the  manner  in 
which  Varro  would  receive  this  compliment. 
But  now  that  you  have  undertaken  for  him,  I 
can  sleep  with  composure. 

EPISTLE 


^  He  was  a  great  parti zan  for  Caesar,  and  our  author  gives 
Atticus  this  hint,  lest  he  might  exasperate  him  by  some  unsea- 
sonable  warmth  or  tenaciousness. 


134 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  AITICUS. 


135 


EPISTLE  XXV. 


X  HAVE  replied  t^  your  accuratelv  wrHten  letters 
conccrnincj  the  dcduciion.  Yo  i  'vill  therefore 
finish  the  affair,  ai.d  mat  too  without  any  hesi- 
tation or  exception.  This  is  pr  >per,  na  /  neces- 
sary, to  be  done.  1  thoug  t,  as  you  write,  that 
my  information  about  .Andronienes  uas  false. 
For  you  musi  hdve  kno^n,  had  tne  thing  been 
as  was  reported,  and  jou  would  have  told  me 
of  it.  Your  letter  speaks  so  much  ot  Jbrutus, 
that  you  have  said  nothing  of  yourself.  But 
when  do  you  think  lie  wiil  come  to  Tusculanum? 
For  I  go  to  Rome  on  the  14lii.  I  meant  to  tell 
Brutus  in  my  letter  (but,  as  you  teii  me  you 
have  read  it,  I  have  perliaps  been  a  little  ob- 
scure) that  I  unders  ood  by  your  letters,  that 
he  was  against  mv  coming  to  Rome  at  this  time, 
for  no  other  reason,  as  it  were,  than  to  pay  my 
compliments  to  him.  Put,  as  1  am  now  about 
to  set  out,  1  beg  you  w  ill  so  order  matters,  that 
the  business,  of  tlie  loth,  may  not  prevent  his 
coming  to  Tusculanum  at  his  own  leisure.  For 
I  shall  have  no  occasion  for  his  presence  at  the 
sale.  You  are  sufficient  to  manage  any  affair 
of  that  kind.     But  I  w  anted  him  to  witness  my 

will. 


will  \  though  I  can  put  that  off  to  another  time. 
Lest  I  should  seem  to  come  to  Rome  on  that  ac- 
count, I  have  for  this  reason  written  to  Brutus, 
thati  shall  have  no  occasion  for  him  as  I  thought 
I  should  upon  the  15th.  1  therefore  beg  you  will 
manage  this  whole  aftair,  so  as  not  to  occasion 
Brutus  any  inconvenience. 

But  why,  my  friend,  are  you  so  much  alarmed 
at  my  making  you  answerable  for  tiie  reception 
of  my  books  with  Varro  ?  If  you  have  even  now 
any  difficulties,  let  me  know  them.  Sure  no- 
thing can  be  more  elegant",  than  they  are;  I 
have  addressed  them  to  Varro,  chiefly  because 
he  desired  that  compliment  ;  but,  as  you    know, 

He  is  so  severe  a  mmiy  that  he  would 
Discover  faults  in  ichat  from  fault  lsfree—\ 

I  very 

1  He  had  probably,  in  consideration  of  Terentia,  his  former 
wife,  upon  whom  his  son  and  grandson  had  a  dependence, 
made  his  testament  a-new,  and  had  it  witnessed  by  more  cre- 
ditable and  disinterested  people  than  before. 

2  1  question  whether  Monsieur  Mongault  has  not  mistaken 
the  sense  of  this  passage.  The  orignal  is.  Nihil  est  enim  illis 
elegantius.  He  translates  it,  //  n'est  rien  de  mieux  ecrit  que  ce 
livres.  1  am  not  positive  whether  this  may  not  be  the  irue 
sense ;  I  only  should  be  gUul  if  our  author  has  not  been  guilty 
of  such  gross  vanity,  and  if  he  only  jokes  here  upon  the  ele- 
gance of  the  binding,  the  writing  and  the  like,  ot  the  dedica- 
lion  book  which  he  hints  at,  more  seriously  a  few  lines  after. 
I  have  therefore  translated  his  words  literally,  and  the  reader 
may  make  what  application  of  them  he  pleases. 


136 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


137 


I  very  often  think  I  see  him  complaining,  per- 
haps that  my  part,  in  those  treatises,  is  more 
fully  defended  than  his.  But  I  solemnly  appeal 
to  yourself  that  it  is  not ;  and  you  shall  be  judge 
when  you  have  leisure  to  read  the  books  at  Epi- 
rus;  for  at  present  the  dispatches  between  you 
and  Alexion^  must  engross  all  your  attention. 

Meanwhile,  I  really  cannot  be  of  opinion, 
that  Varro  will  dislike  the  compliment  I  have 
paid  him,  and  as  I  have  been  at  the  expence  of 
large  paper  for  the  dedicated  copy,  which,  I 
should  be  obliged  to  you,  if  you  would  present 
to  him.  But  I  tell  you  again  and  again,  that 
vou  must  be  answerable  for  the  success  of  its  re- 
ception.  If  therefore  you  have  any  scruple,  in- 
stead of  Varro,  let  us  fix  upon  Brutus,  for  he 
too  is  a  follower  of  Antiochus.  How  much  do 
my  academic  disquisitions  resemble  the  academy 
itself,  never  regulated  by  fixed  principles,  but 
fluttering  from  one  object  to  another^  But  let 
me  ask  you,  are  you  not  greatly  pleased  with  my 
dedication  to  Varro  ?     Let  me  perish  if  ever  I 

was 

^  He  was  steward  and  agent  for  Atticus,  upon  his  estates  in 
Epirus. 

-  The  crisinal  is,  0/  Academiam  volnticainy  etsui  similevi, 
modo  hue  modo  illuc.  His  meaning  is,  that  the  names  of  the 
speakers,  in  his  Dialogues,  are  as  often  changed,  as  the  scholars 
of  the  academy  changed  their  sentiments.  The  epithet  vola- 
iicam,  which  is  here  beautifully  applied,  carries  an  allusion 
to  the  grove  of  Plato,  where  the  birds  sung  and  fluttered  from 
.one  branch  to  another.-— E- 


!  I 


«»t 


was  at  so  much  pains  about  any  thing ;  I  did  not 
even  dictate  it  to  Tyro,  who  can  take  in  whole 
periods,  but  to  Spintherus  word  by  word. 


EPISTLE  XXVL 

I  APPROVE  greatly  of  what  you  propose  con- 
cerning Virgilius  \  you  will  therefore  put  it  in 
execution.  Let  that  seat  be  our  first  considera- 
tion ;  and  Clodia's  the  next.  If  I  can  get  nei- 
ther, I  am  afraid  I  shall  be  weak  enough  to  buy 
that  of  Drusus  at  any  price.  You  are  no  stran- 
ger to  this  affair,  and  to  the  immoderate  passion 
I  have  to  see  it  finished.  I  therefore  sometimes 
resume  the  thoughts  of  building  at  Tusculanum, 
for  I  will  do  any  thing  rather  than  it  shall  not  be 
finished  this  Summer. 

In  my  present  circumstances,  I  can  enjoy  my- 
self no  where  better  than  at  Astura.  But  the 
company  that  are  with  me  (I  suppose  because 
they  cannot  put  up  with  my  melancholy  disposi- 
tion) are  making  haste  to  Rome.  I  am  deter- 
mined, 


*  He  was  one  of  the  co-heirs  of  Scapula  ;  I  have  not  altered 
the  order  in  which  this  Letter  is  placed  in  the  common  edi- 
tions, but  it  is  easy  to  prove  that,  together  with  many  of  the 
following  letters  of  this  book,  it  was  written  about  the  time 
oi  the  writing  the  40th,  43rd,  45th  of  the  preceding  book. 


138 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


mined,  as  I  wrote  you,  to  leave  this  place,  lest 
I  should  seem  to  be  quite  forlorn,  though  I 
could  like  very  well  to  live  here.  l:ut  whither 
shall  I  go  ?  To  Lanuvium  ?  I  should  love  to 
go  to  Tusculanuni. — But  it  shall  not  be  long  be- 
fore you  know  my  determination-  Do  you  pro- 
ceed in  writing.  You  cannot  believe  how  much 
I  write  all  day,  nay  all  night,  for  I  am  a  stranger 
to  sleep.  Yesterday  I  finished  the  letter  to 
Caesar,  which  you  advised  me  to  write,  and  it 
was  right  I  should  compose  it,  in  case  you  should 
judge  it  might  be  necessary  to  send  it.  As  mat- 
ters are  now  circumstanced,  1  can  see  no  such 
necessity,  but  that  shall  be  as  you  think 
proper ;  I  shall  however  send  you  a  copy  of  it 
from  Lanuvium,  if  I  do  not  go  to  Rome.  But 
you  snail  know  farther  to-morrow. 


EPISTLE  XXVII. 

W  nil  regard  to  myself,  I  always  thought  it 
extremely  proper  that  Caesar's  friends  should  see 
the  letter  I  sent  him  before  it  Cdme  to  liis  hands; 
I  should  have  acted  disrespectfully  towards  them 
had  1  done  otherwise,  and  dangerously  for  my- 
self had  I  given  him  any  offence.  As  to  them, 
they  have  acted  very  openly.  It  gives  me  plea- 
sure that  they  speak  their  sentiments  so  frankly 
as  they  have  done,  but  I  am  better  pleased  that 

they 


TO  ATTICUS. 


139 


they  want  so  many  alterations,  that  I  must  write 
the  letter  a-new,  which  they  cannot  expect.    Yet 
after  all,  why  should  I  hint  at  any  thing  con- 
cerning the    Parthian    war,    but  what   I    knew 
would  be  to  his  liking;  for  what  is  the  whole  de- 
sign of  my  letter,  but  to  keep  him  in  good  hu- 
mour ?  Should  I  have  been  at  a  loss  for  expres- 
sion, had  my  intention  been  to  have  spoken  to 
him  in  what  I  think  ought  to  be  the  language  of 
a  good  patriot  ?    We  must  therefore  let  the  let- 
ter,  remain  where  it  is.     For  in  a  case  where  no 
great  good  could  arise  from  success,  and  where 
the   consequences   may   be   vexatious  from  the 
smallest   miscarriage,    why  should   we   run  any 
risk  ?  especially  when  we  consider  that,  as  I  had 
written  nothing  to  him  before,  he  might  conclude 
that  1  never  would  have  addressed  any  thing  to 
him,  unless  the  war  had  been  entirely  finished. 
I  likewise  am  apprehensive,  lest  he  should  think 
that  I  design  this  letter  to  be  a  sort  of  apology 
for  my  panegyric  upon  Cato.     In  short  I  greatly 
regret  the    event;    and  nothing,    in  the  whole, 
gives  me  so  much  pleasure  as  that  my  complai- 
sance has  been  disapproved  of;  not  to  mention 
my  exposing  myself  to  the  ridicule  of  his  party, 
and  of  your  nephew  among  the  rest. 

But  now  as  to  the  gardens. — Unless  it  is  in  every 
respect  agreeable  to  you,  I  would  not  have  you 
to  go  to  tliem.    For  there  is  no  hurry.    But  wiiat- 
«ver  happen?,  let  us  do  all  we  can  to  get  pay- 
ment 


140 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


ment  from  Faberius.  Meanwhile,  inform  me^ 
if  you  know  any  thing  of  the  day  of  sale-  I 
instantly  dispatched  to  you  the  messengev  who 
came  from  Cumae,  with  the  news  of  your  daugh- 
ter's perfect  recovery,  and  of  his  having  letters 
for  you. 


EPISTLE  XXVIII. 

jljLs  you  was  to  see  those  gardens  to-day,  I  sup- 
pose I  shall  know  to-morrow^  \\hat  you  think  of 
them.  In  regard  to  Fabenus,  we  will  talk  of 
him  when  he  arrives* 

With  respect  to  my  letter  to  Caesar,  believe 
me  when  I  swear  to  you,  that  I  can  do  nothing  in 
it-  It  is  not  the  dread  of  disgrace,  (though  that 
ought  to  have  a  powerful  influence  with  me)  that 
deters  me.  For  is  it  not  scandalous  to  flatter 
the  man,  under  whom  one  ought  to  be  asham- 
ed even  to  live  ?  But  as  I  was  saying,  it  is  not 
the  dread  of  shame  that  deters  me ;  I  wish  it 
w^ere,  for  I  should  then  act  more  consistently 
with  what  ought  to  be  my  own  character.  But 
nothing  occurs  to  me.  You  are  no  stranger  to 
the  nature  of  those  persuasive  addresses  which 
were  made  to  Alexander,  by  men  of  elo- 
quence and  learning.  They  addressed  a  young 
prince  fired  with  the  love  of  the  truest  glory, 

and 


TO  ATTICUS. 


!4! 


and  panting  for  those  counsels  which  lead  to  the 
paths  of  unperishable  fame.  Eloquence  is  not 
v/anting,  when  it  is  inspired  by  a  subject  truly 
glorious.  This  in  Caesar  I  do  not  possess.  Ne- 
vertheless, from  the  untowardly  materials  of  the 
oak,  I  have  carved,  if  not  the  image  of  true 
^lory,  yet  something  that  bears  the  resemblance 
of  it ;  and  because  some  strokes  in  it  were  bet- 
ter than  those  which  we  have  seen,  and  daily 
see,  they  are  blamed,  at  which  I  am  by  no 
means  sorry,  as,  believe  me,  I  should  have  beei^ 
liad  that  letter  been  forwarded  to  Caesar. 

Reflect,  my  friend,  how  sublime  was  the  ge- 
nius, how  amiable  was  the  modesty  of  that  pupil 
of  Aristotle  ;  but,  after  being  hailed  king  of  the 
East,  he  grew  haughty,  extravagant,  and  cruel 
How  then  can  you  imagine  that  the  man,  whose 
statues  are  carried  in  procession  with  those  of  the 
iiods,  and  stands  under  the  same  roof  with  that 
of  the  father  of  Rome,  can  have  any  agreeable 
relish  for  than  plain,  that  modest,  letter  of  mine? 
Let  him  blame  me  for  not  writing,  rather  than 
condemn  what  I  write.  In  short,  he  may  do  as 
he  thinks  proper ;  I  am  no  longer  troubled  with 
the  doubts  and  difficulties  which  I  imparted  to 
you.  Indeed  the  desire,  which  I  now  feel  for 
the  event,  whatever  it  may  prove,  exceeds  the 
fear  which  I  previously  entertained  of  it. 

I  should  be  i?;lad  to  see  you  here,  unless  some- 
what of  consequence  should   detain  you.     Ni- 

cias 


142 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


cias   is  earnestly    called  upon    by    Dolabella, 

(for  I  saw  the  letter)   I  was  sorry  for  it,    but 

yet  1  advised  him  to  go.  This  I  write  with  my 
own  hand. 


EPISTLE  XXIX. 


W  iiiLE  I  was  asking  some  indifferent  ques- 
tions of  Nicias,  concerning  men  of  learning, 
our  conversation  fell  upon  Talna.  Nicias  said 
not  much  in  commendation  of  his  talents,  but 
he  said  that  he  was  a  modest,  industrious  man. 
There  was  one  thing,  however,  I  did  not  like. 
Nicias  said  that  he  knew  Talna  had  lately  court- 
ed Cornificia,  the  daughter  of  Quintus  Cornifi- 
cius,  an  old  woman,  and  one  who  had  been  se- 
veral times  married,  but  that  she,  and  her  female 
relations,  did  not  approve  of  the  match,  because 
they  found  that  his  estate  did  not  exceed  eight 
thousand  serteces.  I  thought  proper  you  should 
know  this. 

I  have  received  information  about  the  gardens, 
from  your  letter,  and  from  Chrysippus.  I  was 
no  stranger  to  the  inelegance  of  the  house,  and 
I  perceive  it  has  received  few  or  no  alterations.. 
Chrysippus  however  praises  the  large  baths,  and 
he  says  that  winter  baths  may  be  made  of  the 
smaller  ones ;  I  must  therefore  add  a  small  co- 
vered 


TO  ATITCUS. 


143 


vered  gallery,  and  though  I  should  make  it  as 
large  as  that  I  have  built  at  Tusculanum,  yet 
this  seat  will  cost  me  little  more  than  half  of 
what  the  other  did.  As  to  my  design  of  erect- 
ing a  temple,  nothing  can  be  more  proper  than 
the  grove  which  I  remember ;  but  when  I  knevr 
it,  it  was  an  unfrequented  place,  though  now  I 
hear  it  is  greatly  frequented. 

I  conjure  you,  however  vain,  to  indulge  me  in 
this  passion.  Let  me  but  once  be  paid  by  Fa- 
berius,  and  never  mind  the  price.  I  would  have 
you  outbid  Otho,  whom  I  know  too  well  to  be- 
lieve that  he  will  bid  extravagantly  ;  I  hear  he 
has  suffered  so  much,  that  he  will  be  no  formi- 
dable competitor.  Had  he  money,  would  he 
ever  bear  with  what  he  has  borne  ?  But  what 
am  I  talking  ?  If  you  get  in  the  debt  of  Fabe- 
rius,  let  us  buy  them  at  any  rate ;  if  you  do  not, 
I  shall  not  be  able  to  buy  them  at  a  low  rate. 
We  must  in  that  case,  apply  to  Clodia,  with 
whom  I  am  in  some  hopes  to  agree,  both,  be- 
cause her  gardens  are  far  less  valuable,  and  the 
time  of  Dolabella  s  payment  is  so  near,  that  I 
can  promise  her  ready  money.  So  much  for  the 
gardens.  To-morrow  I  expect  yourself,  or  your 
excuse.  Perhaps  you  may  be  employed  by  Fa- 
berius.     But  come  if  possible. 


EPISTLE 


144 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  XXX. 


1  HAVE  sent  you  back  our  nephew's  letter.  How 
hardened  must  you  be  if  you  do  not  tremble  at 
the  dangers  he  has  incurred.  At  the  same  time 
he  blames  me  in  a  letter  which  I  would  have 
sent  you,  had  you  not  sent  me  yours  ;  for  every 
thing  else  that  regards  the  campaign  is,  I  be- 
lieve, the  same  in  both  letters.  To-day  I  have 
dispatched  an  express  to  Cumse,  and  charged 
him  with  your  letter  to  Vestorius,  which  you  de- 
livered to  Pharnaces.  Just  as  I  had  sent  De- 
mea  to  you,  Eros  arrived  here.  But  there  is  no 
other  news  in  the  letter  he  brought,  but  that  the 
sale  will  be  in  two  days.  After  it  is  over,  do 
you  then  come  as  you  promise  me :  I  wish  you 
could  first  finish  mv  tretnsaction  with  Faberi- 
anus.  Eros  says,  that  he  is  not  arrived  at  Rome 
to-day,  but  he  thinks  that  he  will  to-morrow 
morning.  You  must  pay  your  court  to  him  ;  for 
there  can  be  no  guilt  in  any  complaisance  of 
that  kind.  I  hope  to  see  you  the  day  after  to- 
morrow. 

I  wish  you  could  recover  the  names  of  the 
ten  deputies  who  were  sent  to  Mummius.  They 
are  not  mentioned  by  Polybius,  I  remember  Al- 
binus  the  consular,  and  Spurius  Mummius  were 

two 


TO  ATTICUS, 


145 


two  of  them.  If  I  mistake  not,  Hortensius  told 
me  Tutitanus  was  another.  But  I  perceive, 
from  the  Annals  of  Libo,  that  Tutitanus  was 
not  made  Praetor  till  fourteen  years  after  the 
consulship  of  Mummius.  This  does  not  tally. 
I  design  to  compose  a  discourse  held  in  an  as- 
sembly of  patriot  statesmen  at  Olympia,  or  some 
other  proper  place  in  the  manner  of  your  friend 
Dicaearchus. 


EPISTLE  XXXI. 


vJn  the  morning  of  the  27th,  I  received  a  let- 
ter from  Demea,  dated  the  day  before,  by  which 
I  ought  to  expect  you  to-day  or  to-morrow  ;  but 
I  believe,  though  I  wish  for  your  coming  so  soon, 
I  shall  be  the  very  person  who  will  prevent  it. 
For  though  that  transaction  with  Fabrianus  is  in 
great  forwardness,  yet  it  is  not  so  forward  as 
not  to  occasion  some  delay  to  your  setting  out 
As  therefore  you  have  staid  so  long,  you  may 
come  at  your  leisure.  I  beg  you  would  send  me 
the  Treatises  of  Dicaearchus,  which  you  men- 
tion. You  may  likewise  add  that  upon  the  De- 
scent. 

I  have  laid  aside  all  farther  thoughts  of  the 
Vol.  III.  L  letter 


146 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


letter^  I  addressed  to  Caesar;  and  yet  in  it  t 
advised  him  to  the  very  measure  which  his  friends 
say  he  declared  in  writing,  that  he  would  under- 
take nothing  against  the  Parthians,  until  he  had 
settled  all  the  affairs  of  the  Roman  government. 
But,  at  the  same  time,  I  left  it  to  himself  what 
course  to  take.  Now  you  must  know  that  he 
waits  for  my  opinion,  nor  will  he  do  any  thing 
till  he  knows  it.  Let  us,  my  friend,  decline  all 
considerations  of  that  kind ;  let  us  be,  at  least, 
half  free,  which  we  can  be  only  by  silence  and 
retirement 

But  you  will,  as  you  write  me,  negociate  with 
Otho.     My  dearest  friend,  finish  that  aflkir.    For 

I  can 


1  It  is  pity  that  this  letter  has  not  come  to  our  hands  ;  for, 
in  the  manner  our  author  talks  of  it,  it  must  have  done  great 

honour  to  his  memory.  Meanwhile  I  cannot  help  thinking 
there  is  a  great  deal  of  griTiiace  in  his  apprehensions  from 
Caesar,  who  wa*  too  great  a  roan,  and  had  too  great  a  supe- 
riority of  geniuij  to  take  any  thing  amiss^  that  our  author  could 
sav.  Cicero  however  had  great  management  to  observe  to- 
wards Caesar's  friends  and  ministers,  and  so  had  Atticus,  which 
was  the  true  reason  why  they  durst  not  send  that  letter  to 
Caesar,  without  their  participation.  There  might  [be  many 
things  in  it  which  Caesar  might  be  fond  of,  (and  indeed  I  be- 
lieve our  author  knew,  and  thought  so)  and  yet  be  extremely 
distasteful  to  the  great  men  who  acted  under  Cxsar.  Mean- 
while, if  the  orations,  which  our  author,  about  this  time, 
pronounced  before  Caesar,  are  the  very  same  with  those  which 
have  come  to  our  hands,  we  have  full  proofs  of  tho  noble  in- 
dulgence which  Caesar  gave  to  his  eloquence,  and  that  it  was 
not  Caesar,  but  his  ministers  whom  Cicero  dreaded. 


« 


TO  ATTICUS. 


147 


I  can  find  no  other  place  where  I  can  keep  my- 
self retired  from  the  public,  and,  at  the  same 
time,  enjoy  your  company.  Now  my  scheme,  as 
to  the  payment  for  that  seat,  is  as  follows.  Caius 
Albanius,  has  bought  of  Marcus  Pilius,  a  certain 
number  *  of  acres,  for  which  he  is  to  pay  him 
one  hundred  and  fifteen  thousand  serteces,  to  the 
best  of  my  remembrance  ;  though,  you  know, 
that  the  price  of  every  thing  is  now  greatly  fallen. 
But  I  have  a  strong  desire  for  the  place,  nor  do  I 
think,  I  shall  have  any  body  to  bid  against  me 
for  it,  excepting  Otho.  But,  perhaps,  you  may 
be  able  to  make  some  impression  upon  him, 
especially  if  you  can  get  Canus  to  second  you. 
What  a  stupid  cormorant  he  is  !  He  is  a  disgrace 
to  his  family  ^  Btit  write  me  an  answer  when  you 
think  proper. 

EPISTLE 

^  The  reading  here  is  very  uncertain  in  the  original.  I  have, 
therefore,  as  the  matter  is  of  little  consequence,  kept  an  inde- 
finite number  of  acrv  s. 

*  Orig.  Putet  me  patris.  The  reader  must  perceive  ho\V 
extremely  uncertain  Cicero's  meaning  is  here.  I  have  given  it 
the  most  probable  turn  I  could.  He  probably  either  meant  to 
say.  Does  he  think,  that  my  passion  as  a  father,  for  having 
this  temple  erected,  will  carry  me  so  far  as  to  gratify  Otho  at 
any  rate,  or  to  bid  extravagantly  for  ihe  estate ;  or  does  he 
think,  that  my  passion  as  a  father,  for  my  son  who  has  run 
into  extravagant  expences  at  Athens,  has  disabled  me  from 
buying  it  ? 


# 


148 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  XXXIl. 

JL  HIS  day  I  have  received  from  you  a  second 
letter.  I  am  unwilling,  therefore,  to  send  you 
in  return  only  one.  Do  you  deal  with  Faberius, 
as  you  mention  in  yours.  All  my  hopes  depend 
upon  that  transaction,  and  (believe  me  in  this  as 
in  every  thing  else)  it  never  otherwise  would 
have  entered  into  my  head.  Continue,  there- 
fore, your  earnestness,  which  I  know,  cannot  be 
exceeded.  Press  him  by  all  possible  means  to 
come  to  a  conclusion.  I  beg  you  will  send  me 
the  two  Treatises  of  Dicaearchus  concerning  the 
soul,  and  that  upon  the  descent  into  the  cave  of 
Trophonius.  His  dissertation  under  the  title  of 
Tripolitkon^  \  cannot  find;  nor  am  I  able  to 
meet  with  the  letter  which  he  addressed  to  Aris- 
toxenes-.  I  should  be  extremely  glad  to  have 
those  three  books  at  present,  because  they  suit 
well  with  my  intention.  My  Torquatus  is  at 
Rome,  and  I  have  ordered  it  to  be  delivered  to 
you.     If  I  mistake  not,  I  sent  you  before  my 

Catulus 

1  Orig.  TpivoXtriKov .  This  treatise  is  quoted  by  Athenaeus, 
and  I  suppose,  received  its  name  from  his  treating  of  three 
states,  viz.  those  of  Athens,  Corinth,  and  Pellene. 

-  He  was  a  very  voluminous  author,  and  a  disciple  of  Aris- 
totle, whom  he  followed  iu  not  believing  tlie  soul  to  be  im- 
mortal. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


149 


Catulus  and  Lucullus.  I  have  prefaced  them 
a-new,  with  a  panegyric  upon  t'leee  two  great 
men.  These  prefaces,  w^ith  other  additions,  I 
have  ordered  to  be  delivered   to  you. 

I  perceive  you  misapprehend  what  I  wrote  to 
you  concerning  the  ten  deputies,  because,  per- 
haps, I  wrote  it  in  characters'.  My  inquiry  was 
concerning  Caius  Tuditanus,  who,  as  I  was  told 
by  Hortensius,  was  among  the  ten  deputies. 
Now,  I  perceive  by  the  annals  of  Libo,  that  he 
was  praetor  under  the  consulate  of  Publius  Popi- 
lius,  and  Publius  Rupilius.  My  difficulty  is, 
whether  he  could  have  been  a  deputy  fourteen 
years  before  he  was  praetor,  unless,  which  I  can- 
not suppose,  that  he  was  very  old  when  he  was 
made  questor^  For,  I  perceive  that  he  rea- 
dily obtained  the  curule  magistacies  in  the 
years  appointed  by  law.  As  to  Postumius,  whose 
statue  you  say,  you  remember  in  the  Isthmus  of 
Corinth,  I  know  he  was  one  of  the  ten  deputies. 
He  is  the  same  who  was  consul  with  Lucullus, 
whom  you  proposed  as  a  proper  person  to  take 

a  part 


^  Orig.  /^la.  (TyiyLttun.  Per  noias  From  this,  and  mnnv 
other  passages  t  a  liqiiity,  it  appears,  that  the  practice  of 
writing  in  short-hand  was  common  in  the  days  of  our  author; 
and  under  the  Emperors  it  was  brought  to  great  [lerfeciion. 

^  Our  author  cannot  imagine,  that  this  Tuditanus  should  be 
an  old  man  when  lie  tirst  was  made  questor,  which  was  the 
lowest  of  all  public  offices,  as  he  went  through  all  the  higher 
offices  with  such  dispatch  and  regularity. 


150 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


f 


TO  ATTICUS. 


151 


a  part  in  my  dialogues.  Find  out  some  others 
if  possible,  that  the  respectabihty  of  the  speakers 
may  contribute  to  the  credit  of  the  work. 


EPISTLE  XXXIII. 

W  HAT  amazing  negligence  !  Can  you  ima- 
gine that  Balbus  and  taberius  did  not  often  tell 
me,  that  the  declaration  had  been  made*?  I 
even  sent  one  at  their  request  (for  they  said  it 
was  proper)  to  make  it,  and  it  was  made  by  our 
freedman  Philotimus.  If  I  mistake  not,  you 
are  acquainted  with  the  clerk.  Whether  you 
are  or  not,  write  to  him,  and  let  him  forthwith 
engross  the  deed.  I  have  wriiten  to  Faberius, 
in  the  terms  you  desire.  I  suppose  that  you 
have  concluded  upon  something  with  Balbus  to- 
day in  the  capitol.  I  am  under  no  restraint  with 
regard  to  Virgilius'.     Surely  I  am  far  from  being 

under 

*  Orig.  Professionem  relatam.  This  refers  to  a  declaration 
which  every  Roman  was  obliged  to  get  before  the  praetor^  of 
the  increase  of  his  estate,  since  the  last  general  Census  or  sur- 
vey of  the  people,  at  which  time  he  was  obliged  to  make  a  de- 
claration of  all  he  was  worth. 

2  Our  author  seems  to  have  been  sometimes  very  pliable  in 
his  principles  of  patriotism.  Nothing  was  more  common  for 
him  than  to  exclaim  in  the  most  bitter  manner  against  those 
who  bought  estates  confiscated  by  a  conqueror,  and  yet,  he 
could  buy  this  estate  of  Virgilius,  which  was  confiscated  for  his 

adherence 


under  any  obligations  to  him,  and  should  I  buy 
his  share  of  the  gardens,  how  can  he  be  at  any 
oss^?  But  let  us  take  care,  that  he  does  not 
act  the  part  of  a  Cailius  in  Africa  ^  You  will 
talk  concerning  that  debt  with  Cispius ;  but  if 
Plancus  has  an  eye  upon  the  effects,  the  trans- 
action will  be  attended  with  difficulties.  I  am  as 
impatient  as  you  are  for  your  coming  hither.  But 
that  affair  must  be  by  no  means  neglected.  You 
tell  me,  that  it  is  possible  to  prevail  with  Otho, 
which  gives  me  great  satisfaction.  When  we  be- 
gin to  treat,  we  shall  then  think  of  the  valuation^, 
though  he  wrote  nothing  to  me,  but  concerning 
the  quality  of  the  land  he  wanted.  Endeavour 
to  come  to  a  conclusion  with  Piso  if  possible. 

I  have 

adherence  to  his  country's  interest,  without  any  scruple.  By 
this  purchase  he  stood  in  the  place  of  Virgilius,  who  was  one  of 
the  coheirs  of  Scapula,  and  he  was  thereby  at  liberty  to  bid  for 
the  gardens.  It  is  true,  this  Virgilius  was  governor  of  Sicily 
during  our  author's  banishment,  and  was  far  from  being  com- 
plaisant to  him  at  that  time.  But  still,  one  should  think,  that 
tlie  principles  of  patriotism  might  have  got  the  better  of  any 
private  resentment  or  affection. 

^  Because,  if  he  obtained  his  pardon,  he  would  have  a  title 
to  the  purchase-money,  which,  however,  was  generally  far  be- 
low the  value  of  the  purchase. 

*  This  is  the  Caelius  whom  our  author  mentions  in  the  twelfth 
letters  of  the  tenth  book,  who  made  a  stand  in  tlie  Marian  in- 
terest, and  obtained  his  terms. 

'  Probably  Otho  was  willing  to  give  over  thoughts  of  the  pur- 
chase, provided  our  author,  would  sell  him  part  of  his  estate, 
which  was  to  be  valued. 


152 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


153 


I  have  received  the  treatise  of  Dicaearchus,  and 
I  look  for  his  descent  into  the  cave  of  Tropho- 
niiis. 

If  you  employ  a  proper  hand,  he  will  find  what 
I  want  to  know  in  the  register  of  the  senate's  re- 
solutions, under  the  consulate  of  Cnaeus  Cor- 
nelius and  Lucius  Munnnius.  With  regard  to 
Tuditanus,  your  opinion  is  very  plausible'.  Hor- 
tensius  would  not  without  good  grounds,  have 
affirmed,  that  he  was  at  Corinth,  and  if  so,  he 
must  have  then  been  a  questor,  or  a  uiilitary  tri- 
bune. You  may  come  at  the  truth  by  Antiochus. 
Inform  yourself  likewise,  in  what  year  he  was  a 
questor,  or  a  military  tribune,  if  neither  of 
those  answers  with  the  year,  whether  he  did  not 
serve  amongst  tLe  prtfects,  or  amongst  the  volun- 
teers, provided  he  served  at  all  in  that  war. 

As  I  was  going  to  speak  of  Varro,  he  comes 
in  like  the  wolf  in  the  fable.  He  is  just  arrived 
here,  and  at  an  hour  that  required  my  keeping 
him  all  night.  But  my  entreaties  to  make  him 
stay,  were  not  so  pressing  as  to  tear  his  robe. 
For  I  remember  your  manner ;  besides,  he  had 
a  great  deal  of  company  along  with  him,  and  I 
was  not  prepared  for  their  entcrtainuient.  But 
this  is  immaterial.  Soon  after,  Caius  Capito  ar- 
rived 

^  Orig,  Contiilernalilus.  They  were  young  gentlemen  of 
fortune  and  family,  who  served  under  generuls  of  reputa  ion, 
and  were  treated  pretty  much  upon  the  same  footing  as  our  vot 
iunteers  of  distinction. 


\. 


rived  with  Titus  Carrinas,  and  I  but  just  touched 
their    garment,    when   they   consented  to  stay, 
which  happened  luckily  enough.     But  by  acci- 
dent Capito  talked  about  the  project  of  enlarg- 
ing the  city;  he  said,  that  the  Tiber  was  to  be 
turned  from  the  Milvian  bridge,  and  to  run  by 
the  foot  of  the  Vatican  mountain  ;  that  tire  Cam- 
pus Marti  is  was  to  be  enclosed  and  built  upon 
within  the  walls,   and  that  the  Vatican  field  was 
to  supply  its  place.     What,  said  I,  is  your  opi- 
nion ?    Am  I  safe  to  buy  the  gardens  of  Sca- 
pula?    Take  care,  answered  he,  what  you  do  in 
that,  the  law   will  certainly  pass,  for  Caesar  is 
much  for  it.     I  was  glad  to  receive  this  intelli- 
gence, but  should  be  sorry  were  the  thing  carried 
into  execution.     But  what  is  your  opinion  ?    But 
why  should  I  ask  that?    For  you  know,  that  Ca- 
pito does  not  yield  even  to  Camillus  himself,  in 
hunting  after  news. 

Upon  the  whole,  you  will  make  me  certain  as 
to  the  transaction  of  the  15th,  for  it  is  that  which 
carries  me  to  Rome.  It  is  true,  I  have  other  bu- 
siness, but  I  could  easily  put  that  off  for  a  day 
or  two.  Meantime,  I  would  not  have  you  fa- 
tigue yourself  by  the  journey,  and  I  excuse  Dio- 
nysius  likewise.  As  to  what  you  write  concern- 
ing Brutus,  I  have  left  him  entirely  at  liberty  in 
regard  to  me,  for  I  wrote  to  him  yesterday, 
being  the  15th  of  May,  that  I  should  have  no 
occasion  for  his  attendance. 

EPISTLE 


164 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  XXXIV. 


J[  RESTED  for  three  hours  at  Lanuvium,.  to  avoid 
the  excessive  heat,  so  that  I  did  not  come  to  As- 
tura  till  the  23d.  If  it  is  not  too  much  trouble 
to-  you,  I  beg  you  would  so  contrive,  as  not  to 
render  it  necessary  for  me  to  come  to  Rome  be- 
fore the  7th  of  next  month.  You  may  bring  this 
about  by  the  means  of  Egnatius  JMaximus.  I 
beg  of  you  above  all  things,  to  finish  the  affair 
with  Publilius*  before  my  arrival,,  and  write  me 
what  the  world  say  concerning  it ;  since  it  is  be- 
come a  subject  of  public  notice.  This  indeed  I 
did  not  expect :  for  it  is  now  an  old  story.  Alas! 
in  what  I  write,  I  only  mean  to  fill  up  this  page. 
Why  should  I  say  any  more r  tor  I  am  to  see 
you  in  person,  unless  you  give  me  a  farther  leave 
of  absence.  It  was  with  that  view  that  I  have 
written  to  you  concerning  the  sale  of  the  gardens. 


EPISTLE 


^  He  was  brother  to  bis  last  wife,  and  this  probably  related 
lb  our  author's  divorce. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


155 


EPISTLE  XXXV. 

How  scandalous  is  it,  that  your  countryman'  is 
upon  enlarging  the  walls  of  Rome,  though  he  saw 
it  for  the  first  time  but  two  years  ago.     Does  he 
then  think  it  too  little,  when  it  is  large  enough  to 
contain  even  him.      I  therefore,  expect  a  letter 
from  you  upon  the  subject.     You  write  me,  that 
you  will  give  my  books  to  Varro,  as  soon  as  he 
shall  arrive.     If  so,  they  are  delivered  by   this 
time,  and  now  you  cannot  retract.      Alas  !  you 
know  not  to  what  danger  you  have  exposed  your- 
self    But,  perhaps,  my  letter  on  that  head  has 
kept  you  back ;  though,  when  you  wrote  your  last, 
you  had  not  received  it.     I  therefore,  am  impa- 
tient to  know  how  that  affair  will  turn  out. 


EPISTLE  XXXVI. 

\V  HEN  you  tell  me  of  the  affection  Brutus  ha» 
for  me,  and  of  your  conversation  together,  you 
tell  me  nothing  that  is  new.  I  have  heard  the 
same  thine  often,  but  the  oftener  I  hear  it,  I  hear 

it 


1  Orig.  Gen  tills  tuus.  He  probably  was  a  Greek;  for  our 
author  often  jokes  Atticus  with  being  a  Greek  from  his  great 
affection  to  tliat  country. 


156 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


.157 


it  with  the  greater  pleasure,  and  that  too  is  ang- 
merited  by  the  satisfaction  which  it  gives  you; 
and  I  am  the  more  sure  not  to  be  mistaken,  since 
I  have  my  information  from  yourself. 


EPISTLE    XXXVII. 

Jt  HIS  is  my  second  letter  to-day.  With  regard 
to  the  debt  due  to  yoti  by  Xeno,  and  the  forty 
thousand  serteces,  which  lie  for  you  in  Epirus, 
nothing  can  happen  more  conveniently  and  fitly 
than  what  you  write.  The  younger  Balbus  men- 
tiarred  the  thing  to  me  in  the  very  same  manner 
you  do.  I  have  no  news  whatever  but  that 
Hirtius  is  a  strenuous  champion  for  me  against 
my  nephew  Quintus,  who  rails  against  me  on  all 
occcasions,  and  especially  at  entertainments* 
When  he  is  tired  of  abusing  me,  he  then  falls  up- 
oahis  father;  but  he  says  nothing  so  specious  as 
that  both  of  us  are  irreconcileable  to  Caesar,  who, 
he  says,  ought  not  to  trust  us,  and  that  he  ought 
to  be  on  hisguard  especially  against  me  (this  might 
have  dreadful  consequences  with  regard  to  me, 
did  I  not  know  that  the  tyrant  thinks  I  have  no 
spirit  left)  and  that  I  act  cruelly  to  my  son. — But 
let  him  talk  a^  he  pleases. — 

I  am  glad  that  I  gave  to  Lepta  my  panegyric 

upoa 


tipon  Porcia  ^  before  I  received  your  letter.  If 
you  love  me,  you  will  take  care,  if  it  is  sent  at  all 
to  Brutus  and  Domitius,  that  it  be  the  very  same 
as  it  goes  out  of  my  hands.  I  beg  you  will  daily 
inform  me  concerning  the  gladiators,  and  other 
subjects  of  public  conversation.  If  you  think 
proper,  I  wish  you  would  talk  to  Balbus  and  Offi- 
lius,  about  advertising  that  sale.  I  have  myself 
spoken  to  Balbus,  and  he  has  consented  to  it.  I 
suppose,  Offilius  has  a  catalogue  of  all  the  effects, 
as  well  as  Balbus.  But  Balbus  was  for  having 
the  sale  to  be  within  a  day  or  two,  and  at  Rome. 
If  Caesar  should  not  come  so  soon,  it  may  be  put 
off  for  some  time.  But  it  is  probable  that  he 
will  arrive  immediately.  You  will  therefore 
think  of  all  this.  Vestorius  is  of  the  same  opinion 
with  me. 


EPISTLE  XXXVIII. 

1  SCRIBBLED  I  know^  not  what  to  you  before  day- 
break by  the  same  lamp,   and  with  the  same  pea 

witk 

She  was  the  sister  of  Cato,  and  the  mother  of  Donaitias 
^^i  obarbus.  Those  panegyrics  upon  old  ladies,  which  were 
common  in  Rome,  answered  pretty  much  to  our  funeral  ser- 
mons. That  mentioned  here  never  was  pronounced,  and  i* 
now  lost. 


158 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


159 


with  which  I  was  writing  against  the  Epicureans  ^, 
and  I  sent  it  off  before  it  was  light.  Afterwards, 
falling  asleep  again,  and  waking  with  the  sun,  I 
received  a  letter  from  your  nephew,  which  I  have 
sent  to  you.  The  beginning  of  it,  is  highly  insul- 
ting, though  perhaps  he  intended  no  insult.  For 
he  says,  *'  I  do  not  approve,  that  any  thing  un- 
handsome should  be  said  of  you,"  meaning,  that 
though  a  great  many  unhandsome  things  may  be 
said  of  me,  yet,  that  he  was  against  their  being 
said.  Can  any  thing  be  more  unbecoming '  than 
this  ?  But  I  have  sent  for  the  letter,  that  you 
might  read  the  whole  of  it.  You  may  perceive ', 
that  he  was  moved  by  the  daily  and  repeated  en- 
comiums which  Brutus  made  upon  me,  and  of 
which  many  people  have  given  me  information, 
and  this  made  him  write  to  me,  as  I  suppose  he 
has  to  you.  If  he  has,  you  will  let  me  know  what 
it  is.  I  know  not  what  he  has  written  to  his  fa- 
ther, but  you  shall  hear  how  respectfully  he  writes 
I  to 


*  He  was  then  composing  hisTusculan  questions. 

2  Perhaps  the  reader  may  think  with  me,  that  onr  author  is 
a  little  too  sore  upon  this  occasion  5  for  indeed,  I  can  see  no- 
thing in  the  passage  here  quoted,  that  ought  to  give  him  so 
much  offence. 

3  I  read  the  whole  of  this  passage  as  follows.  Jam  ccetera  le* 
ges,  misi  enim  ad  te;  judical  is  que,  Bruti  nostri  quotidianis  as' 
siduisque  laudiOus,  fjuas  ah  eo  de  nobis  haheri  permulti  mlhi  re- 
nuntiaverunt,  commotum  istum  aliquando,  scripsisse  aliquid  ad 
me :  credo  et  ad  te. 


L 


to  his  mother.  "  I  wanted,  says  he,  that  yooi 
should  hire  me  a  house,  that  I  might  be  the 
oftener  with  you,  and  I  wrote  you  so  much,  but 
you  took  no  notice  of  it ;  we  therefore  can  have 
very  little  of  one  another's  company;  for  I  can- 
not bear  that  house  of  yours,  you  know  for  what 
reason.  Now  my  brother  says,  that  the  reason 
he  hints  at  here  is  his  hatred  to  his  mother. 

Now,  my  dearest  friend,  assist  me  with  your 
advice;  whether  I  ought  to  attack  this  fellow 
fro?n  the  high  and  open  walls  of  justice^  or  nieat 
him  in  the  crooked  paths  of  disguise.  For  to  use 
the  words  of  Pindar.  ''  I  am  divided  whether  or 
not  to  express  the  real  truth  \  The  former  is 
most  agreeable  to  my  inclination,  but  the  latter, 
perhaps,  is  better  suited  to  my  circumstances. 
You  may  depend  upon  my  agreeing  with  your 
advice  be  it  what  it  will.  I  am  extremelyj  afraid 
lest  he  should  surprise  me  at  Tusculanum.  Were 
I  at  Rome,  I  could  manage  better.  Then  ought 
not  I  to  go  to  Astura  ?  But  what  if  Cajsar  should 
arrive  suddenly.  I  beg  you  will  assist  me  with 
your  counsel.  I  will  do  whatever  you  shall  think 
proper. 

£PISTL£ 

*  The  passage  in  Pindar,  to  which  Cicero  alludes  is  lost.  But 
it  appears  to  be  the  same  with  that  quoted  by  Plato  de  Repub. 
Lib.  ii.   though  in   a  different   sense.     'jrorsfo>^(KafTttx,osv4^4^ 


160 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


161 


EPISTLE  XXXIX. 

W  HAT  an  arrogant  fellow  your  nephew  is  I 
He  writes  to  his  father  in  very  dutiful  terms,  that 
he  must  leave  his  house  on  account  of  his  mother. 
The  old  man  gives  way,  and  says,  that  his  son  has 
reason  to  hate  his  mother.  But  I  will  follow 
your  advice.  For  I  see  you  are  for  temporizing 
measures.  I  will  as  you  advise  me,  come  to 
Rome,  but  even,  that  will  be  against  my  inclina- 
tion, for  I  am  extremely  busy  in  writing.  You 
will  sav,  that  I  shall  see  Brutus  at  the  same  time. 
But  that  would  be  no  motive  for  me,  were  it  not 
for  another  reason.  I  do  not  like  the  quarter 
from  whence  he  has  come\  He  has  not  been 
long  away,  nor  has  he  written  to  me  any  letter.  I 
am,  however  impatient  to  know  what  success  he 
has  had,  upon  the  whole  in  his  journey.  I  beg 
that  you  will  send  me  the  books  which  I  wrote 
for  to  you  before,  and  especially  the  remarks 
upon  Plato's -Pha^drus,  and  the  lives  of  the  illus- 
trious men  of  Greece ". 


EPISTLE 


,  Meaning  from  Caesar, 

1 

-  Ori(T,    ipactlpn  irs^Kra-ujv,  K,  EKXa.'^os,    This  I  have  translated 
upon  conjecture;,  for  the  origmal  is  corrupted. 


m 


(1 


EPISTLE  XL. 

JL/OES  Brutus  then  say,  that  Caesar  brings  good 
news  for  our  patriots  ?  but  where  can  he  find 
them  unless  he  hangs  himself,  and  follows  them 
into  the  other  world  ?  for  his  power  is  too  well 
established  in  this.  Where,  where  is  now  your 
fine  device  which  I  saw  hanging  in  your  cabinet^ 
I  mean,  an  Ahala  and  a  Brutus  in  one  piece. 
But  what  can  he  do  ?  It  happens  luckily,  that 
even  the  author  of  all  the  scandalous  things  our 
nephew  has  done,  has  no  good  opinion  of  him.  I 
was  afraid,  lest  Brutus  himself  should  have  fallen 
in  love  with  him,  for  he  intimated  so  much  in  the 
letters  he  wrote  in  answer  to  mine.  I  should  have 
been  glad  to  have  heard  something  of  their  conver- 
sation. But  as  you  write  to  me,  we  will  talk  of 
this  at  meeting.  But  what  will  you  advise  me  to  ? 
Am  I  to  go  instantly  to  Rome,  or  am  I  to  stay 
here  ?  I  am,  indeed,  extremely  fond  of  my  stu- 
dies 

*  Ofig.  Parthenon.  This  probably  signifies  a  maiden  apart- 
ment, and  perhaps  was  so  called  by  Atticus,  because  only  a 
very  few  choice  relations  or  friends  got  admittance  into  it.  Tlie 
Servilius  Ahala,  here  mentioned  was  an  ancestor  of  Brutus  by 
the  mother's  side,  and  was  famous  for  killing  Spurius  Melius. 
By  the  hint  which  our  author  gives  us  in  this  passage,  it  is  plain, 
that  the  greatest  men  of  Rome  looked  upon  Brutus,  as  the  deli- 
verer of  his  country. 

Vol.  hi.  M 


^    . 


162 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


'ro  ATTICUS. 


163 


dies,  and  I  am  unwilling  to  receive  that  fellow 
here.  I  hear  his  father  meets  him  to-day  at  the 
Acronoman  stones.  You  cannot  conceive  in 
what  a  passion  he  went.  It  is  true,  I  reproved 
him  for  it.  I  myself  am  in  suspense ;  I  must 
therefore  take  time  to  consider.  Meanwhile,  do 
you  consult  with  yourself,  and  let  me  know  your 
opinion  about  my  going  to  Rome  ;  and  if  you  can 
have  any  insight  of  the  other  matters  by  to-mor- 
row, let  me  know  early  next  day. 

EPISTLE  XLI. 

A  HAVE  actually  sent  off  to  my  brother,  the  letter 
addressed  to  your  sister,  upon  his  complaining  o^ 
the  variance  between  his  wife  and  son,  which  he 
said  would  oblige  him  to  leave  his  own  house  to 
the  latter.  I  have  acquainted  him,  that  he  has 
written  a  civil  letter  to  his  mother,  but  none  to 
you.  My  brother  seemed  to  be  surprised  at  the 
first  part  of  this  intelligence,  but  with  regard 
to  his  omitting  to  write  to  you,  he  took  that 
blame  upon  himself,  because  he  had  often  in  his 
letters  to  his  son,  complained  bitterly  of  your  ha- 
ving treated  him  ill.  When  he  intimated,  that  his 
resentment  was  now  cooled  (and  after  reading 
your  letter^  advising  to  temporize)  I    told   him, 

that 

^  Monsieur  Mongauit  has  certainJy  misunderstood  this  pas- 
sage. 


that  I  should  show  as  little  resentment  as  he. 
We  then  talked  of  Cana,  and  should  that  marri- 
age be  adviseable,  it  must  necessarily  be  brought 
about  by  lenient  measures.  But  as  you  advise, 
w^e  must  still  have  regard  to  our  own  characters 
and  importance,  and  we  ought  to  act  entirely  in 
concert  together ;  though  indeed,  his  treatment 
of  me  has  been  more  disrespectful,  and  is  doubt- 
less more  notorious.  If  Brutus,  however,  brings 
us  any  new  light,  there  can  be  no  manner  of 
doubt  of  our  following  those  measures.  But  we 
shall  talk  farther  at  meeting,  for  the  affair  is 
weighty  and  delicate.  I  therefore,  unless  you 
can  for  some  time  longer  dispense  w  ith  my  ab- 
sence, will  set  out  to-morrow, 

EPISTLE 

sage,  by  its  not  being  properly  pointed  in  the  printed  editions. 
The  original  according  to  my  pointing  is.  Ego  ei,  tuis  litteru 
lectis,  a-KoXixs  xvarocs,  (versatcefraudis)  significavi  me  nonfore. 
And  he  translates  it,  Je  lui  ai  dit  que  depuis  quefai  recti  la  lat- 
ire  ou  vous  me  conseillez  de  menager  notre  neveu,je  ne  serois 
pas  plus  eh  cohre  que  lui.  Bat  this  never  can  be  Cicero's 
meaning;  for  it  is  plain,  from  the  tenor  of  all  the  former  letters 
between  him  and  Atticus  upon  this  head,  and  even  from  the 
letter  before  us,  that  there  was  no  good  understanding  between 
Qaintus  and  Atticus,  and  that  our  author  did  not  make  his  bro- 
ther his  confident  in  what  passed  between  Atticus  and  himself- 
It  is  plain,  that  they  looked  upon  Qaintus  to  have  great  weak- 
nesses, with  regard  to  his  son,  and  that  he  was  a  worthless  youngs 
fellow.  Bat  at  the  same  time,  as  he  was  so  much  in  favour 
with  Casar,  and  as  they  had  a  great  match  in  view  for  him, 
thev  thought  it  proper  to  humour  him. 

M    2 


164 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  XLII. 


JL  HE  young  man  our  nephew,  has  been  with  me 
in  great  dejection.  Why  so  grave,  said  I? 
Need  you  to  ask  that,  answered  he,  since  I  am 
immediately  to  set  out,  and  that  too  for  a  cam- 
paign *  as  dangerous  as  it  must  be   disgraceful  to 

fue. 


1  Monsieur  Mongault  for  some  plausible  reasons^  thinks  the 
campaign  here  mentioned  to  have  been  tliat  against  Pompcy's 
sons  in  Spain,  and  not  as  is  common!)  thought,  the  intended 
war  against  the  Parthians.  He  observes,  that  it  must  have  been 
written  towards  the  latter  end  of  December,  in  the  year  of 
Rome  707,  at  which  time  of  the  year,  Ciesar  actually  set  out 
upon  the  campaign  against  Pompey's  sons,  whereas  the  Par- 
thian expedition  was  not  to  take  place  before  the  months  of 
April  or  May  in  the  year  709.  In  the  next  place,  that  Cicero 
speaks  here  of  the  differences  bet weeen  the  mother  and  the 
son,  as  being  a  newraatterj  whereas,  it  had  made  a  great  noise 
aftertheSpanishwar  was  finished.  Lastly,  he  observes,  that 
if  the  war  mentioned  here  is  that  against  Pompey's  children, 
tlie  expression  of  the  younger  Cicero  is  entirely  conformable 
to  the  sentiments  of  Cicero  and  all  his  tamily,  who  thought  it 
disgraceful  to  serve  against  Pompey  and  the  Republicans.  For 
those  reasons,  he  concludes  that  this  letter  ought  to  stand  be- 
fore almost  all  the  letters  of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  books. 
But  after  all  I  cannot  easily  be  of  this  learned  gentleman's  opi- 
nion. For  in  t  .e  lir^t  place,  this  letter  miglit  very  well  be 
written  in  the  end  of  December  7()S,  because,  though  Caesiir 
did  not  himself  purpose  to  set  out  to  the  Parthian  war,  till  the 
beginning  of  April  following,-  yet  three   months  was  a  time 

ihort 


TO  ATTICUS. 


i65 


iTie.  And  pray,  said  I,  are  you  under  any  neces- 
sity to  do  this  ?  Yes,  replied  he,  I  am  in  debt, 
and  I  liave  not  money  to  defray  my  journey  to 
the  camp.  On  this  occasion  I  borrowed  a  Ut- 
tle  of  your  eloquence  by  holding  my  tongue. 
But,  continued  he,  my  uncle  gives  me  the  great- 
est 


short  enough  for  the  other  officers  to  put  themselves  in  readi- 
ness for  their  march  from  Rome  to  the  place  of  rendezvous. 
This  is  confirmed  by  a  passage  in  Appian,  lib.  ii.  de  Bel.  Civ. 
who  tells  us,  that  Csesar  in  the  winter  of  the  year  of  Rome  708, 
or  rather  in  the  beginning  of  the  year  709,  sent  across  the  Adri- 
atic sea,  sixteen  legions  of  foot,  and  ten  thousand  horse  for  the 
Parthian  war.  Supposing  therefore,  as  we  may  reasonably  do, 
that  the  younger  Cicero  was  ordered  to  this  service,  there  can  be 
no  absurdity  in  his  holding  the  conversation  repeated  here  with 
his  uncle  in  the  end  of  December  7O8,  especially  as  in  all  pro- 
bability he  was  not  within  less  than  three  or  four  weeks  of  his 
departure,  since  we  perceive,  he  purposed  to  celebrate  his 
marriage  before  he  went  abroad.  As  to  Monsieur  Mongault's 
second  reason,  I  think,  the  fact  is  against  him  j  for  I  can  per- 
ceive nothing  in  this  letter  that  supposes  the  differences  be- 
tween the  son  and  the  mother,  to  have  been  of  a  late  standing, 
but  rather  the  contrary  5  besides,  in  fact,  the  younger  Cicero 
cannot  well  be  supposed  before  the  campaign  in  Spain,  to  have 
contracted  so  much  debt  as  he  is  represented  to  have  done  here; 
for  he  was  not,  even  at  this  time,  above  two  and  twenty  years 
of  age  at  most.  As  to  his  last  conjecture  of  the  conformity  of 
the  younger  Cicero's  sentiments  with  those  of  his  family,  our 
author  does  not  give  us  the  least  intimation  that  the  young 
gentleman  had  any  scruple  on  that  account.  Nay,  he  was  so 
far  from  having  any,  that  he  was  vei:y  forward  in  embracing 
Caesar's  cause,  and  even  outstript  his  father  in  his  zeal.  Upon 
the  whole,  I  have  not  ventured  to  alter  the  place  of  this  letter. 


166 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


est  pain. — How  so,  said  I  ? — Because,  replies  he, 
he  is  angry  with  me  — Then  why  do  you  suffer 
him  to  be  so  ?  for  I  choose  to  talk  to  him  in  that 
strain,  rather  than  say,  *' Why  do  you  give  him 
cause  r"  I  will  not  suffer  him,  answered  he,  for  I 
will  take  from  him  all  ground  of  resentment     Iq 
that,  said  I,  you  will  do  quite  right.     But,  if  it  is 
not  disagreeable  to  you,    I  should  be   glad   to 
know  what  those  grounds  are  ? — Because,  replies 
he,  when  I  hesitated  concerning  my  marriage,   I 
disobliged  my  mother,  and,  of  course,  my  uncle. 
At  present,  every  thing  of  that  kind,  is  indifferent 
to  me,  and  I  will  do  as  they  would  have  me.     I 
wish  you.  continued  I,  all  happiness  in  the  match, 
and  I  think  you  are  very  much  in  the  right  to  com- 
ply.    But  when  is  it  to  be?— Why,  said  he,  as  I 
am  determined  upon  the  match,    all   times   are 
alike  to  me.     Then,  I  suppose,  concluded  I,  you 
will  finish  it  before  you  set  out,   and  you  will 
thereby  give  satisfaction  to*  your  father  likewise. 
With  all  my  heart,    replied  he.     And   here  our 
conversation  ended. 

Butl--I  had  almost  forgotten — Do  you  know, 
that  the  3rd  of  January  is  my  birth-day,  I  there- 
fore, expect  your  company.  As  I  am  writing 
this,  behold  I  receive  a  message  from  Lepidus, 
entreating  me  to  come  to  Rome.  I  suppose, 
they  have  not  a  sufficient  number  of  augurs  for 

the 


TO  ATTICUS. 


167 


the  consecration  of  the   temple  *,    1  shall  then 
have  the  pleasure  of  meeting  with  you. 


EPISTLE  XLIII. 

J^  WILL  take  the  liberty  of  deferring  my  absence 
one  day  longer,  and  you  have  been  very  obliging 
in  intimating  the  same  to  me,  at  a  time  when  I 
did  not  look  for  it,  for  your  letter  seems  to  have 
been  written  just  after  the  plays  were  over.  It 
is  true,  I  have  some  necessary  business  at  Rome; 
but  it  may  be  done  two  days  hence. 

fPISTLE 


*  Monsieur  Mongault  looks  upon  the  Greek  expression  that 
follows  here  to  be  irrecoverable  to  any  sense,  and  in  this  I  agree 
with  him.  But  he  seems  to  suppose  that  the  temple,  here 
mentioned,  the  dedication  of  which,  required  a  certain  number 
of  augurs,  at  least  three,  to  be  present,  to  have  been  either  the 
temple  of  Mars,  or  of  Venus,  both  which  were  built  by  Caesar. 
But  I  must  observe  that  Plutarch,  in  the  life  of  Caesar  and  Ap- 
pian,  de  Bel.  Civ.  lib.  ii.  inform  us,  that  there  was  a  temple 
built,  at  this  time,  by  the  public,  dedicated  to  Clemency,  in 
which  the  statues  of  C«sar  and  Clemency  were  erected  as  join- 
ing hands  together.  As  this  temple  was  built  by  a  decree  of 
the  senate,  after  the  Spanish  war  was  finished,  it  confirms  ray 
conjecture  in  the  preceding  note. 


168 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE   XLIV. 


Your  letter  gave  me  pleasure,  but  the  proces- 
sion grieved  me.  My  grief  however  was  allevia- 
ted by  some  circumstances,  such  as  that  of  Cotta  \ 
As  to  the  people,  they  acted  nobly  in  giving  no 
applause  even  to  victory  herself,  while  she  was 
coupled  to  such  a  companion.  Brutus  has  been 
Tvith  me,  and  he  is  earnest  that  I  should  address 

somewhat 

1  We  are  in  the  dark  as  to  this  circumstance.      Monsieur 
Mongault,  upon  the   supposition  that  this  letter  was  written 
before  Caesar's  return  from  Spain,  thinks  that  this  passage  can- 
not relate  to  Cotta  (who  was  one  of  the  commissaries  for  keep- 
ino"  the  Sibylline  books)  intending  to  make  a  motion   in  the 
senate,  for  declaring  Caesar  king,  because  the  Sibylline  oracles 
had  declared  the  Parthians  could  not  be  subdued  but  by  a  king  j 
*'  for,  says  that  translator,  the  report  of  making  Caesar  a  king 
did  not  rise  till  long  after  this  letter  was  written."  Notwith- 
standing this  gentleman's  opinion,  it  is  certain  that  the  Parthian 
expedition  was  talked  of  even  before  C«sar  set  out  for  the 
Spanish  war,  and  his  creatures,  for  some   months  before  his 
death,  had  been  hinting  at  tjie  expediency  of  making  him  king. 
But  they  were  always  discouraged  by  the  people.     Appian,  de 
Bel.  Civ.  lib.  ii.  tells  us  that  immediately  upon  his  retiirn  from 
Spain,*'some  people  were  for  making  him  king  3"  nor  can  I 
find  either  by  Plutarch  or  Appian,  or  the  best  authorities,   that 
the  extravagant  honcurs,  mentioned  in  this  letter,  were  paid  to 
Caesar,  till  after  the  battle  of  Cordova,  when  the. republican 
party  was  entirely  destroyed. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


169 


1 


I 


somewhat  to  Caesar.     I  promised  to  do  it,  but  let 
him  look  upon  his  arrogance  \ 

Meanwhile,  have  you  ventured  to  present  my 
work  to  Varro?— 1  long  to  know  his  sentiments 
^f  it— But  he  must  first  read  it— and  when  will 
that  be?  I  approve  of  your  indulgence  to  Attica. 
The  very  exhibition  itself,  as  well  as  the  ideas  of 
religion  and  reverence   which  it  raises,   gratifies 
the  imagination ;  and  so  far   it  is  right.     I  beg 
that  you  will  send  me  the  works  of  Cotta.     I  have 
those  of  Libo  here,  and  I  had  Casca  s  book  be- 
fore'.    Brutus  has  informed  me,  from  Titus   Li- 
garius,  that  I  was  mistaken  in  making  mention  of 
Lucius  Curfidius  in  my  oration  for  Ligarius,  but 
this  was  no  more  than  a  slip  of  the  memory.     I 
knew  that  Curfidius  was  intimate  with  the  Liga- 
rian  family,  but  I  perceive  that  he  was  dead  be- 
fore I   spoke  that  oration.     You  will  therefore 
take  care  that  the  transcribers  Pharnaces,  Anteus 
and  Salvius,  erase  his  name  out  of  all   their  co- 
pies. 


EPISTLi; 


1  Meaning  that  all  the  compliments  he  could  pay,  must  be 
insipid  after  the  extravagant  flatteries  of  the  senate. 

2  These  three  gentlemen  had  composed  books  which  bore 
their  several  names. 


170 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  XLV. 

JLjamia  was  with  me  after  your  departure,  and 
shewed  me  a  letter  that  Caesar  had  sent  him.  It 
was  indeed  of  an  older  date  than  that  which  Cae- 
sar wrote  by  Diochares\  but  it  positively  inti- 
mated that  he  would  be  at  Rome  before  the  ce- 
lebration of  the  Roman  plays.  Towards  the 
close  of  his  letters,  he  orders  him  ^  to  take  care 
that  every  thing  be  in  readiness  for  the  exhibition 
of  the  plays,  and  he  charges  him  to  take  care 
that  he  might  not  be  disappointed  after  the  dis- 
patch he  had  made  to  come  to  Rome.  In  short, 
from  those  letters,  there  can,  I  think,  be  no  man- 
ner of  doubt  of  his  being  at  Rome  before  that 
time,  and  Lamia  told  me  that  when  Balbus  read 
that  letter,  he  was  of  the  same  opinion. 

I  see  I  have  got  a  farther  leave  of  absence  for 
a  few  days.  Pray  let  me  know  for  how  many  ? 
You  can  know  it  from  Baebius,  and  from  your 
other  neighbour  Egnatius.  You  advise  me  to 
employ  those  days  in  my  philosophical  composi- 
tions.    This  I  would   most  cheerfully  do  ^,  but 

you 

^  He  was  a  favourite  freednian  belonging  to  Caesar. 

2  Lamia  was  one  of  the  iEdiles  to  whom  the  charge  of  those 
exhibitions  were  committed.  They  began  the  4th  of  Septem- 
ber, and  continued  for  nine  days,  and  they  were  celebrated  in 
honour  of  Jupiter,  Juno,  and  Minerva. 

^  Orig.  Cur  rent  cm  tu  quidem. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


171 


you  perceive  that  I  must  spend  them  with  Dola- 
bella.      And  yet  unless  I  had  been  employed  in 
the  business  of  Torquatus,   that  interval  would 
be  sufficient  for  making  an  excursion  to  Puteoli, 
and  returning  to  the  time.     Lamia,  it  seems,  was 
informed    by   Balbus,     that   there   was,    in   the 
house  \   a  large  sum  of  money,   which  must  im- 
mediately be  divided ;  that  there  was  likewise  a 
great  quantity  of  plate,  besides  lands,  all  which 
must  be  sold  off  at  auction  by  the  first  opportu- 
nity.    Let  me  know  your  opinion  upon  this  mat- 
ter.    For  my  own  part,  were  I  to  look  through 
all  mankind,  I  think  I  could  not  pitch  upon  a 
more   active,     faithful,    and   affectionate   agent, 
than  Vestorius  is.     I  have  written  to  him  in  a 
very  exact  manner,  and  I  suppose  you  have  done 
the  same.     This  I  take  to  be  sufficient,  but  what 
is  your  opinion  ?     For  there  is  one  thing  only  that 
gives   me   concern,  which   is,   lest  I  should  be 
thought  to  neglect  my  own  interest.     I  therefore 
look  for  letters  from  you. 


PPISTLE 


*  Monsieur  Mongault  takes  no  notice  oi  this  passage,  though 
it  is  a  pretty  obscure  one.  From  comparing  it  with  other  pas- 
sages, it  appears,  that  Brennius  had  left  his  estate  to  our  author, 
and  others,  and  that  upon  taking  an  inventory  of  his  effects, 
the  particulars  here  mentioned  were  discovered. 


172 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  XLVI. 


Jl  OLLEX,  according  to  his  promise  to  return  by 
the  13th  of  August,  came  to  me  at  Lanuvium 
upon  the  12th.  But  this  same  Pollex  is  no  con- 
jurer \  You  may  therefore  inform  yourself  from 
him.  I  have  talked  with  Balbus,  for  Lepta,  who 
is  extremly  anxious  about  his  wine  affair^,  car- 
ried me  to  him.  He  was  in  that  house  at  Lanu- 
vium, which  he  made  over  to  Lcpidus.  He  first 
accosted  me  thus:  '^  I  have  just  received  a  letter 
in  which  Caesar  is  very  positive,  that  he  will  be 
at  Rome  before  the  Roman  plays  begin."  The 
letter  1  read.  He  says  a  great  deal  in  it  con- 
cerning my  Cato ;  particularly,  that  by  frequently 
reading  it,  he  has  enriched  his  own  stile ;  but 
that  when  he  read  the  Cato  of  Brutus,  he  thought 

Jiimself  eloquent  \ 

From 

^  Orig.  Sed  Pollex  plane  non  index.  He  is  a  thumb,  not  a 
forefinger.  It  is  impossible  to  preserve  this  pun  in  English. 
It  is  sufficient  to  inform  the  reader,  tliat  the  forefinger  was 
termed  Index  from  its  being  made  use  of  in  demonstrating  ma- 
thematical and  other  propositions. 

*  The  plays  and  entertainments  which  Caesar  exhibited  about 
this  time,  are  very  famous  in  history  j  and  the  afl^iiir  mentioned 
here,  probably  related  to  a  commission  which  he  was  soliciting 
from  Caesar  to  become  one  of  his  wine  purveyors  for  the  feast 
he  gave  to  the  people. 

^  Orig.  Malta  de  meo  Catonc,  quo  scepissimc  hgendo  se  dicit 

copiosiorem 


TO  ATTICUS. 


173 


From  him  I  first  understood  (how  negligent  was 
it  in  Vestorius  not  to  inform  me  !)  that  the  ad- 
ministration to  the  will  of  Cluvius,  might  be 
done  by  an  attorney  in  presence  of  witnesses,  and 
any  time  within  the  sixty  days.  I  am  afraid 
that  Vestorius  will  have  difficulties  in  adminis- 
tering. 

copiosiorem  factum :  Bruti  Catone  lecto  se  sibi  visum  disertum. 

Monsieur  Mongault,  I  am  afraid,  has  not  sufficiently  attended 

to  this  passage.     He  translates  it,  //  dit  qiien  le  lisant  souvent 

son  style  en  devient  plus  riche ;  et  que  lors  qui'l  avoit  lu  le  Catori 

de  Brutus y  il  setoit  trove  eloquent.     It  is  true,  this  translation, 

in  the  main,  is  the  same  with  mine.     But  he  does  not  observe 

the  sarcastic  turn  of  the  passage.     Brutus  was,  at  that  time,  a 

young  man  of  great  parts  and  spirit,  and  the  republican  party 

had  conceived  the  highest  expectations  from  his  virtues.   Being 

a  professed  Stoic,  he  thought  it  did  not  become  him  to  disguise 

his  sentiments  either  of  men  or  things  3  and  we  see,  in  the 

course  of  these  Epistles,  a  certain  secret  malevolence  which  our 

author  all  along  bears  him   for  the  freedom  with  which  he 

spoke  and  wrote.     It  is  true,   they  came  afterwards  to  have 

great  connexions  together  j  but  that  was  because  Cicero  could 

not  longer  help  perceiving  the  exalted  character  of  Brutus,  and 

the  world  would  think  the  worse  of  him,  if  Brutus  was  not  his 

friend.     But  even  this  consideration  was  not  sufficient  for  him 

to  suffi^r  Brutus  to  come  in  competition  with  him,  for  the  palm 

of  eloquence  or  composition.     Both  of  them  had  writte^pon 

the  same  subject,  viz.  in  praise  of  Cato,  and  Caesar,  who  \vas  one 

ot  the  (greatest  iudGjes  in  the  world,  had  read  both.     But  our 

author  would  not  have  reported  his  opinion  to  Atticus,  in  the 

manner  he  does,  had  he  not  thought  that  it  contained  a  real 

compliment  to  himself  at  the  expence  of  Brutus  j  as  if  Caesar 

had  said.  The  stile  of  Cicero  enriches  my  own;    but  when  I 

read  the  work  of  Brutus,  I  think  myself  an  eloquent  man,  \Sz, 

in  comparison  of  Brutus. 


174 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


tering^  I  am  now  to  send  off  an  express  for 
him  to  administer  for  me,  and  Pollex  returns  to 
him  for  that  purpose.  Balbus  was  very  obliging 
tvhen  I  talked  to  him  concerning  the  gardens  of 
Cluvius,  for  he  said  he  would  instantly  write  to 
Caesar*.  He  told  me  likewise,  that  Cluvius  had 
burthened  the  share  of  Titus  Hordonius,  with  a 
legacy  of  fifty  thousand  serteces,  to  Terentia,  a 
tomb,  and  many  other  particulars,  but  that  he 
had  not  burthened  mine  with  a  farthing ;  I  beg 
that  you  will  charge  Vestorius  with  this  neglect. 
How  can  he  be  excused  ?  Never  to  inform  me, 
though  my  domestics  were  always  going  betweea 
us,  of  a  matter  which  Balbus  learned  distinctly 
from  the  slaves  of  the  perfumer  Plotius,  a  long 
time  ago.  I  am  sorry  for  the  loss  of  Cossinius : 
I  loved  the  man.  I  will  assign  the  remainder  of 
the  money  to  Quintus,  if  there  should  be  any  re- 
maining after  my  debts  and  purchases  are  paid. 
When  I  have  done  that,  it  is  my  opinion,  that  I 

must 

^  Orig.  Metuelam  ?ie  ilk  arcendus  esset.  This  may  either 
relate  to  the  time  for  accepting  the  administration  being  almost 
expired,  or  to  some  scruples  which  Vestorius  might  have  as  to 
the  value  of  the  effects,  and  that  part  of  the  estate  which  was 
devised  to  him  j  or  it  may  be  translated,  "  I  am  afraid  that  I 
must  press  Vestorius  to  accept  of  the  administration."  If  we 
read  with  some  old  manuscripts  Ne  arcesscndus,  it  signities, 
that  he  must  send  to  talk  with  him. 

2  Who  was  one  of  the  coheirs  in  the  succession  to  Cluvius, 
and  Balbus  was  his  agent. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


175 


must  borrow  money  myself.      I  know  nothing 
concerning  the  house  atArpinum — But  hold. — 

Vestorius  is  not  to  blame.  For  after  this  let- 
ter was  sealed  up,  my  express  arrived  from  him 
in  the  night  time  with  very  full  letters  from  him 
on  the  subject,  and  with  a  copy  of  the  will. 


EPISTLE  XLVII. 

After  Agamemnon^  hinted  to  me  on  your 
part,  not  that  I  should  come  to  Rome,  as  I 
would  have  done,  had  it  not  been  for  the  affair  of 
Torquatus,  but  that  I  should  write  to  you,  I  in- 
stantly dropped  all  other  business  I  was  about, 
that  I  might  execute  your  commands.  I  beg  that 
you  will  receive  from  Pollex  an  account  of  the 
disbursements  I  have  made  ;  for  it  would  be  dis- 
honourable to  suffer  my  son,  whatever  may  have 
been  his  behaviour,  to  be  in  want  for  this  first 
year.  Afterwards  I  will  manage  more  frugally. 
Pollex  must  be  dispatched  back  to  Puteoli,  that 
Vestorius  may  administer  for  me.  For  my  own 
part,  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  go  thither,  both 
for  the  reasons  I  have  mentioned  to  you,  and 
because  Caesar  is  in  the  neighbourhood. 

Dolabella  writes  me  word,    that  he  will  be 
with  me  by  the  i4th.     The  master  of  the  horse, 

(and 

^  He  was  a  slave  or  fre^dman  of  Atticus, 


-  A  • 


176 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


(and  a  troublesome  master  he  is  to  me)  last 
night  wrote  to  me  from  Antium  \  Avhere  he  is  in 
the  house  I  sold  to  him.  He  is  very  earnest  that 
I  should  assist  in  the  senate  the  first  of  next 
month,  and  he  says,  that  both  Caesar  and  he 
would  take  it  as  the  greatest  favour.  I  suppose, 
had  there  been  any  thing  to  do,  Oppius,  as  Bal- 
bus  is  indisposed,  would  have  mentioned  it  to 
you.  But  I  shall  choose  to  lose  the  trouble  of 
my  journey,  rather  than  be  absent,  if  there  should 
be  occasion  for  my  presence,   the  consequences 

of 


1  The  whole  of  this  passage  runs  thus  in  the  original,  Dola- 
lelia  scrihit  send  me  postridie  idus,  0  magislrum  molestum  ! 
Lepidus  ad  vie  heri  vcsperi  litteras  misit  Antio,     Monsieur 
Mongault  has  chosen  to  refer  the  expression,    0  magistrum 
molestum  to  Dolabella,  because  Cicero  in  another  Epistle  says 
that  he  taught  Hirtius  and  Dolabella  to  speak,  and  they  taught 
him  to  eat°   but  I  have  chosen  rather  to  refer  it  to  Lepidusr 
who  was  then  master  of  the  horse  to  Caesar.    Monsieur  Moiv- 
gault  might  have  produced  another  passage  more  to  his  pur-^ 
pose,  viz.  in  Epistle  7-  Lib-  9-  Fam.   Epist.  where  speaking  of 
Dolabella  he  calls  him  maghter,   or  instructor,  as  to  the  man- 
ner in  which  he  was  to  behave  to  Caesar.     But  as  the  word 
tnagister  is  thus  indifferently  applied,  I  cannot  easily  believe, 
that  in  this  place  it  means  Dolabella.     Besides,  it  would  have 
been  highly  improper  for  our  author  to  have  applied  that  ex- 
pression to  him,  without  previously  acquainting,  or  hinting  to, 
Atticus  the  reason  for  his  calling  him  so,  which  we  do  not  find 
he  does  ift  any  of  the  preceding  letters.     But  with  regard  to 
Lepidus,  the  reason  is  obvious,  viz.  because  we  find  him  per- 
petually teasing  Cicero  to  leave  his  beloved  retirement,  and 
come  to  Rome,  not  to  mention  the  patness  of  the  pun  in  this 
place,  and  on  such  an  occasion. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


177 


of  which  might  be  disagreeable  to  me  hereafter. 
To-day,  therefore,  I  set  out  from  Antium,  so  as 
to  reach  Rome  to-morrow  in  the  forenoon.  I 
expect  a  visit  from  you  and  Pilia,  if  you  are  not 
already  engaged  by  the  last  of  this  month.  I  hope 
you  have  finished  the  affair  with  Publilius.  For 
my  own  part,  after  the  first  of  next  month,  I  will 
hasten  back  to  Tusculanum;  for  I  choose  that 
all  business  with  those  people  should  be  settled 
in  my  absence.  I  have  sent  you  my  brother's 
letter,  which  is  not  a  very  civil  answer  to  mine, 
but,  his  apology  may,  I  suppose,  appear  to  you 
satisfactory.     You  are  the  best  j^idge. 


EPISTLE  XLVIII. 

At  was  yesterday  rumoured  that  you  talked  of 
coming  to  Tusculanum.  I  heartily  wish,  my 
friend,  that  you  would,  could  it  be  consistent  with 
your  engagements.  Lepta  begs  me  to  hasten  to 
him,  if  he  should  have  occasion  for  my  assistance, 
now  that  BabuUius  is  dead,  who,  if  I  mistake  not^ 
has  left  Caesar  his  heir  for  a  twelfth.  That, 
however,  is  not  so  certain,  as  that  he  has  left 
Lepta  his  heir  for  a  third.  He  fears,  though 
there  is  no  ground  for  his  apprehension,  that  he 
will  not  be  allowed  to  appropriate  the  inherit- 
ance. Should  he  require  me,  I  will  hasten  to 
support  him,  otherwise  I  will  not  stir  before  there 
Vol.  IIL  N  h 


178 


CICEEO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


179 


is  occasion.  Dispatch  PoUex  back  to  me  as  soon 
as  possible.  I  have  sent  you  a  corrected  copy 
of  my  panegyric  upon  Portia,  which  I  have  been 
the  more  expeditious  in  finishing,  that  it  may  be 
the  copy  that  shall  be  sent,  if  any  is  sent,  either 
'  to  her  son  Domitius,  or  to  Brutus.  I  earnestly 
beg,  if  it  is  not  too  much  trouble,  that  you  will 
take  care  of  this  affair,  and  that  you  will  send  me 
the  panegyrics  of  Marcus  Varro,  and  of  Lol- 
lius\  (but  by  all  means,  that  of  LoUius,  for  I 
have  read  the  other)  upon  the  same  subject.  I 
am  inclined  however,  to  reperuse  that  of  Varro, 
for  I  read  it  so  cursorily,  that  many  things  may 
have  escaped  me. 


EPISTLE  XLIX. 

JVIy  compliments  in  the  first  place  to  Attica, 
who,  I  suppose,  is  in  the  country,  and  likewise 
my  compliments  to  Pilia.  Let  me  know  if  you 
have  heard  any  thing  lately  concerning  Tigel- 
liusl     For,  as  Gallus  Fabius  writes  to  me,   he 

charges 

1  This  was  the  noble  Roman  to  whom  Horace  has  addressed 
two  of  his  Epistles. 

-  He  was  the  famous  musician  mentioned  by  Horace,  and 
thouc^h  a  worthless  whimsical  fellow,  yet  he  had  ingratiated 
himself  so  with  Caesar  and  his  court,  that  he  was  looked  upon 
as  a  man  of  some  importance. 


charges  me  with  having  betrayed  Phameas\  after 
I  had  undertaken  to  plead  his  cause.  It  is  true, 
I  was  far  from  being  fond  of  undertaking  it 
against  the  sons  of  Cnaeus  Octavius^,  and  at  the 
same  time,  I  wasjunder  obligations  to  Phameas; 
for  if  you  remember,  when  I  stood  for  the  con- 
sulship, he  made  me  by  you,  a  tender  of  his  ser- 
vices. It  is  true,  I  had  no  occasion  for  them, 
but  I  look  upon  the  obligation  to  be  the  same  as 
if  I  had. 

Now  Phameas  came  to  tell  me,  that  by  the  ap- 
pointmeat  of  the  judges,  his  affair  came  on  that 
very  day,  when  by  the  Pompeian  law,  the  cause 
of  our  friend  Sestius  was  necessarilv  to  be  tiied, 
and  you  know,  that  the  rules  for  days  by  that 
law  are  not  to  be  altered.  My  answer  was,  that 
he  was  no  stranger  to  my  obligations  to  Sestius, 
but  let  him  pitch  upon  any  other  day  he  pleased, 
I  would  serve  him  ;  upon  which,  he  went  away 
in  a  passion,  as,  I  believe,  1  told  you  when  we 
were  together.  I  cannot  say  that  this  gave  me 
any  great  pain,  nor  did  I  think,  that  I  had  the 
least  reason  to  be  concerned  at  the  groundless 
resentment  of  a  man  to  whom  I  was  almost  a 
stranger.  I  acquainted  Gallus,  however,  next? 
time  I  came  to  Rome,  with  what  I  had  heard, 

but 

*  He  was  grandfather  to  Tigellius. 

2  He  was  consul  in  the  year  of  Rome  6/7,  but  he  was  of  a 
•ilfferent  family  from  Octavius  the  father  of  A'lJgustus  C«sar. 

N  2 


/ 


180 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


181 


but  without  naming  the  younger  Balbus.  Gallus, 
according  to  his  letters,  executed  the  commission 
I  gave  him,  and  he  tells  me,  that  Tigellius  said, 
I  suspected  him,  because  my  conscience  told  me, 
I  had  betrayed  Phameas. 

All  that  I  have  now  to  recommend  to  you  is, 
if  possible,  to  elicit  his  opinion  of  my  nephew, 
and  not  to  betray  any  anxiety  about  me.  There 
are  some,  of  whom  it  is  no  less  pleasant  to  ex- 
press one's  hatred  without  restraint,  than  it  is  to 
be  free  from  obligation  to  all  others.  And  yet,  as 
you  well  observe,  those  fellows  are  more  respect- 
ful to  me,  if  indeed  attention  be  a  mark  of  re- 
spect, than  I  to  them. 


EPISTLE  L. 

Y  ou  having  advised  me  in  several  of  your  let- 
ters, to  write  in  a  fuller  manner  to  Caesar,  and 
Balbus  having  lately  acquainted  me  at  Lanuvium 
of  a  letter  sent  by  him  and  Oppius  to  Caesar, 
informing  him,  that  I  had  read  his  book  against 
Cato,  and  greatly  admired  it;  I  have  written 
to  Caesar  a  letter  upon  the  same  subject,  which  I 
sent  to  Dolabella  under  cover  to  Oppius  and 
Balbus,  with  a  copy  of  the  same,  desiring  them 
not  to  send  the  original  to  Dolabella,  unless  they 
approved  of  the  copy.  Their  answer  to  this 
was,  that  they  never  read  any  thing  that  pleased 

them 


I 


them  better,    and  that  they  had  forwarded  tiie 
original  to  Dolabella. 

Vestorius  has  written  to  me,  that  I  should 
send  him  by  his  slave,  a  power  of  attorney  for 
my  part  of  the  succession,  to  authorize  him  to 
sell  one  of  the  farms  of  Brinnius  to  one  Heterius, 
so  that  he  may  transact  the  affair  while  he  is  at 
Puteoli.  As  that  slave  comes  hither  by  the  way 
of  Rome,  and  as  Vestorius,  I  suppose,  has  writ- 
ten by  him  to  you,  I  beg  that  you  would  dis- 
patch him  to  me.  The  accounts  given  me  by 
Balbus  and  Oppius  concerning  Cassar's  journey 
agree  with  yours.  I  am  surprised  that  I  have 
heard  nothing  of  what  has  passed  between  you 
and  Tigellius.— Were  it  no  more  than  how  he 
received  my  apology.— But  it  does  not  signify  a 
rush  to  me.— And  yet,  I  should  be  glad  to  know. 
You  ask  me  where  1  intend  to  meet  Caesar.  Do 
not  you  think  it  sufficient,  if  I  meet  him  at  Al- 
sium\  For  this  purpose,  I  have  written  to 
Murena  to  procure  me  lodgings,  but  he,  I  sup- 
pose, is  gone  with  ]\Iatius.  I  therefore,  must 
try  what  can  be  done  with  Sallust.  Just  as  I  am 
writing  this  Eros  tells  me,  that  Murena  has  sent 
him  back  with  a  more  obliging  answer  to  my  re- 
quest.    I,   therefore,  will   lodge  with  him,   for 

the 

1  This  was  a  town  of  Tuscany,  about  twenty  miles  from 
Rome,  situated  near  the  sea  upon  the  river  Arno. 


182 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


the  hopse  of  Silius  is  without  bedding,  and  that 
of  Dida  will  be  so  full,  that  I  suppose,  he  will 
be  obliged  to  turn  out  of  it  himself. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


183- 


me  word,  that  he  would  be  at  Rome  by  the  23d, 
but  I  sent  him  an  invitation  to  my  house,  and  I 
am  now  going  to  Rome,  lest  he  should  get  thither 
before  me. 


EPISTLE  LI. 

Jlt  escaped  my  memory  to  send  you  a  copy  of 
my  letter  to  Caesar,  nor  did  that  oniission  pro- 
ceed from  the  cause  you  suspect,  le^t  1  should 
appear  to  you  abject'  and  servile.  So  far  from 
this,  I  wrote  to  him  in  that  style  of  manly  inde- 
pendence, which  a  mind,  conscious  of  equality,  na- 
turally dictated.  Nay,  you  know,  I  told  you  when 
we  were  together,  that  I  really  tiad  a  good  opi- 
nion of  his  Anti-Cato.  I  therefore  wrote  to  him 
in  a  strain  of  freedom  indeed,  but  such,  I  believe, 
as  he  will  read  with  the  highest  satisfaction.  My 
heart  is  at  last  at  ease,  with  regard  to  Attica.  I 
therefore  send  her  and  you  my  compliments  up- 
on her  recovery.  Give  me  the  whole  of  your 
Conversation  with  Tigellius,  and  that  too  as  soon 
as  possible,  for  I  cannot  be  easy  till  I  have  it. 
You  must  know,  that  to-morrow  our  nephew 
comes  to  Rome,  but  whether  he  is  to  lodge 
with  you  or  with  me,  I  know  not.     He  wrote 

me 

^  Francis  Odin  has  the  credit  of  having  here  deciphered  the 
true  meaning  of  the  onginal :  Nee  idfuity  quod  suspicaris,  ut 
me  puderet  tut,  tie  ridicule  Micillus,  i,  e,  kikkv^^^osj  ■little, 
mean. — E. 


EPISTLE  LIE 

\Y  ELL,    this  formidable  visit  at  last  is  over, 
without  my  having  reason  to  repent  of  my  guest, 
who  seemed  to  enjoy  every  thing  he  met  with. 
You  must  know  then,  that  on  the  evening  before, 
beinfT  the   18th,  when   he  came    to  the    house 
of  Philip,  it  was  so  crowded    with  soldiers,  to 
the  number   of   two   thousand,    that  there  was 
scarcely  a  room    empty  for  Caesar  himself   to 
sup  in.     This  I  own  to  you,  gave  me  apprehen- 
sions as  to  my  own  case  next  day,  but  I  was  de- 
livered from  them  by  Barba  Cassius  \  who  ap- 
pointed me  a  guard.     Thus  the  soldiers  encamp- 
ed in  the  fields,    and  my  house  was  kept  clear. 
He  passed  the   19tli  at  Philip's  house  till  noon, 
without  suffering  any  person  to  be  admitted  to 
him,  being  busied,    I  suppose,    in  settling  ac- 
counts vvith  Balbus.     From  thence,  he  w^alked  to 
my  house  by  the  shore-;  after  two,   he  v  ;nt  in- 
to the  Bath.      He  then  heard  the  veri.c:>  noon 

Mctiii. 


M .:  t  a 


1  He  probably  was  a  Tribune  in  Caesar's  army. 
*  It  appears,  there  was  scarcely  the  distance  of  a  t' 
tween  tiie  house  of  Cicero  and  thatoi  Philippus. 


184 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


185 


Mamurra\  without  changing  his  countenance. 
After  this  he  was  anointed,  and  sat  down  to  sup- 
per, when  he  eat  heartily,  and  drank  freely, 
for  you  must  know,  he  had  taken  an  emetic  \ 
and  indeed,  every  thing  was  well  dressed,  and 
the  best  of  the  kind. 

But  of  our  pleasures,  that  was  but  the  lasty 
For  wit  and  humour  seasoned  our  repast  I 

Besides,  Caesar's  table,  his  retinue  was  plen- 
tifully served  in  three  other  dining-rooms ;  and 
nothing  was  wanting  in  the  entertainment  of  his 
freedmen  of  the  second  rank,  and  his  slaves, 
for  his  freedmen  of  the  better  sort,  were  ele- 
gantly treated.  In  short,  I  came  off  like  myself, 
though  let  me  tell  you,  he  is  a  guest  to  whom 
one  would  not  say,  ^*  Pray  do  me  the  honour  to 
call  here  as  you  return."  No,  no,  one  visit  is 
enough.     We  talked  nothing  of  business,  but  a 

great 

^  They  were  written  by  Catullus,  and  are  still  extant.  This 
Mamurra  was  a  Roman  knight,  and  general  of  the  artillery  to 
Caesar,  but  noted  for  extravagancy  and  luxury  in  living.  The 
verses  in  question,  lashed  Caesar  as  well  as  Mamurra. 

^  It  appear?  from  many  passages,  that  the  ancients  thought 
vomitting  to  be  a  great  preservative  of  health,  and  a  great  pre- 
ventor  of  surfeits  in  eating  or  drinking.  Monsieur  Mongault 
is  of  opinion,  that  Caesar  took  this  vomit  before  he  came 
abroad  in  the  morning  j  but  I  think,  from  the  words  of  our 
author,  there  is  no  necessity  to  suppose  that. 

^  This  is  a  verse  from  Lucilius^  and  is  mentioned  elsewhere 
by  our  author. 


M 


great  deal  about  learning.  To  conclude,  he  was 
free,  easy,  and  happy.  He  told  me,  that  he 
would  pass  one  day  at  Peutoli,  and  another  at 
Baiae.  Thus  I  have  given  you  an  account  of  my 
entertainment,  or  rather  of  the  manner  of  my 
entertainment  of  this  great  man,  which  put  me 
to  some  inconveniency,  but  to  no  trouble.  I 
will  stay  here  a  little,  and  then  remove  to  Tus- 
culanum.  When  Caesar  passed  by  Dolabella's 
house,  all  his  troops  marched  close  to  his  horse 
upon  the  right  and  left,  which  they  did  no  where 
else  \    This  I  learned  from  Nicia. 


CICERO'S 


*  Monsieur  Mongault  is  of  opinion,  that  this  must  have  been 
done  by  way  of  honour  to  Dolabella.  But  the  learned  gentie- 
man  ought  to  have  reflected,  that  Caesar's  not  paying  Dolabella 
a  visit,  considering  the  great  posts  that  Dolabella  held  under 
him,  and  that  he  passed  by  his  house,  was  no  great  mark  of 
confidence ;  but  though  there  should  be  nothing  in  this  re- 
mark ;  yet  it  is  certain,  that  there  was  at  this  time  a  variance 
between  Dolabella  and  Antony,  who  had  Caesar's  ear,  and 
had  accused  Dolabella  to  Caesar,  which  proceeded  to  open 
war  in  the  senate.  This  therefore  was  the  true  reason  of  Cae- 
sar's caution. 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO 


ATTICUS. 


BOOK  XIV. 


EPISTLE  I. 

X  HAVE  called  upon  the  person  ^  we  talked  of 
in  the  morning. — According  to  him  all  is  des- 
perate, and  irreconcileable.  For,  if  a  genius 
like  that  of  Cassar  fiiled  in  expedients  for  una- 
nimity, who  can  hope  now  to  succeed  ?  In  short, 
he  said,  (though  I  am  not  sure  it  is  so)  that  all 
was  undone ;  but  he  assured  me,  at  the  same 
time,  with  great  joy,  that  the  Gauls  would  in- 
vade 

^  All  the  letters  of  this  and  the  following  books,  were 
written  after  Caesar  was  killed  in  the  senate,  which  happened 
on  the  15th  of  March,  in  the  year  of  Rome  /Og.  The  person 
here  spoken  of  was  Matins. 


188 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


189 


vade  our  empire  ^  in  less  than  twenty  days. — 
That  he  has  had  no  conversation  with  any  of  that 

party 

1  Orig.  GalJicum  tumultum.  There  was  a  difference  between 
the  Gallicum  helium,  and  the  Gallicus  tumultas.  The  former 
served  to  express  the  war  when  it  was  confined  be}ond  the 
Alps,  to  Gaul  itself.  The  latter  was  very  dreadful  to  the  Ro- 
mans, ever  since  the  invasion  under  Brennus,  when  Rome  itself 
was  burnt  j  and  when  such  an  invasion  was  threatened,  the  ap- 
prehensions of  the  Romans  were  so  great,  that  very  extraordi- 
nary precautions  were  taken  to  defenu  Italy,  for  at  thai  time, 
as  in  the  time  of  a  civil  war,  the  censors  exempted  no  person 
from  carrying  arms. 

The  reader  may  readily  ask,  why  Matius  should  be  in  such 
raptures,  upon  telling  Cicero  this  disagreeable  piece  of  news  ? 
To  which  I  answer  (though  I  think  it  has  been  taken  notice  of 
by  no  commentator  or  translator)  as  follows.  Caesar,  notwith- 
standing his  prodigious  successes,  and  the  extraordinary  means 
he  had  made  use  of  to  endear  himself  to  his  countrymen,  found 
that  their  minds  were  still  irreconcileable  to  slavery ;  and  as 
the  most  glorious  of  his  victories  had  been  obtained  over  the 
best  and  the  greatest  of  the  Romans  themselves,  he  was  sensible, 
that  something  of  horror  and  grief  mingled  in  all  their  accla- 
mations. According  to  all  accounts,  he  had  a  secret  passion  to 
be  created  king ;  but  the  visible  joy  of  the  people  upon  his 
faintly  rejecting  that  title,  took  from  him  all  hopes  of  succeed- 
ing until  he  had  done  something  that  might  raise  his  power 
as  well  as  his  glory  beyond  all  possibility  of  an  attack.  It  was 
upon  this  principle  that  ht  projected  the  scheme  of  the  Par- 
thian war,  and  all  those  mighty  designs  w  hich  could  have  been 
formed  only  by  his  genius,  and  executed  by  his  power.  In 
short,  if  we  compare  his  conduct  with  what  happened  after- 
wards, it  is  plain,  that  he  did  not  think  peace  was  as  yet  com- 
patible with  his  safety.  An  unconstitutional  power,  like 
his,    was  not    to    be    upheld    by  the   practice  of  the  most 

amiable 


\ 


\ 


w 


party,    excepting  with  Lepidus,  ever  since  the 
\5i\\  of  March ;  and  upon  the  wlible,  that  things 

would 

amiable  virtues,  or  the  exercises  of  the  most  commanding  ge- 
nius.   All  the  mighty  things  he  had  done  to  reconcile  the  heads 
of  the  republican  party  to  his  interest,  the  amazing  proofs  he 
had  given  of  clemency,  moderation,  and  magnanimity,  were 
ineffectual  for  removing  in  the  minds  of  the  people  the  de- 
fects of  his  title  to  be  the  master  of  Rome.     Every  day  gave 
him  new  proofs,  that  empire  acquired  by  anus,  must  be  sup- 
ported by  arms.     His  veteran  army,  it  is  true,  (by  tlieir  long 
absence  in  the  Gallic,  and  other,  wars,  and  by  their  being  so 
long  accustomed  to  the  military    modes    of  Life,)    he   was 
sure  would  serve  him  faithfully ,-  because,  they  had  almost  for- 
got they  had  a  country,  and  they  knew  no  other  authority  but 
his.     But  his  frequent  wars,  and  lengtb  of  time,  had  greatly 
reduced  the  number  of  those  veterans  he  could  depend  on, 
and  his  other  troops  were  commanded  by  generals  who  were 
jealous  of  on©  another,  and  many  of  them  secretly  disliked 
his  service.  But  he  knew,  that  all  of  them  would  unite  against 
a  common  enemy  in  a  foreign  war,  and  that  a  short  time, 
if  he  commanded  them  in  person,  would  easily  reconcile  them 
to  his  views  and  principles,  while  the  keeping  them  employed 
in  the  remote  parts  of  the  empire,  secured  his  government  at 
home  from  all  attempts.     But  he  was  cut  off  in  the  midst  of 
those  mighty  designs,  without  leaving  a  successor  capable  of 
carrying  them  into  execution.      His  friends   and  followers, 
however,  were  no  strangers  both  to  the  maxims,  and  to  the 
necessities  of  his  government ;  they  knew  that  they  possessed 
the  sword  j  but  they  knew  they  must  always  hold  it  drawn, 
otherwise  it  must  be  wrested  from  their  hands,  and  that  too  in 
a  very  short  time,  or  else  they  must  live  upon  free  quarters, 
there  being  no  person  now  powerfiil  enough  to  bring  the  senate 
and  people  to  consent  to  their  proceedings.     An  invasion  from 
the  Gauls  therefore,  the  most  dreadful  terror  that  could  be 

spread 


190 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


191 


would  take  another  turn  \  How  wisely  does 
Oppius  act,  who,  though  he  bewails  the  death 
of  Caesar,  yet  drops  nothing  that  can  give  any 
offence  to  the  patriot-party  ?  But  enough  upon 
this  subject. 

I  beg  you  will  not  think  it  too  much  to  write 
me  all  the  news,  for  I  expect  a  great  deal — Let 
me  know  whether  the  accounts  concerning  Sex- 

lus 

spread  through  Rome,  was  the  only  expedient  that  could  re- 
concile their  country  to  their  service ;  and  though  this  news 
was  false,  yet  we  find  that  Matius,  one  of  Ctcsar's  strongest 
partizans  could  not  help  mentioning  it  with  raptures. 

*  Orig.  Ad  sum  mam  71071  posse  istcec  sic  abire.  Upon  the 
death  of  Caesar,  on  the  Ides  of  March,  in  the  consulship  of 
Marcus  Antonius,  and  Cornelius  Dolabeila,  to  whom  Caesar 
had  resigned  the  consulship  upon  his  undertaking  his  Parthian 
expedition,  the  conspirators  proclaimed  peace  and  liberty  to 
the  people  3  but  finding  them  in  two  great  a  consternation  and 
ferment  to  bear  to  be  spoken  to  immediately,  they  retired  to 
the  capitol ,-  and  Brutus  in  a  speech  to  the  people  whom  he 
had  summoned  thither,  justified  the  act  of  Caesar's  death,  and 
pathetically  exhorted  them  to  protect  that  liberty  which  he 
and  his  friends  had  purchased  for  them.  His  speech  was  se- 
conded by  our  author,  while  Antony  throwing  off  his  consular 
habits,  shut  himself  up  at  home,  and  by  a  very  masterly  con- 
duct he  bade  fair  to  succeed  to  all  the  power  of  Caesar.  For 
Lepidus,  who  was  a  vain  irresolute  man,  being  at  the  head  of 
a  fine  army,  with  which  he  was  to  have  marched  to  the  fo- 
vemment  of  Spain,  which  had  been  conferred  on  him  by  Cae- 
sar, had  some  thoughts  of  seizing  the  government,  and  of  de- 
stroying the  conspirators,  which  he  might  easily  have  done, 
had  he  not  been  artfully  diverted  from  the  thoughts  of  both  by 
Antony,  who  thereby  gained  some  credit  with  the  conspirators. 

Meanwhile, 


v 


tus  Pompeius  '  are  confirmed ;    but,    above  all 
things,  inform  me  as  to  our  friend  Brutus.    The 
person  I  have  been  with,  told  me,   that  Caesar 
used  to  say  of  Brutus,  "  It  is  of  great  import- 
ance what  he  is  earnest  in ;  for  when  he  is  m 
earnest,  he  is  in  great  earnest,"  and  that  Caesar 
made  that  observation  upon  him  when  he  spoke 
at   Nicea=,     in  favour  of   king  Dejotarus,   for 
whom,    he  said,  he  spoke  with  amazing  force 
and  freedom.     The  same  person  told  me  farther, 
(for  I  love  to  write  to  you  whatever  comes  m 
my  mind)  the  last  time  I  was  with  him  at  the 
desire  of  Sestius,    and  sat  down,  waiting  till  I 
should  be  called  in,  that  Csesar  said,   "Can  I 
now  doubt  my  being  greatly  hated,  when  Marcus 
Cicero   waits    without,    and  cannot,    when   he 
pleases,   have  access  to  me,  though,  if  to  any 
man  I  am  easy  of  access,  it  is  to  him  ;  and  yet, 
I  am  sure,  he  hates  me  ?"    A  great  deal  of  such 
conversation  passed  between  us.— But,  as  I  was 

saying, 

Meanwhile,  both  parties  seemed  disposed  by  our  author's  ad- 
vice,  to  pass  an  act  of  amnesty,  by  which,  both  parties  were 
mutually  to  forgive,  and  forget  all  injuries,  and  Antony  and 
Lepidus  interchanged  visits  with  Brutus  and  Cassius.  It  was 
easy  for  Matius  to  foresee,  that  things  could  not  continue  long 

in  this  situation. 

I  He  was  a  son  of  Pompey  the  Great,  and  was  then  at  the 

head  of  an  army  in  Spain.  .     ^  , 

«  This  was  not  the  capital  of  Bithynia  as  the  Jesuits  Catrou 
and  Rouille  imagine  in  their  Roman  History,  but  the  present 
city  of  Nice  lying  upon  the  Ligurian  coast  in  Italy. 


\ 


192 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


saying,    write  to  me  about  trifles,    as  well  as 
things  of  importance.     For  my  part,  I  will  omit 


no  occurrence. 


EPISTLE  IT. 

Yesterday  I  received  two  letters  from  you. 
The  first  informed  me  of  the  theatrical  news, 
and  the  satirical  strokes  of  the  actor  Publius\ 
The  plaudits  of  the  people  are  unequivocal 
proofs  that  they  are  pleased  with  the  death  of 
the  usurper.  As  to  the  applause  Cassius  met 
with,  I  think  there  is  somewhat  in  it  that  is  hu- 
mourous. In  your  other  letter  you  mention 
Matius ;  you  rightly  imagine,  that  we  cannot  fix 
in  his  bald  head  -  the  anchor  of  public  tranquili- 
ty.    With  him  I  made  little  stay,  but  proceeded, 

though 


'  We  have  already  seen  in  the  preceding  epistles,  some  spe- 
cimens of  the  liberties  which  the  Roman  actors  took  with  their 
great  men  ;  and  as  their  theatre  contained  audiences  infinitely 
more  numerous  than  any  of  ours  can,  the  applause  which 
those  strokes  of  satire  or  panegyric  met  with,  was  looked 
upon  to  be  the  sense  of  the  people. 

2  There  is  a  pun  here  arising  from  the  Greek  word,  which 
iignifies  the  bald  prominence  of  a  rock,  and  the  baldness  of 
Matius's  head,  which  I  have  endeavoured  to  preserve  in  the 
translation,  but  it  is  of  very  little  consequence  to  explain  it, 
because,  if  there  is  any  wit  in  it,  the  reader  will  easily  per- 
ceive it. 


4 


TO  ATTICUS. 


1^3 


though  not  with  the  expedition  I  wished.  I  was 
ialso  retarded  too  long  in  conversing  with  him ; 
of  which  conversation  I  sent  you  perhaps  an  ob- 
scure account,  but  it  was  to  this  effect ;  he  told 
me,  that  when  I  went  to  see  Caesar  at  the  en- 
treaty of  Sextius,  and  was  waiting  till  I  should 
have  access  to  him,  Csesar  said  to  him,  "  I  am 
so  simple  as  to  believe,  that  this  man,  conde- 
scending as  he  is,  is  my  friend,  since  he  waits  so 
long,  till  I  please^  to  see  him."  Depend  upon 
it,  that  this  baldpated  man  is  very  hostile  to  the 
public  tranquillity,  and  therefore  no  friend  of 
Brutus.  To-day,  I  go  to  Tusculanum ;  to-mor- 
row to  Lanuvium,  from  whence  I  designed  to  go 
to  Astura.  My  house  is  prepared  to  receive 
Pilia ;  I  wish  your  daughter  was  to  come  along 
with  her ;  but  I  forgive  your  fondness,  and  send 
my  compliments  to  both. 


EPISTLE  Hi. 


.According  to  your  letter,  all  things  are  quiet; 
long  may  they  continue  so  !  for  Matius  is  posi- 
tive^ that  they  cannot.  Meanwhile,  my  workmen, 
who  had  gone  to  Rome  for  corn,  returned  with- 
out any,  and  told  us,  a  report  prevailed  there, 
that  Antony  had  carried  all  the  corn  to  his  own 
house.  Surely,  had  there  been  any  foundation 
Vol.  III.  O  for 


194 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS- 


WS 


for  such  a  report,  you  would  have  let  me  know. 
I  have  heard  as  yet  nothing  of  Cornnfius  the 
freedman  of  Balbus,  and  yet,  I  am  no  stranger 
to  his  name,  for  they  say,  he  is  an  able  architect. 
There  may  be  reasons,  why  some  people  should 
be  fond  of  calling  upon  you  to  witness  their  tes- 
taments ^  in  my  favour ;  they  would  have  me  too, 
to  believe  them  in  earnest,  and  I  know  no  reason 
why  they  are  not.  But  what  is  that  to  me  ?  I 
would  have  you  however  explore  the  intentions 
of  Antony.  For  my  part  I  believe  him  to  be 
so  occupied  in  feasting  as  to  have  no  time  for 
dangerous  designs.  If  you  have  any  thing  of 
consequence,  pray  let  me  know  it.  If  not, 
write  to  me  what  the  dispositions  of  the  people 
appear  to  be,  and  the  sarcasms  of  the  theatre. 
My  compliments  to  your  wife  and  daughter.. 


EPISTLE  IV. 


some  revolution  ^ ;  matters  are  now  ripening  to  a 
crisis.  If  the  dispositions  of  Matius  are  as  I 
acquainted  you,  what  must  that  of  others  be? 
I  speak  it  with  grief,  never  was  it  known  be- 
fore, that  a  people  recovered  their  constitution 
and  not  their  liberty.  The  talk,  the  menaces,  of 
the  party  are  dreadful.  I  am  in  pain  about  an 
invasion  from  Gaul,  and  what  is  become  of  Sex- 
tus  Pompeius.  But  whatever  may  be  the  event, 
I  will  rejoice  in  the  remembrance  of  the  ides  of 
March.  As  to  the  authors,  all  that  they  could 
perform,  they  performed  with  the  most  heroic 
grandeur.  Their  remaining  measures  require 
troops  and  money,  in  >ihich  we  are  entirely  un- 
provided. I  write  this  to  engage  you  to  send 
me  an  immediate  account  of  whatever  shall 
happen,  for  I  look  every  day  for  some  news ; 
and,  should  there  be  none,  yet  still  let  us  keep 
up  our  uninterrupted  correspondence  by  writing ; 
which  shall  not  fail  on  my  part. 


JL  ou  surely  do  not  suppose  that  I  can  write  you 
any  news  from  Lanuvium.  But  that  is  not  your 
case  at  Rome,  from  whence  I  every  day  look  for 

some 

1  Because  our  author  was  now  likely  to  become  of  great 
importance,  on  account  of  his  credit  with  both  parties,  and 
it  was  usual  for  the  Romans  to  court  the  friendship  of  a  great 
man,  by  giving  him  to  understand,  that  they  liad  put  him  in- 
to their  testament. 


EPISTLE  V. 

X  HOPE  you  are  now  recovered,  because  I  know 
that  abstinence  ^  usually  cures  you  of  these  slight 

disorders ; 

^  I  point  this  passage  as  follows,  very  different  from  the 
other  editions  I  have  seen.  Nunc  quid  putas  me  Lanuvii?  At 
ego  te.     Istic  quotidie  aliquid  novi  suspkor, 

*  This  puts  me  in  mind  that  the  author  o£  the  Life  of  At« 

O  Q^  tieut 


196 


CICERO  s  epistlp:s 


TO  ATTICUS. 


f9^ 


disorders ;  I  should,  however  be  glad  to  know 
how     you  are.       It   appears   favourable,     that 
Matius  is  uneasy    at  his   being   suspected     by 
Brutus;  but  it  will  have   a  bad   appe^^ ranee  if 
those  legions  should,    with  a  warlike  aspect  \ 
march  out  of  Gaul-  for  Rome.     Do  not  you 
think  the  legions  that  were  in  Spain  will  insist 
upon  the  same  terms?  As  will  those  which  are 
marched  under  tlie  command  of  Annius,  pardon 
me — I  mean  Canninius  \     The  gamester  *  raises 
a  dreadful  disturbance ;  for  were  the  designs  of 
Antony  justifiable,  the  tumult,  made  by  Caesar'a 
freedman  \  might  have  been  easily  quashed. 

My 

licus  tells  us,  that,  towards  his  latter  end,  he  took  a  resolu- 
tion of  neither  eating  nor  drinking,  which  had  a  very  good  ef- 
fect upon  his  disease,  which  was  a  fever ;  but  he  persisted  so 
obstinately  in  this  abstinence,  that  he  could  never  be  persuaded 
to  eat  nor  drink,  and  he  accordingly  starved  himself  to  death. 

1  The  reader,  no  doubt,  will  be  offended  at  the  jingle  that 
\s  here,  but  as  a  faithful  translator,  I  do  not  think  myself  at 
liberty  to  omit  following  my  author,  even  in  his  play  of  words, 
when  it  can  be  done  with  tolerable  propriety  in  our  language. 
The  original  runs,  signa  lel/a,  quod  Calveria  moleste  fert,  se 
suspectum  esse  Bruto.  Ilia  signa  non  lona,  si  cum  signis  legw- 
nei  veniunt  e  Gallia. 

«  It  was  talked,  that  they  intended  to  demand  the  rewards 
which  had  been  premised  them  by  Cssnr. 

3  There  is  an  obscurity  here  in  the  original,  but  I  believe  I 
have  hit  upon  our  author's  meaning,  which  was  to  ridicule  the 
irresolution  of  Antony  and  that  party,  by  frequently  changing 
the  officers  under  tliem. 

'*  Meaning  Antony. 
t.    ^  Vi%.  When  his  funerals  were  celebrated. 


! 


IVIy  diffidence  was  misplaced,  when  I  refused 
a  legation '  before  the  senate  broke    up,  lest  I 
should  seem  to  abandon  my  country,  now  that 
her  at^airs  are  drawing  to  a  crisis,     could  I  as- 
sist lier,   it  would  be  my  duty  to  attend. — But 
you   sef:  what  kind  of  magistrates,  if  they  can 
deserve  that  name,  we  have  chosen.     You  see 
i\o  ;.)ody-guards  of  the  tyrant  are  possest  of  pro- 
vi^icial  governments;    you  see  an  army  of  his 
veterans  at  our  doors,  and  that  all  is  in  fluctua- 
tion.    Meanwhile  the  men,  whpse  safety,    nay 
whose  slorv,  merits  the  attendance  of  a  grateful 
world,  are  so  far  from  being  rewarded  with  the 
praises  and  affections  of  mankind,  that  they  are 
forced   to    conceal   themselves  for  protection  ^ 
But  whatever  may  be  their  fate,  they  must  be 
happy,    it  is  our  country  that  is  miserable.     I 
should  be  glad  to  know  whether  the  arrival  of 
Octavius  ^  has  made  any  alteration ;  whether  the 

people 

1  We  have  already  seen  that  those  legations  exempted  the 
persons  on  whom  they  were  conferred  from  being  present  in 
tlie  senate.     Vi  le  Vol.  i,  p.  107.  Note  1. 

2  This  happened  through  the  artful  speech  which. Antony 
made  when  he  produced  Caesar's  dead  body  before  the  people, 
and  which  is  so  inimitably  well  imagined  by  Shakespear.  Th9t 
speech  made  such  an  impression  upon  the  people,  that  Brutus, 
and  his  friends,  thought  proper  to  retire  from  Rome. 

3  This  extraordinary  young  man  was,  at  this  time,  but 
About  nineteen  years  of  age,  and  was  at  Appolonia,  in  order 
to  attend  his  uncle  Caesar  in  his  Parthian  expedition,  when  he 
heard  of  his  death,  and  that  he  had  appointed  him  to  be  his 
heir. 


19? 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


people  rally  round  him  ?  And  whether  he  will  be 
able  to  produce  a  revolution  in  his  favour?  I 
do  not  think  that  he  will,  but  I  would  gladly 
know  the  truth.  I  write  this  on  the  llth  of 
April,  as  I  am  leaving  Astura. 


EPISTLE  VI. 


U  PON  the  12th  I  received  yonr  letter  at  Fundi, 
while  I  was  at  supper.  In  the  tirst  place,  I  am 
glad  that  you  enjoy  better  health,  and  that  you 
tell  me  better  ne  vs;  for  that  of  the  march  of 
the  legions  for  Rome  was  very  disagreeable. 
As  to  Octavius,  I  give  myself  no  trouble 
about  him.  I  long  to  hear  what  Marias '  is  do- 
ing, I  thought  Caesar  had  sent  him  out  of  the 
world.  The  interview,  between  our  heroes  and 
Antony  proved  very  serviceable,  as  it  happened; 
though  hitherto  nothing  but  the  ides  of  March 
has  given  me  pleasure. 

tor  now  that  I  am  at  Fundi  with  our  friend 
Ligus,  I  am  pained  to  see  that  wretch  Curtilius 
in  possession  of  the  estate  of  Sextilius.  What  I 
say  of  him  is  to  be  understood  of  all  the  rest. 
For  what  can  be  more  deplorable  than  for  us  to 

give 

>  We  have  already  taken  notice  of  this  impostor,  who  pre* 
tended  to  be  descended  of  the  great  Maiius. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


199 


give  a  ganction  to  those  very  measures',    for 
which  we  hated  Csesar.     Have  we  not  confirmed 
the  nomination  of  his  consuls  and  tribunes  for 
two  years  ?     I  can,  by  no  means,  see  how  1  caa 
take  any  concern  in  public  matters ;  for  a  greater 
absurdity  cannot  be  imagined  than  to  extol  to 
heaven  the  slayers  of  the  tyrant,  and  yet  sanc- 
tion the  tyrant's  acts.     But  look  upon  our  con- 
suls; look  upon  our  magistrates,  if  they  can  be 
called  magistrates ;  look  upon  the  despondency 
of  our  patriots.     As  to  the  municipal  towns  they 
exult  with  joy.     Their  transports  are  inexpres- 
sible ,    how  they  flock  about  me !     how    eager 
they   are    to    hear    my   account    of   that    ac- 
tion ;  and  yet,  all  this  while,  no  decree  passes 
the  senate.     Our  timidity  is  such,  that  we  are 
afraid  of  those  we  have  vanquished.     Thus  faff 
I   had    dictated  when  the  second   course    was 
served  in ;  I  will  write  more  fully,  and  more  to 
the  purpose  hereafter.     Let  me  know  what  you 
are  doing,  and  wliat  is  passing  abroad. 

EPISTLE 


J  At  die  conferences  already  mentioned  between  both  par- 
ties, when  the  amnesty  was  agreed  upon,  it  was  resolved  to 
take  from  the  army  all  pretexts  of  tVar  that  Caesar's  death 
fhould  make  any  alteration  in  the  distribution  ot  the  lands, 
and  the  other  favours  he  had  conterred  upon  the  rest  of  his 
veterans  An  act  therefore  past  conlirming  all  he  had  done, 
and  particularly  his  arbitrary  nomination  of  the  consuls  and 
tribunes,  which  was  looked  upon  as  one  of  the  most  unjusU- 
fiable  stretches  of  his  power. 


200 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


201 


EPISTLE  VII. 


u 


POX  the  14th,  I  saw  Paulus  atGaetta,  and  he 
gave  me  an  account  of  Marius,  and  some  other 
very  bad  news  of  public  affairs.  All  this,  while 
not  a  line  from  you;  for  none  of  my  domestics 
are  come  from  Rome.  But  I  hear  that  our  friend 
Brutus  has  been  seen  near  Lanuvium.  Where 
will  he  fix  at  last  ?  This  is  one  of  the  many 
things  which  I  earnestly  desire  to  be  informed 
of:  I  write  this  on  the  l6th  in  setting  out  from 
Formia,  so  as  to  be  next  day  at  Puteoli. 

I  have  received  from  my  son,  a  letter  in  an 
elegant  style,  and  of  a  reasonable  length.  I  am 
not  so  certain  as  to  the  other  particulars  I  hear 
of  him,  but  by  tlie  manner  of  his  writing,  I  an\ 
sure  he  has  improved  in  learning.  I  therefore 
now  earnestly  repeat  what  I  mentioned  to  you 
lately,  that  you  will  take  care  be  wants  for  no-^ 
thing;  for  1  cannot  otherwise  do  justice  to  my 
duty,  my  character,  and  my  dignity,  and,  if  I  am 
not  mistaken,  you  are  of  the  same  opinion. 
Therefore,  if  our  funds  answer,  I  think  of  going 
to  Greece  next  July,  where  I  will  put  every 
thing  upon  a  better  footing.  But  as  the  times 
are  such,  that  I  cannot  as  yet  determine  what 
measures  are  most  becoming  my  character,  what 
is  within  my  power,   or  what  is  most  conducive 

to 


to  my  interest ;  I  beg  you  will  take  care  that  my 
son  be  provided  for  in  the  most  genteel,  liberal 
manner.  You  will  pay  your  usual  attention  to 
this,  and  all  my  other  concerns,  and  though  you 
should  have  nothing  material  to  write  to  me,  I 
beg  you  will  write  whatever  your  tongue  may 
dictate. 


EPISTLE  VIII. 

W  HEN  you  wrote  your  last,  you  imagined  that 
I  was  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  sea*  but  I  was 
in  the  inn  at  Sinuesca  on  the  l6th,  when  I 
received  your  lette,r.  I  am  glad  of  what  has  hap- 
pened to  Marius,  but  I  am  sorry  if  he  was  the 
grandson  of  Lucius  Crassus.  Nor  could  I  have 
heard  better  news,  than  that  our  friend  Brutus 
approves  of  Antony's  conduct'.  You  write  me, 
that  Junia^  had  brought  him  a  letter  expressed 

in 

^  In  actis  esse  nostris — on  our  shores.  Cicero  from  the  fre^ 
quency  of  his  quoting  Greek  terms^  sometimes  writes  them  in 
Roman  characters.  This  is  the  case  here.  A>crn  is  a  sea  or 
river  bank.  But  it  has  been  conjectured  that  the  true  reading 
IS  agris;  and  surely  it  is  much  more  congruous  to  say,  in  agris 
postris,  than  in  actis  nostris. — E. 

2  Brutus  and  his  most  intimate  friends,  were  the  more  readily 
deceived  by  Antony,  because  he  had  put  his  fictitious  Marius  to 
death,  and  because  they  knew  that  he  had  entered  into  some 
designs  against  Caesar,  before  he  was  killed  in  the  senate. 

3  She  was  the  sister  of  Brutus,  and  the  wife  of  Lepidus. 


r-f] 


202 


CICERO^  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


203 


in  terms  of  moderation  and  friendship,  but 
Paulus  put  into  my  hands  a  letter  from  his  bro* 
ther  Lepidus,  the  close  of  which  intimated,  that 
a  plot  had  been  laid  against  his  life,  and  that  he 
had  discovered  it  by  undeniable  evidences.  This 
information  was  disagreeable  to  me,  but  much 
more  so  to  Paulas.  I  am  not  at  all  sorry  for 
the  flight  of  the  Egyptian  queen  \  But  I  beg  you 
will  write  to  me  in  what  manner  Clodia  has  pro- 
ceeded. I  beg  you  will  take  care  of  the  Byzan- 
tines, and  my  other  concerns;  and  send  for 
Pelops'.  I  will  obey  you  in  informing  you  of 
every  thing  that  passes  at  Baiae,  and  of  that  as- 
sembly which  you  are  so  curious  to  know  of,  as 
soon  as  I  have  seen  it,  so  that  you  shall  be  igno- 
rant of  nothing. 

1  am  extremely  impatient  for  news  from  Gaul, 
from  Spain,  and  from  Sextus  Pompeius,  Give 
me  every  information  with  your  usual  exactness. 
I  am  glad  that  you  had  indulged  yourself  on  ac- 
count of  your  disorder  in  your  stomach,  in  a 
little  respite  from  business,  of  which  I  was  sensi- 
ble when  I  read  over  your  letter.  Fail  not  to 
write  to  me  every  thing  concerning  Brutus,  where 
he  is,  and  what  he  intends  to  do.     I  am  in  hopes,. 

that 

J  She  was  the  famous  Cleopatra,  who  had  been  for  some 
time  at  Rome,  and  was  in  great  favour  with  Caesar,  but  left 
Korae  abruptly  upon  his  death. 

2  He  was  a  Byzantine,  and  appears  to  have  been  a  man  of 
some  consideration  in  learning. 


that  at  this  very  time,  he  may  walk  securely  all 
over  Rome  without  guards.  But  yet  he  ought 
not  to  be  too  confident 


EPISTLE  IX. 

a  OUR  letters,  of  which  I  received   several  at 
one  time  from  the  freedman  of  Vestorius,  gave 
me   much  information  respecting  the  affairs  of 
the  public.     As  to  what  you  desire  ta  know,  I 
will  answer  you  in   a  few  words.     In  the  first 
place,  I  am  much  gratified  by  the  estate  left  me 
by  Cluvius.     You  ask  me  why  I  sent  for  Chry- 
Bippus  ?     The  reason  was,  that  two  tenements  of 
mine  are  fallen  to  the  ground,  and  I  have  others 
in  such  a  shattered  condition,  that  not  only  the 
inhabitants,  but  the  very  rats'  have  left  them. 
This  would  give  many  people  pain,  but  it  does 
not  give  me  so  much  as  a  tho  jght.    O  Socrates  % 
and  ye  disciples  of  Socrates,  never  can  I  express 
what  I  owe  you.     Immortal  gods,  with  what  un- 
concern do  I  regard  sublunary  things!    Mean- 
while I  have,  by  the  advice,  and  upon  the  plan, 
of  Vestorius,  set  about  rebuilding  them  in  such 
a  manner,  as  to  turn  the  loss  to  my  advantage. 

We 

>  We  see  here  the  vulgar  notion  prevailed  even  in  Cicero's 
time,  that  the  rats  always  left  a  falling  house. 

2  If  the  rant  in  this  passage  is  not  ironical,  as  I  am  apt  to 
think  it  is^  it  shows  our  author  in  a  very  ridicutous  light. 


204 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATtlCUS. 


205 


We  have  a  great  deal  of  company  here,  and, 
by  what  I  understand,  we  shall  have  more. 
Amongst  others,  are  our  two  pretended  consuls 
elect  Good  God  !  Tyranny  is  alive,  while  the 
tyrant  is  dead.  We  rejoice  at  his  death,  while 
we  adopt  his  measures.  How  cutting,  and  yet 
how  just,  is  the  accusation  which  Marcus  Cur^- 
tins  alleges  against  us !  Well  may  we  be  ashamed 
tOvlive.  For  would  not  a  thousand  deaths  be 
preferable  to  what  we  suffer,  and  to  what  we 
must  suffer,  heaven  knows  how  long?  Balbus 
is  here,  and  we  spend  a  great  deal  of  time  toge- 
ther. Vetus  has  sent  him  a  letter  the  last  of 
December,  informing  him,  that  when  he  had  sur- 
rounded Caecilius  ^  and  had  him  in  his  power ; 
Pacorus,  the  Parthian,  came  with  a  great  ar^ny 
and  rescued  him,  and  that  Vetus  had  lost  a  great 
many  men,  the  blame  of  which  he  lays  upon  Vol- 
catius.  Thus  I  think  war  is  unavoidable  in  that 
quarter.  Dolabella  and  Nicias'  should  look  t# 
this.  Balbus  has  other  letters  from  Gaul  written 
one  and  twenty  days  ago,  with  better  news  than 
we  had  reason  to  look  for ;  that  the  Germans, 
and  the  otlier  nations  there,  having  heard  of 
Caesars  death,  had  sent  deputies  to  Aurelius, 
^'ho  is  lieutenant  to  Hirtius  in  those  parts,  with 

assurances 


* .  t 


'  He  was  surnained  Bassus,  and  escaping  from  the  battle  of 
Pharsalia  he  made  head  against  Caesar's  party  in  Syria. 
^  He  was  a  great  friend  of  Dolabella. 


"^ 


assurances  of  entire  submission  on  their  part^. 
In  short,  every  thing  is  calm  there,  which  is  very 
different  from  the  accounts  I  had  from  our  bald- 
pated  friend. 


EPISTLE  X. 

Is  it  really  so  ?  Has  all  that  has  been  done  by 
our  common  Brutus,  come  to  this,  that  he  should 
live  at  Lanuvium,  and  Trebonius^  repair  by  de- 
vious marches  to  his  government !  That  all  the 
-actions,  writings,  words,  promises,  and  purposes, 
of  Caesar,  should  carry  with  them  more  force 
than  they  would  have  done,  had  he  been  alive  ^? 
You  may  remember  what  loud  remonstrances 
I  made  the  very  first  day  we  met  in  the  capitol, 
that  the  senate  should   be  summoned  thither  by 

the 

1  He  w^as  the  only  consular  who  was  engaged  in  the  con- 
iipiracy  against  Caesar^  who  gave  him  the  government  of  the 
lesser  Asia. 

2  The  case  was  this.  Antony  having  obtained  under  the  speci- 
ous pretence  of  keeping  the  veteran  troops  quiet,  that  Caesar's  acts 
should  be  confirmed,  made  a  very  bad  use  of  this  decree  of  the 
senate  ;  for  Caesar  kept  a  register,  in  which  be  entered  all  Ills' 
grants,  promises,  and  other  public  deeds,  and  which  Antony 
brought  the  senate,  or  at  least  the  majority  of  them,  to  look 
upon  as  a  kind  of  record,  which  was  to  serve  them  as  a  direc- 
tion for  making  those  acts  good.  Meanwhile  he  made  him- 
«elf  master  of  this  register,  and  at  the  same  time,  gained  over 
Faberius,  Casar's  secretary,  by  whose  hands  all  his  acts  were 

entered; 


W'' 


^06 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


the  praetors  ^  Immortal  gods  !  What  might  we 
not  have  then  carried  amidst  the  universal  joy  of 
our  patriots,  and  even  our  half  patriots,  and  the 
general  rout  of  those  robbers.  You  disap- 
prove of  what  was  done  on  the  1 8th  of  March, 
but  what  could  be  done?  We  were  undone  be- 
fore that  day.  Do  not  you  remember  you  called 
out  that  our  cause  was  ruined,  if  Caesar  had  a 
public  funeraP?  But  a  funeral  he  had,  and  that 
too  in  the  Forum,  and  graced  with  pathetic  en- 
comiums, which  encouraged  slaves  and  beggars, 
with  flaming  torches  in  their  hands,  to  burn  our 
houses.  Wiiat  followed  ?  Were  they  not  inso- 
lent enough  to  say,  "  Caesar  issued  the  command 
and  you  must  obey  ?"  I  cannot  bear  tliese  and 
other  things,  I  therefore  think  of  retiring,  and 
leaving  behind  me  country  after  country :  and  even 

your 

entered:  so  that  it  was  easy  to  forge  whatever  he  had  a  mind. 
By  those  practices,  and  by  seizing  the  treasure  laid  up  by  Casar, 
he  amassed  upwards  of  six  millions  sterling,  and  had  his  appli- 
cation to  business  been  equal  to  his  parts  and  abilities,  he  might 
easily  have  succeeded  to  all  Caesar*s  power. 

^  The  praetors  were  Brutus  and  Cassius.  This  was  truly  a 
very  patriot  advice  of  Cicero,  and  had  it  been  taken,  must  have 
certainly  had  great  consequences  in  favour  of  public  liberty; 
because  it  was,  in  effect,  disowning  the  power  of  the  consuls, 
that  had  been  nominated  by  Casar,  and  whose  business  it  was 
to  summon  together  the  senate ;  but  upon  a  failure  of  the  con- 
suls, it  belonged  to  the  praetors  to  issue  the  summons. 

*  Atticus  was  in  the  right  to  oppose  this  funeral,  for  it  was 
the  first  thing  that  disconcerted  the  measures  %i  the  conspira- 
tors for  the  causes  there  mentioned. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


207 


your  favourite  Greece  is  too  much  exposed  to 
the  political  storm  to  continue  in  it^ 

Meanwhile,  has  your  complaint  quite  left  you  ? 
Fori  have  some  reason  to  believe,  by  your  manner 
of  writing,  that  it  has.  But  I  return  to  the  The- 
bassi,  the  Scaevoe,  and  the  Frangones  \  Do  you 
imagine  that  they  will  think  themselves  secure  in 
their  possessions,  whilewe  stand  our  ground,  and 
experience  has  taught  them,  that  we  have  not  in 
us  the  courage  which  they  imagined.  Are  we  to 
look  upon  those  to  be  the  friends  of  peace,  who 
have  been  the  fomenters  of  rebellion  ?  What  I 
wrote  to  you  concerning  Curtilius,  and  the 
estates  of  Sestilius,  I  apply  to  Censorinus,  Mes- 
sala,  Plancus,  Posthumius,  and  the  whole  clan. , 
It  would  have  been  better  to  perish  with  the 
slain,  than  to  have  lived  to  witness  things  like 
these'.   Octavius  came  to  Naples  about  the  l6th, 

where 


*  I  have  here  adopted  the  ingenious  interpretation  of  Earnest. 
t'rrnvtfxios  is  an  epithet  of  y^  proceeding,  and  not  to  be  connected 
with  the  subsequent  nausea.  The  whole  passage  should  be 
thus  punctuated.  Itaque  ym  tr^o  yuj  cogito:  tua  tamen  IwniMos, 
Nausea  jamne  plane  ahiit  ? — E. 

*  These  were  all  subalterns  and  creatures  of  Caesar,  as  were 
the  others  mentioned  in  this  paragraph. 

^  I  think,  in  the  common  reading,  there  is  here  some  defici- 
ency, or  rather,  contradiction,  in  the  sense.  Monsieur  Mongault 
reads  this  passage.  Melius  fuit  periisse  illo  interfecto,  quod  num," 
quam  accidesset,  quavi  hcec  videre,  and  he  translates  it  accord- 
ingly.   But  I  like  the  reading  of  Gronovius  better.  Quod  utu 

nam 


ios 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


209 


^here  Balbus  waited  upon  him  next  morning, 
and  from  thence  he  came  to  me  at  Cumse,  tl?e 
same  day,  where  he  acquainted  me,  that  he  would 
accept  of  the  succession  to  his  uncle's  estate. 
But  this  as  vou  observe,  may  be  the  source  of 
a  warm  dispute  between  him  and  Antony. 

I  shall  bestow  all  due  attention  and  pains  upon 
your  atfair  at  Burthrotum.  You  ask  me  whether 
the  legacy  left  me  by  Cluvius,  will  amount  to  a 
hundred  thousand  sertcces  a  year.  It  will 
amount  pretty  near  it,  but  this  first  year  I  have 
laid  out  eighty  thousand  upon  repairs.  My 
brother  complains  greatly  of  his  son,  who,  he 
gays,  is  now  excessively  complaisant  to  his  mo- 
ther, though  he  hated  her,  at  a  time,  when  she 
deserved  his  respects.  He  has  sent  me  flaming 
letters  against  him.  If  you  have  not  yet  left 
Rome,  and  if  you  know  what  he  is  doing,  I  beg 
you  will  inform  me  by  a  letter,  as  indeed,  you 
must  do  of  every  thing  else,  for  your  letters  give 
m^  tlie  greatest  pleasure. 


EPISTLE  XL 

The  day  Ijefore  yesterday  I  sent  you  a  long  let- 
ter   and  I  now  set  down  to  answ^er  your  last.     I 

feel 

nam  accidissef, '    I  am  not,  however,  positive  on  either  side,  and 
have  translated  it  in  a  manner  not  inconsistent  with  either  read- 


I 
^ 


feel  the  most  earnest  desire  that  Brutus  would  come  ^ 
to  Astura.  You  complain  of  the  extravagance  of 
Caesar  s  partisans  ;  but  can  that  surprise  you?  For 
my  part,  I  wonder  they  are  not  more  extravagant 
than  they  are.  I  ought,  indeed,  to  laugh  at  such 
\hings,  and  yet  I  lose  all  patience  in  reading  the 
speech^  in  which  he  is  stiled  so  great  a  man,  and 
so  eminent  a  citizen.  But  mark  what  I  say;  a 
taste  for  these  panegyrics  is  thus  cherished 
among  the  people,  to  the  destruction  of  our 
friends,  who  ought  rather  to  be  deemed  gods 
than  heroes,  and  whose  glory,  though  eternal, 
must  still  be  accompanied  with  envy,  nay  with 
danger.  But  they  enjoy  a  noble  consolation, 
the  consciousness  of  having  performed  a  great 
and  a  glorious  action.  But  what  have  we,  to 
comfort  us,  since  the  tyrant  is  dead,  without  our 
recovering  our  liberty  ?  But  let  fortune  deter- 
mine all,  since  reason  has  no  authority. 

What  you  write  concerning  my  son  gives  me 
great  satisfaction;  I  hope  it  will  continue.  As 
to  your  care  in  supplying  him  plentifully  with 
the  means  of  subsisting  and  appearing  genteelly, 
I  am  extremely  obliged  to  you  for  it,  and  1  beg 

you 

»  The  speech  here  mentioned,  was  either  tfiat  of  Octavius  or 
Antony,  or  some  of  their  followers,  who  now  took  all  opportu- 
nities of  displaying  the  virtues  and  amiable  qualities  of  Csesari 
and  the  harangues  produced  the  effects  here  mentiontd. 

Vol.  III.  P 


\ 


N 


^- 


210 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


?11 


you  will  continue  it.  You  are  in  the  right,  as 
to  your  measures  about  the  affair  of  Buthroturn, 
to  which  I  shall  give  a  particular  attention.  I 
shall  even  undertake  for  the  success,  as  I  per- 
ceive it  to  be  daily  more  and  more  practicable. 
As  to  the  estste  I  received  from  Cluviis,  (be- 
cause I  see  you  are  more  solicitous  about  my 
affairs  than  1  am  myself)  you  must  know,  it 
exceeds  the  annual  income  of  a  hundred  thou- 
sand serteces.  The  dilapidations  have  not  hurt 
the  estate;  I  know  not  whether  they  will  not  make 
it  better.  I  have  herewith  me  Balbus,  Hirtius, 
and  Pansa.  Octavius,  who  seems  to  put  himself 
entirely  under  my  direction,  is  just  arrived  at  the 
house  of  my  neighbour  Philippus.  Lentulus 
Spinther  passes  this  day  with  me,  and  leaves  us 


to-morrow  mornmcr. 


EPISTLE  XIL 

A  FEAR  my  Atticus  that  all  we  have  reaped  from 
the  Ides  of  March,  is  but  the  short-lived  joy  of 
having  punished  him,  whom  we  have  hated  as  the 
author  of  our  sufferings.  What  news  do  I  hear 
from  Rome !  What  management  do  I  see  here ! 
It  was  indeed,  a  glorious  action,  but  it  was  left 
imperfect.  You  know  how  much  I  love  the 
Sicilians,  and  how  much  I  thought  myself  ho- 
noured in  being  their  patron.     Caesar  (and  I 

was 


was  glad  of  it)  did  tliem  many  favours,  thougjh 
granting  them  the  privileges  of  Latium  was  more 
]th^  could  be  well  borne.  However,  I  said  no- 
thiwg  even  to  that.  But  here  comes  Antony, 
who  for  a  large  sum  of  money,  produces  a  law 
past  by  the  dictatQr  in  an  assembly  of  the  peo- 
ple, by  which  all  Sicilians  are  made  denizens  of 
Rome,  an  act  neye^  once  heard  of  in  the  dicta- 
tor's lifetime.  Is  not  the  case  of  our  friend  De- 
^oXarus  almost  the  same  ?  There  is  no  throne 
which  he  does  not  deserve,  but  not  through  the 
interest  of  Fulvia  \  I  could  give  you  a  thousand 
sucl^i  insta.nces.  Tins  far,  however,  your  pur- 
pose may  be  served.  Your  affair  of  Buthroturn 
is  so  clear,  so  well  attested,  and  so  just,  that  it  is 
impossible  for  you  to  fail  in  obtaining  part  of 
your  claim,  and,  the  rather,  as  Antony  has  suc- 
ceeded in  many  things  of  the  same  kind. 

Octavius  lives  here  with  me,  upon  a  very  ho- 
nourable and  friendly  footing.  His  own  domes- 
tics call  him  by  the  name  of  Caesar  ;  but  his  step- 
father Philip  does  not,  neither  do  I,  for  that  rea- 
son. I  deny  that  he  can  be  a  good  citizen  ;  he  is 
surrounded  by  so  many  that  breathe  destruction 
to  our  friends,  and  who  swear  vengeance  against 
what  they  have  done.  What  is  your  opinion 
will  be  the  conseqqences,  when  the  boy  shall  go 

to 

1  She  was  the  wife  of  Antony,  and  daughter  to  ClodiuS;, 
Cicero's  principal  enemy. 

P  2 


212 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


to  Rome,  where  our  deliverers  cannot  live  in 
safety?     It  is  true,  they  must  be  glorious,  and 
even  happy,  from  the  consciousness  of  what  they 
have  done.     But  we,  who  are  delivered,  if  I  mis- 
take not,  must  still  remain  in  a  state  of  despica- 
ble servitude.     I  therefore  long  to  go  where  the 
news  of  such  deeds  ^  can  never  reach  my  ears. 
I  hate  even  those  appointed  consuls,  who  have 
forced  me  so  to  declaim,  that  even   Baiae "   was 
no  retreat  for  me.     But  this  was  owing  to  my 
too  great  condescension.     It  is  true,  there  was  a 
time^   when    I  was  obliged  to   submit  to   such 
things,  but  now  it  is  otherways,  whatever  may  be 
the  event  of  public  measures. 

It  is  long  since  I  had  any  thing  to  write  to 
you,  and  yet  I  am  still  writing,  not  that  my  let- 
ters give  me  pleasure,  but  that  I  may  provoke 
you  to  answer  them.  I  write  this  on  the  21st  of 
April,  being  at  dinner  at  the  house  of  Vestorius, 
who  is  no  good  logician,  but  I  assure  you,  an  ex- 
cellent accountant*. 

EPISTLE 


^  Cicero  here  quotes  the  two  first  words  of  a  verse  of  Acclus, 
Nee  Pelopidaram  J'actay  nequefamam  audiam.  It  is  recited 
again  at  full  length.  Lib.  xv.  11. — E. 

^  To  which  the  Romans  retired  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
En<ylish  do  to  the  bath  for  health,  and  amusement  only.  It 
seems  Dolabella,  and  many  of  the  nobility,  had,  in  a  manner, 
oblicred  Cicero  when  he  was  at  Bala?,  to  give  them  lessons  upon 
the  art  of  declamation. 

3  Vl%.  In  the  lifetime  of  Caesar, 

*  He  was  a  banker. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


213 


EPISTLE  XIII. 

I  RECEIVED  your  letter  on  the  18th,  not  till  the 
seventh  after  its  date,  in  which  you  ask  me  a  ques- 
tion, which  you  think  will  puzzle  me  to  resolve, 
whether  I  am  most  in  love  with  rising  grounds 
and  fine  prospects,  or  the  sea  coasts '  for  walking? 
I  swear,  it  is  as  you  observe ;  for  both  are  so  plea- 
sant, that  I  am  at  a  loss  which  to  prefer.  But  I 
am  at  present  in  the  situation  of  the  Greeks,  who 
waited  upon  Achilles, 

A  greater  care  sits  heavy  on  my  soul, 
Not  eas'd  by  banquets,  or  the  flowing  bowl. 
JVhat  scenes  of  slaughter  in  yon  fields  appear  ! 
The  dead  we  7Jiourn,  and  for  the  living /ear^. 

It 


1  The  original  is  aX/nvE*,  which  Hesychins  interprets  wafaX/oy 
maritimus.  Cicero  in  a  preceding  letter  appears  to  have  been 
addressed  by  Atticus  as  supposed  to  be  then  in  actis  nostris,  on 
our  coasts.  The  situation  of  our  author  might  have  tempted 
his  friend  to  ask  how  he  liked  the  sea  view.  He  however  was 
too  much  interested  in  the  political  scenes  that  were  passing  to 
be  sensible  of  the  comparative  beauties  of  nature. — E. 
2  Orig. — AXX'«^a/TOf  tzsyifxra  fpya  /xs/A»iXe». 

At/^i/xiv,  IV  loiY)  ^£  cracuarefxsv,  -n  a-croXfo-^a/, 

The  lines  are  part  of  the  ninth  book  of  Homer's  Iliad.     The 
translation  is  Mr.  Pope's. 


Si4 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


It  is  true  what  you  write  me,  concerning  the  ar- 
rival of  Uecimus  Brutus*  at  his  army,  is  great  and 
welcome  news,  and  I  expect  great  consequences 
from  it.  But,  bhould  a  civil  war  break  out,  which 
I  know  must  be  the  consequence,  if  Sextus  Pora- 
peius  continues  in  arms,  as  I  am  sure  he  will  con- 
tinue, 1  am  at  a  loss  to  know  how  we  shall  act,  for 
then  we  shall  not  be  at  liberty,  as  we  were  during 
Ca^i^ar  s  war,  to  jom  either  party.  For  there  is 
not  a  man  whom  this  abandoned  crew  shall  sup- 
pose to  have  rejoiced  at  Caesar's  death,  as  all  of 
us  surely  did  in  the  most  public  manner;  whom 
they  will  not  mark  out  as  their  enemy,  and  this 
very  circumstance  points  towards  an  universal 
massacre.  We  then  have  nothing  to  do  but  to 
join  the  army,  either  under  Sextus  or  Brutus. 
This  is  a  disagreeable  thing  at  our  time  of  life,  not 
to  mention  the  doubtful  events  of  war ;  for.  I  think 
you  and  1  may  in  some  sense  say  to  one  another, 

^Tis  not  my  friend  for  thee  to  follow  waVi 
Be  thine  the  placid  trophies  of  the  bar  \ 

But  we  must  leave  these  contingencies  to  for- 
tune, 

^  He  was  Governor  of  the  Cisalpine  Gaul,  and  the  conspira- 
tors had  great  viependance  upon  hina,  on  account  of  the  near- 
ness ol  his  province  to  Italy. 

'  AXXac  ayy  ifJt.tp^ivTx  fASTtp^so  spyix  >iOyoto, 


TO  ATTICUS. 


215 


tune,  which  sways  more  than  reason  does  in  such 
affairs.  All  my  concern  is,  that  whatever  be  the 
event  I  bear  it  witli  fortitude  and  composure,  and 
this  is  what  lies  in  every  mans  power  by  reflecting 
that  man  is  liable  to  casualties  and  changes.  With 
these  impressions  I  may  still  find  some  relief  from 
reading,  and  a  great  deal  in  reflecting  upon  tliQ 
ides  of  March. 

I  will   now  lay  before  you  the  difficulties  that 
perplex  me;  so  many  reasons  occuring  for  eithef 
part  of  the  question.      I  am  now,  as  I  proposed, 
to  set  out  upon  my  legation  for  Greece.     It  is 
true,  I  may  thereby  have  a  chance  of  escaping  the 
danger  of  the  threatened  massacre,   but  at  the 
same  time,  I  must  incur  the  reproach  of  abandon- 
ing my  country  in  the  day  of  her  distress.      Now, 
supposino;  that  I  stay  in  Italy;  I  shall  indeed  ex- 
pose myself  to  danger,   bat  I  may  happen   to  do 
service  to  the  state.      On  the  other  hand,  I  have 
private  reasons  for  going  abroad.  I  think,  I  could 
be  of  great  service  in  completing  my  sons  educa- 
tion at  Athens,  should  I  go  thither,  and  indeed, 
this  was  the  only   motive  that  determined  me  to 
solicit  a  legation  from  Caesar.   You  will  therefore, 
consider  this  affair,  in  the  same  friendly  manner 
as  you  do  every  thing,  that  you  think  concerns 

me. 

I  now  return  to  your  letter.     You  tell  me,  it 
is  reported,  that  I  am  about  to  sell  my  estate  near 

the  lake  Lucrinus ;  and  that  I  am  to  make  over  at 

an 


216 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


217 


an  extravagant  price,  my  little  country  seat,  to  my 
brother  Quintus',  that,  as  his  son  tells  you,  he  may 
carry  thither  his  bride  Aquillia.  For  my  part,  I 
have  no  thoughts  of  any  sich  sale,  unless  I  find 
somewhat  that  pleases  mebetter.  As  to  my  brother, 
he  does  not  trouble  himself  about  any  purchase 
at  this  time  ;  for  he  meets  with  sufficient  difficulty 
in  refunding  Attica's  fortune,  in  \>hichhe  owns 
himself  to  be  under  great  obligations  to  Egnatius. 
As  to  any  tlioughts  of  marrying,  he  is  so  far  from 
it,  that  lie  declares  he  thinks  no  pleasure  equal  to 
that  of  sleeping  alone. — But  enough  of  this. 

I  am  now  to  return  to  the  subject  of  our  MTetch- 
ed,  or  rather  annihilated,  government.  Antony 
has  written  to  me  concerning  the  recalling  Sextus 
Clodius*  froni  banishment.  I  send  you  a  copy 
of  his  letter,  in  which  you  may  see  with  what  res- 
pect he  treats  me,  but  at  the  same  time,  you  must 
readily  conclude  his  request  to  be  so  abandoned, 
so  scandalous,  and  so  pernicious,  that  we  are 
tempted  to  wish  that  Caesar  u  ere  again  alive.  For 
what  Caesar  never  would  have  done,  never  would 
have  suffered  to  be  even  proposed,  he  is  now  pro- 
posing from  Caesar's  forged  journals.  For  my 
part,  I  most  cheerfully  yielded  to  Antony's  request, 
which  he  would  have  carried  through,  even  though 

I  had 

^  He  had  been  by  this  time  divorced  from  the  sister  of  Atti- 
cus. 

•  He  was  the  freedman,  and  instrument  of  Publius  Clodius 
in  all  his  outrages  agajaat  our  author. 


I 


I  had  opposed  it,  since  he  has  now  persuaded 
himself,  tliat  he  may  do  what  he  pleases,  for 
which  reason  1  send  you  a  copy  of  my  answer. 

Antony  Consul  to  Marcus  Cicero,  mshet\ 

Prosperity* 

JLt  was  owing  to  my  hurry  of  business,  and  your 
sudden  departure,  that  I  did  not  address  you  in 
person  upon  the  subject  of  this  letter;  and  I  am 
therefore  apprehensive,  that  you  will  treat  my  re- 
quest with  the  less  regard  in  my  absence.  It 
will,  however,  give  me  pleasure,  if  your  goodness 
shall  answer  the  high  opinion  I  have  always  en- 
tertained of  vou.  I  asked,  and  obtained  from 
Caesar  the  restitution  of  Sextus  Clodius,  I  was 
even  at  that  time  determined  to  make  use  of  this 
indulgence  no  farther  than  it  was  agreeable  to  you, 
and  I  now  wish  more  than  ever,  that  you  would 
give  me  your  consent  to  carry  it  into  execution. 
But  should  you  appear  insensible  of  his  wretched, 

undone  situation,  never  shall  I  put  myself  in  com- 
petition with  you.     And  yet,  methinks  it  is  my 

duty  to  support  the  register  of  Caesar.  And  if  in- 
deed you  would  oblige  me  by  a  wise,  humane,  and 
amiable  act,  you  will  concur  with  my  request,  and 

convince  that  excellent  and  hopef  d  youth  Publius 
Clodius  that  when  it  was  in  your  power,  you  did 
not  gratify  your  resentment  against  the  friends  of 
his  father. 

Let 


218 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


Let  me  beg  of  you,  to  make  it  evident  to  the 
world,  that  you  differed  with  the  father  only  up- 
on a  patriot-principle.  Continue  no  longer  the 
foe  of  his  family.  For,  we  can  with  more  dignity, 
and  more  ease,  lay  aside  resentments  contracted 
on  account  of  our  country,  than  those  arising 
from  personal  motives.  Let  me,  in  short,  prevail 
with  you  to  suffer  me  to  form  the  boy  to  this 
principle,  and  to  implant  it  in  his  mind  now  sus- 
ceptible of  the  impression,  that  enmities  ought 
not  to  be  handed  down  to  posterity.  It  is  true, 
Sir,  I  am  entirely  sensible,  that  no  danger  can 
come  near  your  fortune ;  yet  do  I  believe,  that 
you  would  choose  your  old  age  should  be  accom- 
panied with  dignity  and  ease,  raiher  than  with 
toil  and  trouble.  Let  me  add,  that  I  have  of 
myself  a  kind  of  right  to  solicit  you  for  this  fa- 
vour ;  since  I  have  left  nothing  unattempted  to 
serve  you.  If  I  cannot  obtain  this  favour  of  you, 
I  shall  not  extend  it  to  Clodius,  that  you  may  be 
sensible  how  powerful  your  authority  is  with  me, 
and  for  that  consideration  suffer  yourself  to  be 
softened. 

Cicero  to  Antony  Consul^  msheth  prosperity. 

JL  HERE  is  one  reason  why  I  wish  you  had  trea- 
ted with  me  in  person,  rather  than  by  letter,  for 
then  you  might  have   discerned  the  affection  I 

bear 


TO  ATTICUS. 


fl^ 


bear  you,  not  only  by  the  expression  of  my  lips, 
but  by  the  emotions  of  my  countenance.     You  en- 
deared yourself  to  me  first  by   your  attachment, 
end  next  by  your  services  to  my  person  ;  and  your 
public  behaviour,    at  this  period,    has  been  such 
as  sets  you  equal  with  any  man  alive  in  my  es- 
teem.     Your  letter,  which  is  so  full  of  respect 
and  love  for  me,  has  affected  me  in  such  a  man- 
ner, that  I  seem  not  to  bestow  but  to  receive  a 
favour,  since  your  request  is  attended  with  an  as- 
surance,  that,  unless  I  give  you  leave,  you  will 
not  deliver  even  an  old  friend,  because  he  is  my 
enemy,  while  at  the  same  time,  you  might  effect 
his  deliverance  without  danger  or  difficulty   to 
yourself. 

As  to  myself,  my  Antony,  I  sacrifice  my  resent- 
ment to  you,  acknowledging  at  the  same  time  the 
obligations  you  have  laid  me  under  by  your  most 
polite  and  respectful  letter.   Had  the  matter  been 
of  far  greater  importance,  I  should  have  thought 
myself  bound  to   resign  myself  entirely  to  your 
request,  but,  in  this  case,  I  likewise  gratify  my 
own  disposition  and  natural  temper.      I  never 
harboured,   within  my   breast,   any  spirit  of  re- 
venge, nor  did  I  ever  extend  resentment  or  seve- 
rity, farther  than  the  good  of  my  country  absolute- 
ly required.       Let  me  add,  that  Sextus  Clodius 
never  experienced  from  me  any  instances  of  spite 
and  resentment ;   for  it  has  ever  been  a  maxim 
with  mC;  tliat  we  ought  not  to  persecute  the  friends 

of 


no 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


221 


of  our  enemies,  especially  those  of  an  inferior 
sort,  for  fear  of  taking  such  supports  froui  our- 
selves. 

As  to  young  Clodi.is,  it  is,  I  think,  your  duty 
to  season  his  mind,  which,  as  you  observe,  is  now 
susceptible  of  impressions,  with  such  principles 
as  may  give  him  no  room  to  think,  tlmt  there  is 
now  any  variance  between  our  families.  In  my 
contest  with  his  father,  I  acted  for  my  country, 
and  he  for  himself  It  is  long  since  the  public 
decided  upon  our  controversies,,  and  were  he 
now  alive,  I  should  consider  him  no  longer  as  my 
enemy.  Therefore  as  you  declare  that  you  will 
not,  without  my  leave,  carry  this  measure  into 
execution,  though  what  you  request  is  in  your 
own  power;  I  beg,  if  you  think  proper,  that  you 
will  make  my  compliance  a  compliment  to  the 
young  Clodius  likewise.  I  am  too  old,  and  he  is 
too  young,  for  me  to  suspect  danger  from  him, 
nor  can  I  be  apprehensive  of  any  competition  in 
dignity ;  but  it  is  in  order  that  you  and  I  may  be 
more  intimate  than  we  have  hitherto  been.  For 
while  those  enmities  interposed,  your  heart 
was  more  open  than  your  doors.  But  of  this 
enough. — I  conclude  with  assuring  you,  that  I 
shall  always,  with  the  greatest  readiness  and  zeal, 
execute  whatever  I  think  can  give  you  pleasure, 
or  can  do  you  service,  and  of  this  I  beg  you  will 
l>e  thoroughly  convinced. 

EPISTLE 


I' 

I 


EPISTLE  XIV. 

X  HAT  sound  again^ !  Our  nephew  crowned  with 
garlands  at  the  Parilia!— What!  crowned  at  the 
shows  celebrated  in  honour  of  Caesar! — How  say 
you,  was  he  alone  ?  But  you  mention  Lamia  too, 
and  that  surprises  me  !   But  I  long  to  know  who 
besides  wore  crowns;  none  I  am  sure  but  the  un- 
principled.    You  will  therefore  give  me  a  parti- 
cular detail  of  the  whole.      You  must  know  that 
it  happened  after  I  had  dispatched  a  pretty  long 
letter   to  you,  on  the  2.5th,  that  not  quite  three 
hours  after  I  received  one  from  you,  and  one  too 
of  great  consequence.     Be  assured  that  your  fa- 
cetiousness  respecting  the  Vestorian  heresy,  and 
the  sharks^  that  swarm  on  the  shore  of  Puteoli, 

made 

^  I  have  taken,  I  hope,  a  justifiable  liberty  in  translating  this 
passage,  which  our  author  has  taken  from  Paucuvius.-  For  I 
have  translated  by  a  hemistich  of  our  English  Paucuvius  Shake- 
spear,  of  the  very  same  import.  The  original  is,  Iterandura 
eadem  ista  mihi. 

2  There  is  a  great  deal  of  trifling  in  the  conjectures  of  com- 
mentators about  the  original  of  this  passage,  the  true  reading 
of  which  is  now  irretrievable,  and,  if  it  were  not,  it  would  be 
perhaps  next  to  impossible  to  come  at  the  wit.  It  is  sufficient 
to  observe,  that  Vestori us  being  a  banker,  profit  was  probably 
all  his  religion,  for  which  reason  our  author  calls  him  a  heretic, 
and  there  app  ars  to  be  some  kind  of  a  jmgle  intended  between 
the  Puteal,  which  wa??  a  kind  of  exchange  for  bankers  and  mer- 
chants at  Ronae^  aad  Puteoli  the  place  where  Vestorius  then 
resided. 


223 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS, 


SS3 


made  me  laugh  heartily,  but  now  to  public  mat- 
ters. 

So — ^you  take  up  the  defence  of  the  Bruti  and 
of  Cassii,  as  if  I  had  impeached  them,  while,  at 
the  same  time,  I  want  words  to  express  my  regard 
for  them.  What  I  sent  you  was  a  detail  of  facts, 
and  not  an  impeachment  of  persons.  1  tell  you 
again,  that  the  tyrant  is  removed,  and  yet  the 
tyranny  remains.  His  successors  in  power,  as  in 
the  case  of  Clodius,  are  doing  what  he  would  not 
have  attempted.  Yes,  I  can  answer  for  it,  that 
so  far  from  doing  it  himself,  he  would  not  have 
suffered  it  to  have  been  done  by  others.  We 
shall  next  hear  of  the  recall  of  Rufio,  the  anta- 
gonist of  Vestorius,  and  of  Victor  who  never  was 
mentioned  in  Caesar's  register,  and  of  as  many  as 
Antony  shall  please.  For  who  can  we  say  will 
not?  I  say  this  is  acting  in  obedience  to  the  writ- 
ings of  that  man,  to  w^hose  person  we  disdain  sub- 
jection. 

Let  me  ask  you,  how  could  one  have  avoided 
assisting  in  the  senate,  on  the  18th  of  May?  But 
supposing  it  had  been  optional  for  us  to  be  present 
or  absent  \  after  we  were  there,  could  we  have 

delivered 

*  Monsieur  Mongault  seems  not  to  have  comprehended  the 
meaning  of  Cicero  in  this  expression.  The  original  is.  Nam 
Uheralihus  qids  potuit  in  senatum  non  venire?  Fac  id potuisse 
aliquo  modo:  num,  etiam  cumvenissemus,  libera  potuimus  sen^ 
tentiam  dicere  ?  He  translates  it,  Quant  a  Vassemllie  du  dix' 

hiiit 


delivered  our  sentiments  with  freedom  ?  Must  we 
not  have  fallen  upon  every  measure  to  have  grati- 
fied the  veteran  troops,  who  surrounded  the  se- 
nate house  in  arms,  while  we  were  defenceless? 
You  know  that  I  was  against  our  party's  retreat 
into  the  capitol,  and  what  followed.  But  wa« 
that  the  fault  of  our  friends  the  Bruti?  No,  it 
was  the  fault  of  others,  who,  though  destitute  of 
sense,  look  upon  tliemselves  as  possessed  of  cir- 
cumspection and  wisdom.  All  of  them  thought  it 
enough  to  rejoice,  some  congratulated,  but  none 
staid  to  support  the  action.  But  enough  of  what 
is  past.  Let  all  our  care  and  interest  be  employ- 
ed to  defend  our  deliverers.  Let  us  take  your  ad- 
vice in  reflecting  with  pleasure  on  the  ides  of 
March,  which  has  opened  to  our  heroic  deliverers 
the  gates  of  immortality,  but  not  of  liberty  to  the 
Roman  people.  Remember  your  own  admonition. 
Remember  how  loudly  you  called  out,  that  all  was 
ruined  if  the  body  of  Csesar  should  be  publicly 
buried.  This,  as  the  consequences  have  shewn, 
was  the  remonstrance  of  a  w  ise  man. 

You  write  to  me,  that  Antony  will,  on  the   1st 
of  June,   make  a  motion  concerning  the   pro- 
vinces, and  that  he  himself  may  have  the  two 
Gauls,  and  his  government  of  both  prorogued  be- 
yond 

huit  de  Mars,  qui  pquvoii  se  dispenser  d'aller  an  senat  ?  Mais 
je  suppose  que  nous  feussions  pu,  quand  unefois  nous  y  avons 
^ti,  avons^nous  pu  opiner  librement?  But  it  requires  little  reflec- 
tion to  observe,  that  this  translation  implies  some  contradiction. 


\ 


224 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


225 


yond  the  le^al  term\     Let  me  ask  you,   can  I 
speak  my  mind  freely  upon  this  (question?     If  I 
Can,   I  shall  rejoice  at  the  recovery  of  public 
liberty.     If  I  cannot,  what  benefit  have  I  reaped 
from  this  change  of  masters,  but  the   pleas  ire 
of  seeing  a  tyrant  meet  with  the  death  he  de- 
served ?      You    tell    me,    that  the  temp  e  ^  of 
Ops^  has  been  plundered.     That  is  no  more  than 
I  had  foreseen^     Well  it  must  be   owned,  that 
glorious  were  the  hands  which  broke  our  fetters, 
and  yet  we  are  not  free.     Thus,  they  have  the 
glory,  and  we  the  blame  ;  and  yet  you  encourage 
me  to  write  a  history  of  these  times.    It  must  con- 
sist only  of  a  detail  of  their  crimes  who  still  hold 
us  in  bondage  ;  nor  shall  I  be  able  not  to  censure 
even  those  men,  whose  testaments  you  have  wit- 
nessed in  my  favour  ?     I  am  not,  indeed,  moved 
by  the  love  of  gain.     But  it  is  an   unpleasant 
task  to  reflect  upon  those,   however   culpable, 
from  whom   I   have    received  personal  favours. 
But,  as  you  write  to  me,  I  shall  be  able  to  de- 
termine 


1  One  of  the  best  of  Caesar's  acts  was  his  limiting  the  term 
of  a  praetorian  government  to  one  year,  and  that  of  a  consular  to 
two  at  most.  Antony,  who  knew  the  conseqaence  of  Deci- 
mus  Brutus  being  governor  of  the  Cisalpine  Gaul,  wanted  to 
have  that  government  to  himself,  and  to  set    side  Caesar's  act. 

«  Where  Antony  found  near  six  millions  sterling  ready  mo- 
ney,  which  had  been  laid  up  there  by  Caesar  for  ihe  Parthiaji 
war. 


U 


tei^mine  more  certainly  upon  the  whole  plan  of 
my  conduct  by  the  1st  of  June.  On  that  day  I 
will  assist  in  the  senate,  and  employ  all  my  inte- 
rest and  all  my  abilities,  (I  mean  assisted  by  your 
advice,  your  influence,  and  the  obvious  justice  of 
the  thing  itself),  to  obtain  a  decree  of  the  senate 
concerning  the  affairs  of  Buthrotum,  according  to 
the  terms  you  propose  in  your  letter*  You  de- 
sire me  to  reconsider  my  resolution  of  going 
into  Greece.  Well,  I  will  think  of  it,  though  in 
my  last  letter,  I  recommended  it  as  the  subject  of 
your  consideration.  Meanwhile,  you  are  as  libe- 
ral in  reinstating  your  neighbours,  the  Massilians^, 
in  all  their  privileges,  as  if  our  country  had  al- 
ready recovered  her  liberty.  But,  let  me  tell  you, 
that  it  is  not  our  authority,  but  our  arms,  that 
must  restore  us  to  freedom,  and  whether  they  be 
strong  enough  to  effect  this,  I  know  not. 


EPISTLE  XV. 

JL  OUR  last  short  letter  gave  me  sensible  pleasure 
from  what  Brutus  wrote  to  Antony,  and  neaar 
things  begin  to  wear  a  much  better  aspect  than 

heretofore. 

*  Probably  their  ambassadors  lodged  near  Atticus  at  Rome, 
and  they  had  been  severely  treated  by  Casar  for  thdir  opposJi- 
tion  to  him. 

Vio.  III.  Q 


226 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


227 


heretofore.  But,  it  is  now  time  for  nie  to  consi- 
der where  I  am,  or  whither  1  intend  to  go.  My 
friend  Dolabella  has  acted  most  nobly  ;  yes  I  call 
him  my  friend,  though  I  hitherto  have  hesitated  to 
rank  him  in  that  number.  Some  he  threw  from 
the  rock — others  he  nailed  to  a  cross — the  pillar 
he  demolished  and  the  area  he  ordered  tobepaved'. 
All,  in  a  word,  was  heroic.  To  me  he  seems  to 
have  put  an  end  to  every  pretext  of  mourning '  for 
Caesar,  which  till  then  daily  gained  ground,  and 
must  at  last  have,  I  apprehend,  terminated  in  a 
manner  fatal  to  those  who  destroyed  the  tyrant. 
Now,  I  agree  to  what  you  write  in  your  letter  ;  I 
now  hope  for  better  days,  and  yet,  I  cannot  endure 

those 

.  *  As  soon  as  Antony  had  left  Rome,  to  make  sure  of  the  ve- 
terans of  the  army,  who  lay  dispersed  in  the  country  of  Italy,  the 
lower  kind  of  people  erected  an  altar  and  a  pillar  to  Caesar*s 
memory,  and  were  guilty  of  such  outrages  as  were  very  threat- 
ening to  the  friends  of  liberty.  But  Dolabclla  demolished  both 
the  altar  and  the  pillar,  and  threw  those  votaries  who  were  citi- 
zens of  Rome,  from  the  Tarpeian  rock. 

-  Orig.  Sirnulationcm  desiderii.  Monsieur  Mongault  trans- 
lates this,  Ce  regret  que  le  peuple  paroissoit  avoir  de  la  mort  de 
C(ssar.  And  Dr.  Middleton  in  his  Life  of  Cicero,  having  occa- 
sion to  translate  part  of  this  epistle,  translates  this  passage  by 
the  wofds,  "  All  appearance  of  regret  for  Caesar."  But  neither 
of  those  gentlemen  has  expressed  our  author's  meaning.  The 
fact  was,  that  the  most  needy  and  abandoned  part  of  Rome  pre- 
tended a  might)'  veneration  for  the  memory  of  Caesar,  and  un- 
der that  pretence,  met  together  at  this  place  of  devotion  j  where, 
in  reality,  they  consulted  together  how  they  might  rob  and  mur- 
der the  men  of  property,  which  they  very  often  did,  as  we  per- 
ceive from  our  author  and  other  w  riters. 


those,  who,  while  they  pretend  to  be  for  peace, 
are  defending  the  most  nefarious  deeds.  But  eve- 
ry thing  is  not  to  be  had  at  once.  Matters  are 
much  more  fayourably  changed  than  I  imagined, 
nor  will  I  leave  this  place,  till  you  advise  me, 
that  I  may  do  it  with  honour. 

You  may  depend  upon  my  being  wanting  in 
no  respect  to  our  friend  Brutus.  Had  I  no  man- 
ner of  connection  with  him,  I  would  serve  him  for 
his  unrivalled,  his  amazing,  virtue.  Being  to  set 
out  for  Pompeii  on  the  first  of  May,  I  leave  my 
house  under  the  care  of  my  friend  Pilia,  and  all 
that  is  in  it.  How  earnestly  do  I  wish  that  you 
could  persuade  Brutus  to  come  to  Astura  ? 


EPISTLE  XVI. 

1  WRITE  this  letter,  just  as  I  am  going  on  board 
an  open  boat  from  the  gardens  of  Clavius,  after 
delivering  over  to  Pilia,  the  charge  of  my  house 
near  the  lake,  my  workmen,  and  my  agents.  As 
for  myself,  I  this  very  day  threatened  to  partake 
with  PieUis  in  his  plain  fare.  A  few  days  hence^ 
I  design  to  go  to  Pompeii,  from  whence  I  will  sail 
back  to  the  delightful  regions  of  Puteoli  and  Cu- 
mse.  What  pleasurable  spots  these  would  be,  did 
not  crowds  of  company  break  in  and  almost  drive 

me  from  them. 

Q  2  9ut 


223 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


But  to  come   to  business.     How  great  is  the 
exploit  which   my    friend  Dolabella    has   per- 
formed !  What  a  lovely  prospect  has  it  opened  ! 
Well  never  can  I  sufficiently  praise  and  encou- 
rage him  to  proceed.     It  gives  me  pleasure,  that 
in  all  your  letters,  you  intimate  your  sentiments 
of  the  action,  and  of  the  person  who  performed  it. 
Trust  me,  my  friend,  Brutus  might  carry  through 
the  Forum,  even  a  crown  of  gold  upon  his  head; 
for  who  durst  offer  violence  to  him,  while  the  fear 
of  the  rock  and  the  cross  is  before   their  eyes, 
especially  as  the  punishment  was  inflicted  amidst 
such  applauses  and  such  rejoicings,  of  even  the 
lower  classes  of  the  people  ?     Now,  my  friend, 
you  must  take  care  to  fit  me  out  for  Greece,  a 
journey  I  am  extremely  desirous  to  perform,  as 
soon  as  I  have  fully  completed  my  engagements 
to  our  friend  Brutus.     It  is  of  great  consequence 
to  my  son,  or  rather  to  me,  indeed,  to  both  of  us, 
that  I  should  superintend  his  studies  in  person. 
For,  give  me  leave  to  ask  you,  what  is  there  in 
that  letter  of  Leonidas  which  you  sent  to  me,  that 
ought  to  give  me  such  mighty  joy  ?     The  reserve, 
he  makes  use  of  in  praising  my  son,  in  my  opinion, 
renders  his  commendation  very  imperfect.    ^'  At 
present,"  says  he,  '*  this  is  not  the  language  of  as- 
surance, but  of  apprehension  of  what  may  hap- 
pen hereafter."     Now,  though  I  charged  lierodes 
that  he  should  write  me  a  minute  account  of  every 
thing,  yet  I  have  not  as  yet  had  one  line  from 

him. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


229 


him.  This,  lam  afraid,  is  owing  to  his  having  no- 
thing to  write,  which  he  thinks  would  give  me  plea- 
sure. I  am  extremely  obliged  to  you  for  writing  to 
Zeno.  Both  my  duty  and  my  character  require, 
that  my  son  should  want  for  nothing, 

I  understand,  that  Flamma  Flaminius  is  at 
Rome  ;  I  have  written  to  him,  that  I  have  sent  to 
desire  you  to  talk  with  him  upon  the  affair  of 
Montanus.  I  beg  you  will  take  care,  that  my 
letter  be  delivered  to  him,  and  that  you  will  con- 
verse with  him  at  your  leisure.  I  think,  if  the 
man  has  any  shame  in  him  at  all,  he  will  take 
care  that  other  people  do  not  in  any  respect 
suffer  for  him.  I  am  extremely  obliged  to  you 
for  not  telling  me,  that  your  daughter  w^as  in- 
disposed, before  you  acquainted  me  of  her  reco- 
very. 


EPISTLE  XVTI. 

1  CA^iE  to  Pompeii  the  3d  of  May,  the  day  after 
I  delivered  up  to  Pilia  the  charge  of  my  house 
at  Cumae,  as  I  wrote  you  before.  While"  I  was 
at  supper  there,  I  received  a  letter  which  you 
sent  by  Demetrius  the  freedman,  the  30th  of  last 
month.  In  that  letter  you  specify  many  wise  pre- 
cautions. But,  as  you  rightly  observe,  these 
measures  may  be  unavailing,  since  caprice  and 
fortune  have  now  so  much  influence  in  all  mat- 
ters. 


230 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


231 


ters.  Wc  will,  therefore,  take  a  farther  oppor- 
tunity when  we  meet  together,  to  consult  of  those 
things.  It  would  be  of  great  service  to  your  bu- 
ainess  at  Buthrotum,  if  I  could  by  any  means 
speak  with  Antony.  But  I  am  afraid,  he  will  not 
turn  out  of  his  road  for  Capua,  and  that  his 
journey  thither,  may  prove  to  be  the  destruction 
of  his  country  \  Lucius  Caesar,  whom  yesterday 
I  saw  very  much  indisposed  at  Naples,  was  of  the 
same  sentiments.  Therefore,  we  must  delay  to 
treat  or  conclude  any  thing  on  your  affair,  till 
the  1st  of  June.     But  so  much  for  that. 

The  younger  Quintus  has  written  in  most  op- 
probrious terms  to  his  father,  who  received 
his  letter  just  as  I  arrived  at  Pompeii.  He  be- 
gins with  telling  him,  that  he  shall  never  be  able 
to  endure  his  step-mother  Aquillia.  In  this,  per- 
haps, he  may  not  be  so  much  in  the  wrong,  but 
what  will  you  say  to  what  follows?  He  tells 
them,  that  he  had  every  thing  from  Caesar,  no- 
thing from  his  father;  that  he  depends  upon 
Antony  for  the  rest  of  his  fortune.  How  lost  to 
a  sense  of  decency  !  But  let  him  see  to  it.  I 
have  written  to  our  friend  Brutus,  to  Cassius, 
and  to  Dolabella. '  Inclosed  you  have  copies  of 
the  several  letters  I  sent  to  them,  not  that  I  am 

in  any  kind  of  doubt,  whether  they  are  proper 

to 

*  Antony  went  to  Capua,  in  order  to  bring  the  veteran  troops, 
whom  CaDsar  had  settled  thereabouts,  into  his  measures. 


to  be  delivered  to  them,  for  I  am  quite  satisfied 
as  to  that,  but  because  I  hope  to  obtain  your 
approbation. 

Suffer  me,  my  friend,  to  give  you  the  trouble 
of  supplying  my  son  with  what  money  you  think 
proper,  and  I  am  extremely  obliged  to  you  for 
all  your  past  favours  in  that  respect.  I  have  not 
yet  tinished  to  my  mind  the  work  which  I  think 
proper  not  to  publish  \  As  to  the  additions 
wiiich  you  want  should  be  made  to  them,  they 
will  require  a  separate  volume.  For  my  part, 
and  1  believe,  you  may  depend  on  what  I  say, 
I  am  of  opinion  there  was  less  danger  iti  talking 
of  those  detestable  measures  while  the  tyrant 
was  alive,  than  there  is  now  that  he  is  dead.  For 
though  I  know  not  how  it  happened,  he  bore 
with  wonderful  patience,  all  I  said  to  him  \  At 
present,  we  cannot  stir  without  being  called  to 
submit  not  only  to  what  Caesar  did,  but  what 
he  designed  to  do.     As  Flamma  is  at  Rome,  you 

will 


i  Orig.  avix^oToy.  Dion  say?,  that  Cicero  left  this  book 
sealed  up  in  the  hands  of  his  son,  with  a  charge  that  it  should 
not  be  opened  before  his  death  ;  but  Monsieur  Mongault 
thinks,  that  this  is  improbable  from  what  our  author  sa}  s  in 

this  place. 

2  We  have  many  instances  of  the  great  liberties  which 
Caesar  indulged  cur  author  in,  particulatly  in  breaking  upon 
him  several  cutting  jests  5  but  Csesar  was  secure  in  the  supe- 
riority of  his  own  genius,  which  was  not  tne  case  with  his 
successors. 


2SS 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


will  look  after  Montanus.     I  think  the  affair  at 
present  is  in  a  more  promising  state. 


Cicero  to  his  Friend  Dolabella  Consul^  mslieth 

Health, 

XT  is  true,  my  Dolabella,  that  I  felt  interested 
in  the  glory  you  have  lately  acquired,  and  it 
gave  me  a  great  degree  of  joy  and  pleasure ;  yet 
I  cannot  help  acknowledging,  that  my  transport 
exceeded  all  measure,  when  I  understood  that 
the  public  voice  pointed  me  out  as  the  partner  of 
your  merits.  I  meet  with  nobody  (for  you  must 
know,  I  see  a  great  deal  of  company  here,  be-' 
cause  many  excellent  persons  resort  to  this  neigh- 
bourhood on  account  of  their  health,  not  to 
mention  the  great  number  of  my  friends  from 
the  municipal  cities)  who,  after  extolling  you  to 
the  skies,  in  the  most  honourable  terms,  im- 
mediately express  their  unfeigned  obligation  to 
me.  They  tell  me,  they  are  convinced,  that  in 
consequence  of  compliance  with  my  precepts  and 
counsels,  you  are  become  an  excellent  patriot, 
and  an  incomparable  consul.  Now,  though  I 
could  with  great  justice  tell  them,  that  what  you 
do  is  the  result  of  your  own  judgment,  and  your 
own  inclination,  without  standing  in  need  of 
counsel  from  any  man ;    yet  I  neither  heartily 

join 


TO  ATTICUS. 


235 


join  with  them,  for  fear  of  detracting  from  your 
merit,  if  all  you  do  should  sppear  to  be  the  ef- 
fect of  my  counsels,  nor  am  I  very  forward  in 
contradicting  them.     For  you  must  know,  that 
the   love  of   praise  is   my  predominant   failing 
And  yet,  let  me  tell  you,  your  dignity  receives 
no  diminution  in  that  which  was  held  to  be  an 
honour  to  Agamemnon  himself,  the  king  of  kings, 
to  have  a  Nestor  to  direct  him  in  his  counsels. 
With  regard  to  myself,  I  esteem  it  a  glory,  that 
young  as  you  are,  you  make  so  exalted  a  ligure 
as  a  consul,  and  that  you  are  deemed  to  be  the 
pupil  of  my  cares.  -♦ 

When  I  paid  a  visit  to  Lucius  Caesar,  whom 
I  found  indisposed  at  Naples,  and  tortured  with 
pain  in  every  part  of  his  frame,  yet  before  our 
first  compliments  were  over,  ''  O  my  Cicero, 
said  he,  I  congratulate  you  upon  having  so  much 
influence  over  Dolabella.  Had  I  as  much  over 
my  nephew ',  all  might  yet  be  well  with  us,  and 
jour  country.  As  to  your  Dolabella,  I  congratu- 
late him,  and  I  thank  him.  He  is  the  only  man 
5ince  the  days  of  your  consulate,  whom  I  really 
can  call  a  consul."  He  then  talked  much 
jof  what  you  had  done,  and  the  measures  you 
had  executed.  That  never  was  there  any  thing 
4one  more  magnanimously,  more  gloriously,  or 
more  for  the  service  of  our  country,  and  th« 

public 

"*  Meaning  Antony,  who  was  son  to  JuJia,  sister  to  Lucius 
C^sar. 


234 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


public  unanimously  agree  in  the  same  senti- 
ments. Give  me  leave,  therefore,  to  beg  of  you, 
that  you  will  allow  me  to  avail  myself  of  this 
unmerited  claim  to  the  praise  which  belongs  to 
you,  and  that  you  will  suffer  me  in  some  degree 
to  become  a  partaker  of  your  fame. 

Yet,  after  all,  jesting  apart,  my  dear  Dola- 
bella,  if  I  have  acquired  any  glory,  I  would 
more  willingly  transfer  the  whole  of  it  to  you, 
than  deprive  you  of  the  smallest  portion.  You 
are  sensible  how  much  I  have  ever  loved  you, 
but  your  late  behaviour  has  raised  my  affection 
to  the  highest  ailRur.  For,  believe  me,  my 
friend,  virtue  is  the  fairest,  it  is  the  brightest, 
it  is  the  loveliest  object  of  human  passion.  You 
know,  how  dearly  I  have  always  loved  Marcus 
Brutus,  on  account  of  his  elevated  genius,  his 
amiable  manners,  his  matchless  probity  and  re- 
solution, yet  the  love  I  bore  him,  received  such 
an  addition  from  the  ides  of  March,  that  I  won- 
dered how  a  passion,  which  to  me  seemed  long 
before  at  its  highest  pitch,  could  admit  of  ad- 
vance. AVho  could  have  thought,  that  my  affec- 
tion for  you  could  have  been  capable  of  increase? 
Yet  so  much  is  it  increased,  that  Avhat  I  feel  for 
you  now  is  love,  and  all  before  seems  only  to 
have  been  esteem.  Need  I  then  to  exhort  you 
to  persevere  in  the  paths  of  dignity  and  glory  ? 
Need  I,  like  those  who  deal  in  exhortations, 
place  before  your  eyes  the  examples  of  illustrious 

heroes, 


TO  ATTICUS. 


235 


heroes,  since  I  know  none  more  illustrious  than 
yourself?     You  have  now  none  but  yourself  to 
imitate,  none  but  yourself  to  exceed.     After  the 
glorious  actions  you  have  performed,  you  are 
not,  Sir,  at  liberty  to  be  unlike  yourself     To  ex- 
hort you,  therefore,   is  unnecessary.      Give  me 
leave,  rather  to  congratulate  you,  upon  a  thing, 
which,  1  believe,  is  unprecedented,  namely,  that 
the  extreme  severity  of  the  punishment,  so  far 
from  being  odious,  was  even  popular,  and  gave 
pleasure  to  every  description  of  citizens,   from 
the  m'ost  illustrious  and  the  most  wealthy,  to  the 
poorest  and  most  obscur(#  Had  this  been  owing 
to  fortune,  I  should  have  complimented  you  upon 
your  felicity,  but  it  was  owing  to  the  greatness 
of  your  soul,  your  genius  and  your  w  isdom  ;  for 
you  must  know,  that  1  have  read  your  address 
to  the  people.     Nothing  surely  was  ever  better 
composed.     So  gradually  do  you  open  the  mo- 
tives of  your  action,  so  artfully  do  you  close  it, 
that  all  must  allow  the  offence  to  be  ripe  for  the 
punishment  you  inflicted. 

You,  therefore,  have  freed  the  city  from  dan- 
ger, and  her  government  from  dread,  by  an  ac- 
tion not  only  meritorious  at  this  time,  but  deserv- 
ing of  being  transmitted  as  an  example  to  future 
a^yes ;  an  action  which  ought  to  make  you  sensi- 
ble that  the  government  now  rests  upon  you, 
and  that  you  are  not  only  to  protect,  but  to  dis- 
tinguish those  heroes  who  gave  rise  to  our  reco- 
vered 


'256 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


vercd  liberty.  But  in  a  day  or  two,  I  hope  to 
see  you  in  person,  and  to  talk  with  you  more 
fully  upon  tiiese  matters.  As  you  have  saved  us 
and  your  country,  I  >eg,  my  dearest  Dolabella, 
that  you  would  take  the  most  tender  care  of 
yourselt^ 


EPISTLE  XVIII. 


A 


s  you  frequently  censure  me  for  the  exagge- 


rated  praises  I  have  bestowed  upon  Dolabella's 
actions,  I  must  be"o  observe,  that  though  I 
think  his  conduct  highly  meritorious,  yet  the 
manner  in  which  you  repeatedly  wrote  to  me 
concerning  him,  induced  me  to  extol  it  in  the 
manner  I  did.  But  you  are  disgusted  at  Dola- 
bella,  for  the  very  same  reason  which  has  in- 
curred my  cordial  resentment.  What  a  shameless 
fellow  he  is  !  My  money  was  due  the  first  of 
January,  and  he  has  not  paid  it  yet,  though  he 
could  free  himself  from  an  immense  load  of 
debt  by  the  liberality  of  Faberius,  who  usually 
supplies  him  on  all  necessary  occasions  \  I  indult^e 

in 

1  There  is  something  here  that  looks  very  hke  what  we  call 
a  conundrum  in  English.  The  original  is,  Opem  ah  eo  peiieriL 
That  is.  He  sought  assistance  from  him.  But  the  wit  lies  in  the 
similarity  of  Opem  to  the  accusative  of  Ops  the  goddess,  in 
whose  temple  Caesar's  money  was  deposited,  of  which  Dola- 
bella  received  a  large  share. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


237 


in  such  pleasantries,  to  shew  you  that  I  am  not 
too  much  grieved  at  heart.  On  the  8th  I  wrote 
to  him  early  in  the  morning;  and,  that  very 
evening,  I  received  at  Pompeii  your  letter  so 
soon  as  the  third  day  after  its  date ;  but^  as  I 
wrote  to  you  that  same  day,  I  sent  a  pretty  sharp 
letter  to  Dolabella,  which,  I  believe,  if  it  has  no 
other  effect,  will  have  that  of  making  him  not 
dare  to  look  me  in  the  face.  I  suppose  you  have 
finished  that  affkir  with  Albius.  You  have  highly 
obliged,  by  enabling  me,  to  discharge  the  ^debt  I 
owed  Patulcius.  Your  comiuct  in  this  respect 
is  in  unison  with  your  otmt  acts  of  friendship 
to  me.  I  left  Eros  at  Rome,  as  well  qualified  to 
transact  that  business ;  and  things  have  miscar- 
ried on  this  occasion  by  his  culpable  negligence. 
But  I  will  forbear  till  I  see  him.  1  beg  you  will 
direct  the  affair  of  Montanus,  as  I  have  often 
desired  you  to  do  by  my  letters. 

I  am  not  at  all  surprised  that  Servius,  when  he 
was  leaving  Rome,  talked  to  you,  as  if  public 
aff'airs  were  desperate,  for  he  cannot  have  a 
worse  opinion  of  them  than  I  have.  If  our 
worthy  friend  Brutus  shall  not  assist  in  the  se- 
nate on  the  first  of  June,  I  know  not  to  what 
purpose  he  should  appear  in  public  at  all  But 
he  is  the  best  judge  of  his  own  conduct.  From 
the  measures  which  I  see  going  on,  1  cannot 
think  that  the  ides  of  March  have  greatly  im- 
proved our  situation.    For  this  reason  I  feel  every 

day 


238 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


day  more  inclined  to  Avithdraw  into  Greece.  For 
I  cannot  see  how  it  is  in  my  power  to  serve  the 
interest  of  my  dear  Brutus,  who,  as  you  write 
to  me,  thinks  of  going  into  voluntary  banish- 
ment 

I  am  not  quite  satisfied  with  a  letter  I  have  re- 
ceived from  Leonidas.  I  agree  with  you  as  to 
Herodes.  I  wish  I  had  seen  the  letter  of  Sau- 
feius.  I  think  of  setting  out  from  Pompeii  the 
10th  of  May. 


EiklLE  XIX. 

On  the  seventh  of  May,  when  I  was  at  Pom- 
peii, I  received  two  letters  from  you,  the  one  on 
the  sixtli,  and  the  other  on  the  fourth  day  after 
its  date.  I  begin  with  the  former.  I  am  greatly 
pleased  that  Barnaeus  has  delivered  my  letters  so 
opportunely.  You  have  acted  like  yourself  with 
Cassius.  It  happened  luckily,  that  four  days  be- 
fore I  received  your  letter,  I  wrote  to  him  in  the 
very  terms  you  point  out  to  me,  and  I  have  sent  to 
you  a  copy  of  my  letter.  But  at  the  very  time 
I  was  driven  to  the  greatest  despair  by  the  in- 
solvency of  Dolabella  \  as  you  call  it,  I  received 
a  letter  from  Brutus,    and   anotlier    from  you. 

Brutus 

^  Monsieur  Mongault  thinks  that  Cicero  is  in  jest  here, 
which  I  much  doubt  of,  because,  in  the  preceding  letter,  lie 
u  very  much  in  earnest  upon  tliis  head. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


239 


Brutus  thinks  of  going  into  a  voluntary  exile  \ 
For  my  part  I  shall  steer  to  another  harbour*, 
better  suited  to  my  time  of  life.  Before  I  enter 
it,  I  could  wish  to  see  our  friend  Brutus  happy, 
and  our  constitution  established.  But  at  pre- 
sent, as  you  observe,  we  have  no  choice  left  us. 
For  you  are  of  my  opinion,  that  nothing  is  more 
unsuitable  than  war,  especially  a  civil  war,  is  to 
my  time  of  life. 

Antony's  answer  respects  only  Clodius.  He 
thanks  me  for  my  forbearance  and  clemency,  and 
tells  me  I  shall  find  great  satisfaction  in  the  ex- 
ercise of  these  virtues,  iftut  Pansa  ^  appears 
quite  outrageous  in  regard  to  Clodius,  and  like-- 
wise  to  Dejotarus,  and  if  we  are  to  believe  him, 
he  talks  in  a  very  high  strain.  I  do  not  however 
think  it  looks  well  in  him  to  condemn  so  violent- 
ly, as  he  does,  the  action  of  Dolabella.  When 
our  nephew  was  reproached  by  his  father,  for 
being  crowned  with  garlands,  he  wrote  him 
back  in  answer,  that  he  wore  a  garland,  to  tes- 
tify his  respect  for  Caesar,  and  that  he  laid  it 
aside  to  testify  his  grief.     In  short,  that  he  look^ 

ed 


1  We  must  not  understand  this  question  literally.  Oar  au- 
thor's meaning  is,  that  if  Brutus  should  leave  Italy,  as  Pompey 
had  donej  he  must  never  expect  to  see  it  again. 

*  Meaning  death. 

3  Cicero  was  mistaken  in  his  opinion  of  this  great  man^ 
who  was  afterwards  killed  in  the  battle  of  Miitina  against 
Antony.  •* 


5240 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


ed  upon  it  as  an  honour  to  be  reproached  for* 
loving  C^^ar  even  after  death.  In  conformity 
with  your  advice,  I  wrote  very  particularly  to 
Dolabella,  and  likewise  to  Sicca.  That  is  a  task 
I  do  not  impose  upon  you,  because  I  wish  you 
to  stand  well  with  Dolabella.  I  have  reflected 
upon  the  words  of  Servius,  and  I  perceive  in 
them  more  fear  than  wisdom,  and  yet  I  agree 
with  him,  because  we  are  all  of  us  frightened 
out  of  our  senses.  Publilius  has  trifled  with  you. 
For  Caerellia  ^  came  to  negotiate  with  me  in  their 
behalf,  and  I  easily  persuaded  her,  that  what 
she  requested  was^ot  only  against  my  inclina- 
tion, but  not  within  my  power.  If  I  should  see 
Antony,  I  will  do  the  best  with  him  in  regard  to 
your  business  at  Buthrotum. 

I  now  come  to  your  last  letter,  though  I  have 
already  answered  every  thing  concerning  Servius, 
and  that  I  think  the  achievements  of  Dolabella 
to  be  highly  deserving  of  praise.  Indeed  I  think 
greater  exploits  could  not  have  been  performed 
on  such  an  occasion,  and  at  such  a  juncture. 

The 

*  We  have  already  observed  that  our  author  has  been  ac- 
cused of  certain  levities  with  this  lady,  who  was  considerably 
older  than  himself.  But  I  think  the  passage  before  us  carries 
with  it  a  strong  presumption  of  his  innocence.  For  had  there 
been  any  thing  criminal  between  them,  she  was  a  very  im- 
proper agent  to  have  been  employed  in  the  atfair  mentioned 
here,  which  was  a  negociation  set  on  foot  by  the  brother  and 
friends  of  Cicero's  last  wife  for  his  taking  her  back  to  his  fa- 
mily. 


241 


"V 


The  praises  which  I  bestowed  on  him  proceeded 
in  a  manner  from  the  style  in  which  you  wrote 
to  me,  though  I  own  myself  to  be  so  far  of  your 
opinion,  that  his  conduct  would  be  much  more 
praise-worthy  if  he  would  remit  his  debt  to  me. 
*  I  wish  that  Brutus  may  come  to  Astura.  You 
think  I  am  in  the  right  not  to  come  to  any  de- 
termination concerning  my  voyage,  before  I  see 
how  public  matters  will  turn  out.  I  am  now  of 
another  opinion.  I  shall  however  form  no  reso- 
lution before  I  see  you.  I  am  pleased  with  my 
dear  Attica's  acknowledgments  in  behalf  of  her 
mother,  under  whose  superintendance  I  left  my 
house  and  furniture.  I  am  in  hopes  of  seeing 
her  by  the  II th  of  this  montk  Do  you  make 
my  compliments  to  your  daughter.  Pilia  shall 
experience  my  aff'ectionate  regard. 


EPISTLE  XX. 

X  WENT  by  water  from  Pompeii,  and  reached  the 
house  of  our  friend  LucuUus  on  the  10th,  about 
nine  in  the  evening.  I  was  but  just  landed  when 
I  received  your  letter  of  the  7th,  which,  I  was 
t^d,  was  brought  to  Cumae  by  your  express. 
Next  day,  about  the  same  hour  on  which  I  landed, 
I  received  from  LucuUus,  yours  dated  from  La- 
VoL.  III.  R  nuvium 


N 


24*2 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


nuvium  on  the  9th.     To  these  I  sit  do^v^l  to  re- 
turn an  immediate  answer. 

In  the  first  place,  I  am  obliged  to  you  for  your 
exertions  in  my  behalf;  for  the  care  you  have 
taken  of  that  payment,  and  for  the  aftkir  of  Al- 
bianus.     Now,  with  regard  to  your  business  at 
Buthrotum,   you  must  know  that  when  I  was  at 
Pompeii,  Antony  came  to  Misenum,  but  left  it  be- 
fore I  heard  of  his  being  there,  and  went  to  Sam- 
nium.     Thus  you  see,  that  I  must  meet  with  him 
in  Rome  upon  that  matter.     The  speech  of  Lucius 
Antonius^  filled  me  with  horror ;  that  of  Dola- 
bella  was  noble.     He  may,  for  aught  I  care,  keep 
my  money  in  his  own  hands,  provided  he  pays 
me  the   interest  punctually.      I  am  sorry  that 
Tertulla^  has  miscarried,  for  the  race  of  Cassius 
and  Brutus   ought   to  be  multiplied.     I  wish  to 
know  farther  about  the  queen  of  Egypt,  and  her 
son  Caesario^     Thus  much  for  your  first  letter, 

now  to  your  second. 

When 


^  He  was  brother  to  Mark  Antony ;  and  tlie  harangue 
mentioned  here,  was  a  speech  he  made  to  the  people  for  the 
distribution  of  certain  lands  to  strengthen  his  brother's  interest 
amongst  the  soldiers. 

,  *  She  was  sister  to  Brutus,  and  married  to  Cassius.  Her 
name  was  Junia  j  but  she  was  called  Tertulla,  from  her  being 
the  third  daughter  in  the  family. 

'  Whom  she  pretended  she  had  by  Caesar  j  and  he  was  after- 
wards put  to  death  by  command  of  Augustus. 


TO  ATTICtJS. 


243 


When  i  come  to  Rome,  I  will,  as  you  advise 
me,  talk  to  my  brother  and  nephew,  and  act 
respecting  the  affair  of  Buthrotum.  You  have 
obliged  me  in  supplying  my  son  with  money*  You 
think  I  am  in  the  wrong  to  rest  the  whole  inter- 
est of  our  country  upoa  Brutus  alone.  But  the 
thing  certainly  is  so.  Our  country  must  either 
be  nothing,  or  she  must  be  saved  by  him  and  his 
friends.  You  advise  me  to  draw  up  an  harangue 
and  send  it  to  him.  Give  me  leave,  my  dearest 
friend,  to  lay  it  down  as  what  I  think  a  general 
rule,  on  a  subject  in  which  I  had  a  pretty- 
large  experience.  Never  was  there  a  poet  or  an 
orator,  who  thought  another  man  excelled  him  in 
his  own  art\  If  this  is  the  case,  (as  in  fact  it  is), 
with  indifferent  poets,  what  must  you  suppose  of 
Brutus,  who  is  really  a  man  of  genius  and  learn- 
ing ?  An  edict  which  I  wrote  for  him  at  your 
request,  furnishes  some  proof  of  this  assertion. 
He  preferred  his  own,  though  in  my  opinion, 
mine  was  preferable.  When  in  compliance  with 
his  entreaties  I  addressed  to  him  a  piece  upon 
the  best  manner  of  speaking,  he  wrote,  not  only 
to  myself,  but  likewise  to  you,  that  he  by  no 
means  approved  of  my  taste.     *'  As  every  man  in 

•  love 


1  Nothids  can  be  more  true  than  this  observation  of  our 
author,  notwithstanding  the  affected  humility  of  many  great 
writers. 

R  2 


244 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


love  is  best  pleased  with  the  object  of  his  affec- 
tion, so  every  writer  finds  most  gratification  in 
his  own  compositions  \"    This  is  not  a  very  ele- 
gant quotation ;  for  it  is  taken  from  Attilius,    a, 
stiff  and   unpolished   poet.      I  wish,    however, 
that  Brutus  were  at  liberty  to  harangue  the  peo- 
ple.    All  would  be  our  own  if  he  could  remain 
at  Rome  with  safety.     For  he,  who  would  afresh 
erect  the  standard  of  a  civil  war,  will  either  have 
no  followers,  or  such  as  may  be  easily  vanquished. 
I  now  come  to  your  third  letter.    I  am  greatly 
pleased   that  my  letters  were   so   agreeable  to 
Brutus  and  Cassius.     I  have,  therefore,  answered 
theirs.     They  insist  upon  my  making  Hirtius  a 
better  patriot;  which  indeed,  I  endeavour  to  do, 
and  he  gives  me  fair  assurances.     But  he  lives 
and  dwells  with  Balbus,  who  likewise  is  a  fair 
speaker.      We  ought  to  look   before  we  trust 
either.     I  perceive  you  are  greatly  pleased  with 
Dolabella.     For  my  part,  I  am  charmed  with 
him.     I  have  passed  some  time  at  Pompeii  with 
Pansa,  who  gives  me  the  strongest  proof  of  his 
having  honest  and  pacific  sentiments.     I  approve 
of  the  edict  of  Brutus  and  Cassius.     You  desire 
that  I  would  bestow  some  thought  in  what  man- 
ner they  ought  to  proceed.     This,   let  me  tell 

you, 

*  The  original  is,  Quare  sine,  quaso,  sibi  quemque  scribere, 
suafn  cuique  sponsam,  mihi  meam,  suum  cuique  amorem,  mihi 


TO  ATTICUS. 


245 


you,  depends  upon  circumstances  and  contin- 
gencies, which,  as  you  see,  vary  every  hour. 
The  first  action  of  Dolabella,  and  this  last  ha- 
rangue he  made  against  Antony,  have,  in  my 
opinion,  done  much  service  to  the  cause  of  free- 
dom. Matters  are  now  in  a  fair  way.  We  are 
now  likely  to  have  a  leader',  which  is  the  thing 
mostly  wanted  by  the  municipal  cities  and  the 

patriotic  party. 

Shall  you  then  pretend  to  quote  Epicurus? 
Have  you  the  presumption  to  say,  "  I  will  not 
meldle  with  state  matters?"  I  think  the  very 
look  of  Brutus  ought  to  frighten  you  out  of  such 
a  declaration  -.  You  tell  me  that  the  younger 
Quintus  is  the  right  hand '  of  Antony.  We  may 
therefore,  through  him,  easily  obtain  all  we  w^ant, 
and  all  we  wish.     If  (as  you  are  of  opinion  he 

(would 


»  Meaning  Dolabella.  From  the  whole  strain  of  this  letter, 
it  appears  to  have  been  written  before  the  preceding,  which 
hints  at  Dolabella's  being  bribed  by  Antony. 

2  This  is  a  fine  compliment  to  Brutus,  who,  by  the  bye,  is 
represented  on  the  coins  and  statues  with  a  very  noble  open 
countenance. 

3  Orig.  Dextella.  I  have  some  doubt  as  to  this  passage.  The 
manuscripts  read  Quintus  F.  If  Cicero  is  serious  heite,  the  F. 
stands  for  Frater.  If  he  speaks  ironically,  it  stands  for  Filius^ 
and  I  have  translated  it  in  that  sense.  I  hav^  translated  DeX" 
tella,  right  hand,  which  is  certainly  our  author's  meaning  3  but 
the  commentators,  who  never  choose  to  deviate  from  the  seve- 
rity of  language,  and  never  make  allowance  for  the  familiarities 
of  expression,  have  given  this  up  as  a  desperate  word. 


246 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


would)  Lucius  Antonius  has  produced  Octavius 
before  the  people,  I  long  to  know  what  kind  of 
a  speech  he  delivered.  I  am  so  pressed  by  the 
bearer  of  Cassius's  letter,  that  I  write  this  in  a 
hurry.  I  now  go  to  pay  my  compliments  *to 
Pilia,  and  then  I  set  out  in  a  barge  to  an  enter* 
tainment  made  by  Vestorius.  My  compliments 
to  your  daughter. 


EPISTLE  XXL  ^ 

vJn  the  11th  of  this  month,  soon  after  I  had 
charged  the  messenger  of  Cassius  with  a  letter 
to  you,  my  own  express  arrived,  and,  which  was 
very  strange,  without  any  letter  from  you.  But 
I  soon  conjectured  that  you  must  have  been  at 
Lanuvium.  Now  you  must  know,  Eros  has  dis- 
patched him  in  a  hurry,  that  I  might  the  sooner 
receive  Dolabella's  letter,  which  did  not,  indeed, 
concern  my  own  affair,  (for  mine  had  not  yet 
come  to  his  hand)  but  was  an  answer,  and  a  very 
satisfactory  answer  it  is,  to  that  letter  of  which  I 
sent  you  a  copy.  I  had  but  just  sent  off  Cas- 
sius's  express,  when  in  comes  Balbus.  It  is, 
indeed,  easy  to  perceive  that  he  is  afraid  of  pub- 
lic tranquillity.  And  yet  you  know  he  always  is 
very  reserved.  But  he  made  no  secret  of  An- 
tony's proceedings.     He  told  me,   that  he  had 

been 


TO  ATTICUS. 


247 


been  going  round  to  all  the  veterans,  to  bring 
them  to  approve  of  Caesar's  acts,  and  to  bind 
them  by  an  oath,  to  support  and  maintain 
them,  and  that  two  magistrates  should  examine 
.them  every  month.  He  likewise  complained  of 
the  prejudice  generally  cherished  against  him, 
and  his  whole  conversation  betrayed  his  attach- 
ment towards  Antony.     He  is  not,  in  short,  to 

be  depended  on. 

In  my  opinion,  there  can  be  no  manner  of 
doubt  that  a  war  is  inevitable.     The  action  of 
our  friends  was  manly,  but  their  measures  are 
childish.     Who  is  so  blind  as  not  to  see,  that 
Caesar  has  nominated  a  successor  to  his  power  \ 
Now^  what  can  be  more  absurd  than  to  be  afraid 
of  one,  and  not  of  the  other,  though,  indeed,  we 
live  in  an  age  distinguished  by  political  incon- 
sistencies.    For  instance,  the  mother  of  the  chief 
who  armed  himself  against  the  tyrant  still  pos- 
sesses the  Neapolitan  estate  of  Pontius  \  I  ought 
frequently  to  peruse  the   work,    entitled,  Cato 
JNIajor,  which  I  sent  to  you  as  an  antidote  to  that 
petulance  and  fretfulness  which  I  perceive  to 

t  grow 

1  Meaning  Antony.  Some  of  the  conspirators  were  for  kil- 
lincr  him  at  the  same  time  with  Caesar  3  but  this  was  generously 

opposed  by  Brutus. 

2  We  have  already  taken  notice  of  Servilia,  the  mother  of 
Brutus,  being  the  mistress  of  Caesar,  who  had  made  her  a  pre- 
sent  of  this  estate,  which  had  been  confiscated  for  the  author's 
adherence  to  the  cause  of  his  country. 


\ 


248 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


249 


grow  with  my  years.  Every  thing  discomposes 
me.  My  life  is  now  drawing  to  a  closed  and  I 
relinquish  the  business  and  pleasures  of  the  world 
to  the  young  who  succeed  me. 

Do  you  continue  to  take  care  of  my  interest. 
I  have  written,  or  rather,  dictated  this  in  the  seat 
ofVestorius,  when  the  second  course  was  set 
upon  the  table.  To-morrow  I  intend  to  see  Hir- 
tius,  the  last  of  the  five  commissioners  of  Caesar's 
funeral.  These  are  the  means  I  make  use  of  to 
reclaim  this  great  man  to  our  republican  party. 
Yet,  I  know  it  to  be  a  labour  in  vain.  There  is 
not  a  man  amongst  them  who  is  not  afraid  of 
peace.  Let  me,  therefore,  retire — any  where 
rather  than  to  a  camp.  I  beg  you  to  express,  in 
the  warmest  terms,  my  good  wishes  for  the  wel- 
fare of  Attica.  I  am  impatient  to  see  the  speech 
of  Octavius.  Write  me  every  thing  that  occurs, 
especially  if  there  is  any  remittance  from  Dola- 
bella  -,  or  whether  to  get  rid  of  my  debt,  he  will 
pot  pass  a  bill  in  favour  of  all  insolvent  debtors^ 


EPISTLE 


'  He  was  about  sixty  three. 

^  Orig.  Acquid  Do/aisila  tinniat.    That  is,  whether  Dola- 
bulla  chinks. 

^  This  was  the  measure  that  had  been  long  suspected. 


( 


M 


EPISTLE   XXII. 

JcJeing  informed  by  Pilia,  that  an  express  was 
going  off  for  you  upon  the  loth,  I  immediately 
took  up  my  pen  that  I  might  write  to  you  some- 
thing or  other.  In  the  first  place  then,  I  am  to 
inform  you,  that  I  set  out  from  hence  to  Arpi- 
num  on  the  17th  of  May;  you  will,  therefore,^ 
send  thither  any  letters  you  write  to  me,  though  I 
shall  very  soon  see  you  in  passing.  For  I  am  de- 
sirous before  I  come  to  Rome,  to  ascertain  ^ith 
full  assurance,  what  is  likely  to  be  the  event. 
And  yet,  I  am  afraid,  that  my  own  apprehensions 
are  but  too  well  grounded.  The  designs  of  the 
party  are  but  too  plain.     As  to  my  pupil  \  who 

it 

is  to  sup  with  me  this  evening,  dearly  does  he 
love  the  man  whom  our  Brutus  wounded ;  and  if 
I  must  speak  it  (for  I  speak  it  from  what  I  see 
and  know)  they,  in  general,  are  averse  to  restore 
the  public  tranquillity.  The  reasons  they  adopt 
and  profess  are,  that  a  most  illustrious  person 
has  been  murdered;  that  his  death  has  con- 
vulsed the  whole  commonwealth ;  that,  as  soon 
as  our  fears  have  subsided,  all  his  acts  will  be 

cancelled ; 


^  Meaning  Hirtius.  It  seems  our  author's  countiy  seat  and 
his  lay  very  near  one  another.  For,  though  he  went  to  see  Hir- 
tius, we  find  him  entertaining  him  in  his  own  house. 


/ . ,  •  .•^♦t  1 


250 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


cancelled  ;  that  his  clemency  was  his  chief  mis- 
fortune, and  had  he  been  less  forgiving,  he  would 
still  have  been  alive. 

"Now  I  am  of  opinion,  that  if  Sextus  Pompeius 
should  come  to  Italy,  as  he  probably  will,  at  the 
head  of  a  sufficient  army,  a  war  must  be  inev- 
itable. The  appearances  and  apprehensions  of 
this  give  me  infinite  uneasiness,  for  we  shall  not 
now  have  the  same  liberty  as  we  had  in  the  late 
war.  We  have  avowed  our  party  by  our  rejoicing 
publicly  for  Ca?sar's  death.  And  his  friends  are 
perpetually  accusing  us  of  ingratitude.  We  shall 
then  have  nothing  of  that  liberty  which  we  '  en- 
joyed with  great  many  others  at  that  time.  I 
must  therefore  throw  off  the  mask  and  take  the 
field,  which  will  be  more  disagreeable  than  a 
thousand  deaths  at  my  age.  The  ides  of  March, 
therefore,  give  me  no  such  joy  as  they  did  some 
time  ago,  for  they  were  followed  by  an  egregious 
«rror*.     And  yet  the  youthful  heroes  may  plead, 

that 

1  Monsieur  Mongault  here  translates  the  plural  number  by 
the  singular.  But  I  think  it  is  more  natural  to  understand  what 
is  said  here  of  Atticus,  as  well  as  of  Cicero  j  because  the  for- 
mer openly  opposed  the  giving  Caesar's  body  a  public  funeral. 

2  Meaning  that  Antony  was  not  killed  along  with  Caesar. 
From  this  passage  and  many  others,  it  appears,  that  our  author 
was  not  at  all  in  the  secret  of  the  conspirators.  The  truth  is, 
he  had  given  so  many  proofs  of  weakness  and  irresolution,  that 
they  did  not  choose  to  trust  him.  There  was  another  reason, 
besides  that  Df  magnanimity,  why  Brutus  opposed  the  putting 

Antony 


TO  ATTICUS. 


Q51 


tkat  their  successful  achievements  are  sufficient  to 
Meld  them  from  any  reproach  ^ 

If  you,  however,  have  any  grounds  for  hoping' 
better  things,  as  you  have  more  opportunities  of 
conversation,  and  of  being  present  at  consulta- 
tions ;  I  beg  you  will  let  me  know  by  a  letter, 
and  bestow  some  thoughts  how  I  am  to  proceed 
in  the  affair  of  my  votive  legation.  The  truth  is, 
a  great  many  people  here  put  me  upon  my  guard 
against  being  present  in  the  senate  on  the  1st  of 
June.  They  tell  me,  that  soldiers  have  private 
orders  to  be  in  readiness  that  day  to  dispatch 
our  friends;  and  it  appears  to  me,  that  they  will 
be  in  greater  safety  any  where  than  in  the  senate.  * 


CICERO'S 


Antony  to  death  along  with  Caesar,  and  that  was,  that  he  had 
been  engaged  with  Trebonius  to  kill  Caesar  upon  bis  last  return 
from  Spain.  Antony  afterwards  was  reconciled  to  Caesar,  but 
he  never  discovered  his  engagements  with  Trebonius,  and  the 
conspirators,  for  that  reason,  agreed  that  Trebonius  should, 
under  some  pretext,  keep  Antony  from  going  into  the  senate- 
house  when  Caesar  was  killed,  for  fear  they  should  have  been 
obliged  to  have  killed  him  likewise,  if  he  had  endeavoured  to 
have  saved  Caesar. 

^  The  original  here  is  a  Greek  Iambic.   AKK<ns  i>  iv^hois  rorJ 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO 


ATTICUS. 


BOOK  XV, 


EPISTLE  I. 

X  HE  death  of  Alexio  is  to  me  a  melancholy 
event !  It  is  incredible  into  what  affliction  it  has 
thrown  me,  and  I  am  fretful  from  different  causes 
than  most  of  the  people  about  me  suppose.  Where, 
say  they,  will  you  find  another  physician  ?  What 
occasion  have  I  now  *  for  a  physician  ?  If  I  had, 
they,  surely,  are  not  so  scarce.  But  I  regret  him 
for  the  affection  he  bore  me,  for  the  elegance  of 
his  manners,  and  the  sweetness  of  his  temper;  let 
me  add  likewise,  that  it  is  an  alarming  considera- 
tion for  ourselves,  that  such  a  man,  notwithstand- 
ing 

^  Meaning  that  life  was  not  worth  his  care,  when  his  country 
was  in  so  deplorable  a  situation. 


m- 


254 


CICERO^S  EHSTLES 


ing  his  great  temperance  and  skill  in  his  profes- 
sion, should  be  hurried  so  suddenly  out  of  the 
world  by  so  terrible  a  disease.  But  there  is  one 
thought  which  in  general  is  calculated  to  console 
us  under  events  of  this  kind,  that  we  have  re- 
ceived life  oncondition  of  submitin^  to  all  the 
calamities  that  befalit\ 

1  acquainted  you,  by  a  former  letter,  that  I 
had  not  seen  Antony.  For,  while  I  was  at  Pom- 
peii, he  came  to  ^licenum,  which  place  he  left 
before  I  knew  of  his  being  there.  But  it  hap- 
pened,  while   I  was  perusing  your  letter,   that 

Ilirtius  was  at  my  house  at  Puteoli.  I  therefore 
read  your  letter,  and  pressed  your  affair  home, 
to  him.  He  told  me,  in  the  first  place,  that 
whatever  part  he  did  in  the  business  should  be 
done  for  your  own  sake  only,  and  he  concluded  by 

telling 


^  Sed  ad  liaec  omnia  una  consolatio  est  quodea  conditione  na- 
tisumus,  ut  nihil,  quod  homini-accidere  possit,  recusari  debe- 
amus.  A  beautiful  and  appropriate  sentiment,  but  rather  calcu- 
lated to  silence  than  soothe  complaint,  and  yet  this  is  the 
farthest  limit  to  which  the  light  of  nature  extends.  The  dis- 
ciple of  nature  under  affliction  ceases  to  grieve  because  to 
grieve  is  unavailing  ,•  because  the  cause  of  sorrow  is  the  inevita- 
ble lot  of  man.  But  the  believer  in  revelation  possesses  sour- 
ces of  real  consolation  even  in  circumstances  of  the  severest 
pain.  Deprived  of  his  dearest  friends  and  relatives  and  in  tlie 
prospect  of  his  own  death  he  looks  through  the  evidences  of 
Christianity  to  a  renewed  and  more  exalted  state  of  being,  and 
he  feels  his  fears  and  his  sorrows  subsiding  into  serenity  and 
joy.— E.     * 


TO  ATTICUS. 


255 


telling  me,  that  he  would  be  directed  by  me,  not 
only  ia  this  afiair,  but  through  the  whole  course 
of  his  consulship.  With  regard  to  Antony,  I  will 
deal  with  him  in  such  a  manner  as  to  convince 
him,  that,  if  he  obliges  me  in  this  particular,  he 
will  make  me  wholly  his.  I  am  in  hopes  Dola- 
bella  will  pay  what  he  owes  me  \ 

Now  to  return  to  our  friends,  of  whom  you  in- 
timate your  good  hopes  on  account  of  their  mo- 
derate edicts.     You  must  know  when  Hirtius  par- 
ted from  me  at  Puteoli  on   the   l6th,    to  meet 
Pansa  at  Naples,  I  satisfied  myself  as  to  his  sen- 
timents ;   for  I  took  him  aside,  and  exhorted  him 
to  pacific  measures.     You  may  be  sure   he  told 
me  that  his  inclination  lay  that  way,   but  that  he 
Avas  as  much  afraid  of  violence  from  our  friends, 
as  from  Antony ;  that  in  the  meanwhile,   though 
both  parties  had  reason   not  to  appear  abroad 
without  their  guards,  yet  he  was  equally  appre- 
hensive of  both  sides  drawing  the  sword.     In 
short  he  is  not  rightly  disposed  towards  peace. 

I  agree  with  you  as  to  the  younger  Quintus, 
whose  father  received  wonderful  satisfaction  and 
delight  from  your  letter.  As  to  Casrellia,  I  easi- 
ly brought  her  over,  nor  indeed  did  I  think  her 

much  in   earnest,    and   if  she   was  indifferent, 
ff  surely 


■^  Orig.  Dolahellam  spero  domi  esse.  It  is,  if  I  mistake  not, 
an  act  of  bankruptcy  for  a  trader  to  deny  himself,  if  he  is  at 
home,  to  his  creditor. 


256 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


surely  I  have  much  more  reason  lo  be  so.  As 
to  the  other  woman,  who,  you  say,  is  so  trouble- 
some, I  am  surprised  you  pay  her  the  least  atten- 
tion. It  is  true,  I  have  spoken  in  terms  of  com- 
mendation in  the  presence  of  her  friends.  But 
before  her  sons  and  daughter  I  spoke  in  very 
different  terms.  You  may  demand  my  reason 
for  this  inconsistence.  Age  deviates  from  its  na* 
tural  character,  when  it  again  engages  in  the 
vain  pursuits  of  youth,  and  debases  itself  with 
vexations  which  are  already  too  numerous  ^ 

You  tell  me  that  Brutus  desires  to  see  me  be- 
fore the  1st  of  the  next  month,  and  he  has  sent 
me  a  letter  to  the  same  purpose.  It  is  very  pos- 
sible I  may  see  him,  but  indeed  I  know  not  how  I 
can  serve  him.  For  how  can  I  give  him  counsel 
when  I  am  so  much  at  a  loss  for  it  myself,  and  as 
his  action  has  rendered  his  own  name  immortal, 
but  has  left  our  tranquillity   precarious.     The 

report 


^  Carellia  appears  to  have  out-stepped  the  modesty  of  her  sex, 
and  through  the  medium  of  Atticus  to  have  solicited  marriage 
with  Cicero.  She  seems  to  have  been  misled  by  the  compli- 
ments which  on  some  occasions  he  paid  her,  and  which  were 
hardly  justifiable  if  accompanied  with  the  reflection  which  he 
passed  upon  her  person  and  character  at  other  times.  Hii  g 
words  here  are  part  of  a  Greek  proverb  which  carries  an  allu- 
sion to  a  fable  of  ^SOp.  Ow  rxvro  ik  ts  avrtSj  supply  cofxaroi 
tursyivirat,  I  did  not  pour  out  the  same  thing  from  the  same  moult  h, 
i.  e.  the  very  tongue  which  praised  her  on  some  occasions  censur- 
ed her  on  others. — E. 


TO  A^mcus. 


257 


The  report  about  Cleopatra  is  come  to  nothing. 
I  beo"  that  you  would  deal  with  Flamma  all  you 

can. 

I  wrote  to  you  yesterday,  as  I  was  leaving  Pu- 
teoli  to  go  to  Cuma3  where  I  found   Pilia  almost 
entirely  recovered ;  I  likewise  saw  her  at  Bauli. 
She  was  come  thither^  from  Cumae  to  attend  a 
funeral,  at  which  I  likewise   assisted;   for   our 
friend  Cnseus  LucuUus  was  then  burying  his  mo- 
ther.     I  therefore  passed  yesterday  at  Sinuessa, 
and  have  this  morning  written  this  letter  to  you, 
before  I  set  out  for  Arpinum.     Now  there  is  no- 
thing new  that  I  can  either  tell  you,  or  you  me, 
unless  you  think  there  is  any  thing  in  the  follow- 
ing circumstance.      Our   friend  Brutus  has  sent 
me  the  speech,  which  he  made  in  the  assembly  at 
the  capitoi,  and  he  begged  that  I  would  use  what 
freedom  I  pleased  in  correcting  it  before  he  pub- 
lished it.      Nothing,  I  assure  you,  can  exceed  it 
in  elegance  of  style  and  propriety  of  sentiment. 
But,  if  I  had  composed  it,  I  should  have  anima- 
ted the  subject  with  more  ardour,  and  enforced  it 
with  greater  energy^.     You  know  the  character 

he 


^  Bauli  lay  between  Bnlae  and  Cumae. 

-  Our  author  is  certainly  in  the  right  in  his  oDscivations  of 
the  differeace  between  riimself  and  Brutus  3  and  tnere  aie^  to 
this  very  day,  two  parties  of  the  same  kind  in  the  republic  of 
letters.     Brutus  had  received  a  regular  education  ,;    he  had  ap- 

Vol.  III.  S 


<2j8 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


^59 


he  assumed,  and  therefore  I  could  correct  no- 
thing in  the  speech.  For,  according  to  the  man- 
ner which  our  friend  Brutus  thinks  the  best,  and 
the  judgment  which  he  forms  of  a  complete  spea- 
ker, he  has  succeeded  so  well  in  that  speech,  that 
no  composition  can  be  more  finished.  But  my 
taste  is  quite  dift'erent.  Whether  I  am  right  or 
wrong  I  know  not.     I  would  have  you,  however, 

read 

plied  himself  to  all  the  elegancies  of  stile  and  language  ;  his 
sentiments  were  just  and  beautiful,  and  nothing  could  be  more 
irreprehensible  than  all  his  compositions.  Such  I  say  was  Bru- 
tus, and  such  the  generality  of  the  noblemen  and  gentlemen, 
who  made  great  figures  at  that  time  at  Rome,  and  such  at 
this  day  is  the  character  of  the  most  distinguished  moderns 
for  learning  who  have  gone  through  a  regular  course  of  educa- 
cation,  and  apply  themselves  to  study.  But,  though  these  are 
qualities  that  form  line  writers  and  good  speakers,  there  goes 
more  to  the  composition  of  a  great  genius.  Our  author  thought 
that  this  either  was  wanting  in  Brutus,  or  that  it  had  been  too 
much  polished  away.  He  felt  it  within  himself,  he  had  seen 
its  effects,  but  was  himself  too  great  a  genius  to  descend  to  the 
drudgery  of  proving  and  defending  itupon  the  principles  of  art, 
because,  in  fact,  it  is  somewhat  that  is  beyond  the  bounds  of 
art,  though  it  constitutes  its  chief  beauties.  With  regard  to 
elegance,  we  have  had  fewer  instances^of  genius  in  it  than  in 
painting,  poetry,  or  any  of  the  fine  arts,  while  tlie  compositions 
of  learned  speakers  are,  in  general,  less  faulty  and  more  just 
than  compositions  upon  any  other  art.  There  was  scarcely  a 
oreat  man  at  Home,  who  was  not  a  fine  speaker  and  a  fine  wri- 
ter, who  did  not  pique  himself  in  publishing  his  compositions, 
and  who  did  not  hope  for  immortality  from  tliem.  But  they 
were  without  the  characteristic  I  have  mentioned,  which  so 
eminently  distinguishes  our  author,  and  therefore  their  corn- 
posuions  are  long  lost. 


.v! 


read  that  speech,  if  you  have  not  read  it  already, 
and  let  me  know  your  opinion  of  it.  And  yet  I  am 
afraid  that  you  wdll  be  betrayed  into  an  erroneous 
judgment^  by  that  refinement  in  criticism  which 
is  expressed  by  your  own  name.  But  if  you  reflect 
upon  the  thunder  of  Demosthenes,  you  will  there 
see  that  force  may  be  united  with  elegance.  But 
of  this  we  will  talk  when  we  meet  At  present  I 
was  unwilling  that  Methrodorus  should  go  to  you 
either  with  no  letter,  or  with  one,  only  for  form's 
sake. 


EPISTLEII. 

On  the  18th,  as  I  w^as  leaving  Sinuessa  to 
go  to  Cumee,  after  writing  a  letter  to  you,  I  re- 
ceived yours  from  the  express.  It  was  unneces- 
sary to  say  so  much  as  you  do  concerning  the 
affair  of  Buthrotum,  which  lies,  and  shall  lie,  as 
near  to  my  heart  as  it  does,  or  can,  lie  to  yours. 
It  becomes  each  of  us  to  take  care  of  the  other  s 
concerns,  and  I  have  engaged  in  this  as  a  busi- 
ness of  the  highest  consequence  to  myself.  I  learnt 

from 

1  Cicero  here  puns  upon  the  name  of  Atticus  which  is  syno- 
nimous  with  the  Greek  arr/xos ,  elegant.  We  find  our  author, 
in  several  places,  blaming  his  friend  for  his  too  great  delicacy  in 
criticism,  which,  he  thought,  damped  that  noble  spirit,  which 
marks  the  works  of  a  great  genius. 

S2 


$60 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


261 


from  your  letters,  as  I  have  from  another  quar- 
ter, that  Lucius  Antony  made  a  Avretched  speech; 
but  I  am  ignorant  of  the  particulars ;  for  you  do 
not  give  me  so  much  as  a  hint  of  them.  I  am 
glad  of  what  has  happened  to  INIenedemus.  Our 
nephew  certainly  said  those  things  which  you  write. 
I  am  ^lad  that  you  think  me  in  the  ri^ht  in  not  com- 
posing  what  you  requested  of  me,  and  you  would 
think  me  much  more  so,  were  you  to  read  the 
Harangue  which  I  mentioned  in  my  former  letter 
of  this  day.  Your  news  of  the  legions^  proves 
true.  But  I  think  you  have  not  sufficiently  con- 
sidered that  the  authority  of  the  senate  alone  will 
not  be  able  to  carry  through  our  Buthrotian  affair. 
So  far  as  I  can  see  (though  all  is  but  conjecture) 
our  own  safety  will  be  but  precarious.  But  if  I 
am  mistaken  in  this,  I  wish  you  not  to  be  mistaken 
with  regard  to  that  business. 

I  am  of  your  opinion,  as  to  the  harangue  of 
Octavius  *,  but  I  do  not  approve  of  the  prepara- 
tions 


Antony  had  called  some  legions  from  Macedon,  the  pro- 
vince tliat  had  been  allotted  him  by  Cccsar,  with  an  intention 
to  employ  them  in  Gaul,  which  was  the  province  he  had  his 
eye  upon  at  this  time,  and  Atticus  thought  that  this  was  a  fa- 
vourable circumstance  for  the  afiair  he  was  soliciting  at  Bu- 
throtum,  which  lay  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Macedonia. 

^  Octavius,  as  Heir  to  Caesar,  intended  to  celebrate  certain 
plays  in  honour  of  the  Julian  family,  which  that  great  man 

desijrncd 


t 


tions  which  he  makes  for  the  plays\  and  that  Ma- 
tins  and  Posthumius  should  be  his  manatrers. 
Saserna^  is  worthy  of  being  their  colleague.  Now, 
yoii  are  sensible,  that  all  those  fellows  hate  peace 
as  much  as  we  do  war.  I  should  be  dad  to  con- 
tribute  all  I  can  in  abating  the  public  prejudice 
against  Balbus.  But  he  himself  thinks  that  im- 
possible, and  therefore  he  is  at  work  upon  other 
schemes.  I  am  glad  that  what  I  have  said  in  my 
first  Tusculan  Disputation  has  diminished  your 
fear  of  death,  which  is  the  best  and  the  readiest  re- 
fuge from  calamity.  I  am  glad  that  Flamma 
promises  so  fairly.  I  am  ignorant,  as  to  the  par- 
ticulars of  the  case  of  the  Tyndaritans-,  about 
which  you  are  so  earnest.  Meanwhile,  I  will  en- 
deavour 

designed  to  exhibit  before  he  was  killed.  Cicero  did  not  like 
this  proceeding.  As  yet,  he  looked  upon  Octavius  in  no  other 
light  than  that  of  a  boy,  who  from  the  nearness  of  this  relation 
to  Caesar,  might  be  made  use  of  to  balance  the  power  of  An- 
tony. But  he  did  not  like,  that  the  remembrance  of  Caesar's 
person  should  be  awakened  in  the  minds  of  the  people  by  such 
Exhibitions,  and  he  certainly  wasinthe  rightconcerning  it.  The 
truth  is,  public  affairs  were  then  very  much  perplexed  at  Rome.  If 
the  conspirators  were  in  the  right  to  kill  C?esar,  nothing  could 
be  more  absurd,  as  our  author  often  observes,  than  to  inforce 
his  measures,  and  in  a  manner,  even  to  deity  his  person.  If 
they  were  in  the  wrong,  it  was  equally  absurd  in  the  body  of 
the  peopie,  to  bestow  such  applauses  as  they  did  upon  every 
measure  taken  by  the  conspirators  for  the  perpetual  abohtion 
of  tyranny. 

^  These  three  were  known,  and  violent  partizans  of  Caesar. 

•  They  were  inhabitants  of  a  city  in  Sicily. 


262 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


deavour  to  serve  them.  I  find,  that  Hirtius  is 
alarmed  at  the  present  proceedings,  and  especially 
at  Antony's  profusion.  I  am  sorry  for  the  loss 
of  Alexio,  but  I  think  it  a  happiness  for  him 
that  he  is  dead,  as  his  disease  was  so  violent. 
Meanwhile,  I  should  be  glad  to  know  who  are 
his  second  heirs,  and  tlie  date  of  his  testament 

EPISTLE  III. 

On  the  22d  I  received  at  Atina,  two  letters 
from  you,  in  answer  to  two  of  mine,  the  one  dated 
the  18th,  the  other  the  21st.     Now,  in  answer 
to  the  first.     You  will  hasten  to  Tusculanum  as 
you  write,  and  I  think  of  being  there  myself  on 
the  2.5th.     You  write,   ''  that  we  must  obey  our 
conquerors."  I  will  answer,  at  least,   for  myself, 
that  I  will  not.     I  know  many  measures  prefer- 
able to  that.     You  put  me  in  mind  of  the  decree^ 
that  was  made  in  the  temple  of  Apollo,  under 
the  consulate  of  Lentulus  and  Marcellus.     But 
give  me  leave  to  say,  that  the  party  is  not  the 
same,  nor  are  the  times  the  same,  especially  as 
you  write  to  me,  that  Marcellus  and  others  are 
retiring.     I  must  therefore  try  before-hand,  and 

come 

^This  was  when,  upon  Caesar's  marching  to  Rome,  the  senate, 
as  in  the  case  of  a  rebellion,  or  conspiracy,  or  any  other  mo- 
mentous concern  to  the  public,  gave  it  in  charge  to  the  con- 
suls, ''  to^take  care  that  the  commonwealth  should  receive  no 
detriment  '* 


TO  ATTICUS. 


£63 


come  to  some  resolution,  whether  I  can  be  safe 
at  Rome  or  not.  I  am  very  jealous  of  the  pos- 
sessors of  our  new  plantations.  Thus,  scarcely 
can  I  move  without  danger\  But  tliese  are  mat- 
ters of  no  moment  and  I  despise  even  the  greatest 
dangers.  I  am  acquainted  with  the  contents  of 
Calva's  will,  who  was  a  mean,  sordid  man.  I  am 
obliged  to  you  for  the  care  you  have  shown  in 
the  sale  of  Demonicus.  It  is  some  time  since  I 
wrote  very  fully  to  Dolabella  concerning  Ma- 
rius'.  I  hope  my  letters  came  to  hand,  for  I 
pay  all  due  attention  to  his  interest. 

I  now  come  to  your  second  letter.  I  know  all 
I  wanted  to  know,  concerning  Alexio.  Hirtius  is 
entirely  yours.  I  wish  it  were  worse  witli  Antony 
than  it  is^  What  you  write  to  me  concerning  my 
nephew,  gives  me  very  great  pain.     I  will  speak 

with 


*  Meaning,  that  if  he  goes  to  Rome,  he  was  there  in  danger 
from  Caesar's  party,  and,  should  he  stay  in  the  country,  from 
the  veterans  which  Antony  had  gained  over  by  a  late  distribu* 
tion  of  public  lands  amongst  them. 

2  He  was  a  friend  and  relation  to  Cicero  j  and  some  of  his 
letters  are  still  extant. 

»  Orig.  Antonh,  quam  est,  volo  pejus  esse.  Monsieur  Mon- 
gault  thinks,  that  this  expression  regards  Lucius  Antony,  who 
had  opposed  his  solicitations,  in  the  affair  of  Buthrotura.  But 
I  see  no  reason,  why  we  may  not  understand  it  of  Mark 
Antony,  whom  our  author  began  to  be  more  than  ever  jealous 
of,  especially,  as  he  had  made  several  fruitless  attempts  to  talk 
with  Mark  Antony  about  that  affair,  the  success  of  which  de- 
pended more  upon  him  than  it  did  upon  Lucius  Antony. 


264 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


with  his  father  when  I  see  him.  I  am  greatly 
desirous  to  serve  Brutus  as  far  as  I  am  able,  and 
I  perceive,  you  are  of  my  opinion,  with  regard  to 
his  short  harangue.  But  I  cannot  comprehend 
how  you  can  imagine,  that  I  should  compose  a 
speech,  and  put  it  off  as  that  which  was  pro- 
nounced by  Brutus,  now  that  he  has  published 
his.  How  would  this  look,  or  would  you  have 
me  to  go  upon  the  topic,  that  it  was  lawful  to 
kill  the  tyrant.  I  shall  speak  and  write  much  on 
that  subject;  but  it  will  be  in  a  difterent  stile,  and 
on  a  different  occasion.  The  tribunes  have  be- 
behaved  nobly  in  the  affair  of  Ceesar's  throne^, 
and  I  likewise  approve  of  what  our  knights  have 
done.  I  am  glad  that  Brutus  has  been  at  my 
house,  provided  he  has  enjoyed  himself  there, 
and  without  being  hurried  away. 


TO  ATTICUS- 


265 


i\ 


j:pistle 


EPISTLE  IV. 

About  two  in  the  afternoon,  on  the  23d,  I  re- 
ceived a  dispatch  from  Quintus  Fufius',  contain- 
\u(T  a  note  written  in  his  senseless  vapid  manner, 
be-^ing  me  to  receive  him  to  my  former  good 
ophiion.     Meanwhile,    it  may  possibly  happen, 
that  when  one  does  not  love  a  person,   he  looks 
upon  every  thing  to  be  stupid  which  that  person 
does,  or  writes.     My  answer  was  such,  as,  I  be- 
lieve, you  would  approve  of.     The  same  express 
brought  me  two  letters  from  you,  the  one  of  the 
22d,  the  other  of  the  23d.     Now,  as  to  the  first— 
Wtiat,  a  whole  legion  has  deserted  Antony  !^ — 
Excellent  news  indeed !  Carfulenus  too  has  aban- 
doned him  !   1  should  have  as  well  thought,  that 
rivers  would  flow   back  to  their  source.     What 
you  tell  me  of  Antony  s  measures,  is  ver^  alarm- 
ing; I  wish  that  he  would  apply  to  the  people, 
as  I  believe  he  will,  rather  than  to  the  senate'. 

But 


^  This  was  a  golden  chair  which  the  senate  had  decreed  for 
Caesar,  in  all  public  places,  a  compliment  paid  only  to  the 
gods.  When  Octavius  aUempted  to  bring  this  chair  upon  the 
theatre,  he  was  opposed  in  it  by  the  tribunes,  probably  se- 
conded by  the  knights,  who  were  disposed  in  fourteen  rows  of 
the  theatre. 


1  His  surname  was  Calenus.  He  had  been  the  friend  of 
Clodius,  and  was  afterwards  attached  to  Antony. 

«  Orig.  Et  Legio  ?  This  legion  was  called  Martia,  and  was 
commanded  by  the  Carfulenus  here  mentioned,  who  went 
over  to  Octavius,  and  was  afterwards  killed  at  the  battle  of 
Modena,  where  his  legion  was  cut  in  pieces. 

3  Our  author  was  afraid  of  any  thing  coming  from  the  au- 
thority of  the  senate,  that  looked  like  condemning  the  action 
pf  the  conspirators. 


S66 


CICBROS  EPISTLES 


h 


TO  ATTICUS. 


267 


But  the  whole  plan  of  his  coiiduct,  seems  to  point 
towards  war ;  if  it  is  true,  that  he  intends  to  de- 
prive Decimus  Brutus  of  his  government.  Ac- 
cording to  ttie  opinion  I  have  of  his  spirit,  I  do 
not  think  Antony  will  gain  his  point  without  vio- 
lence. But,  as  he  has  become  responsible  for 
your  solicitation  in  favour  of  the  Buthrotians,  I 
wish  he  may  meet  with  no  opposition^  You  will 
perhaps,  ask  me,  why  I  am  so  merry  upon  this 
subject  But  give  me  leave  to  tell  you,  that  I 
am  fo  far  from  being  merry,  that  1  am  sorry  the 
mighty  favour  you  obtained,  has  not  been  ob» 
tained  by  my  assiduity  and  interest. 

You  tell  me  you  are  quite  at  a  loss  to  conceive 
Iiow  our  friends  ought  to  proceed.  I  liave  beei> 
equally  at  a  loss  for  a  long  time.  The  consola- 
tion, afforded  by  the  ides  of  March,  is  now  un- 
availing. We  acted  like  men,  but  we  consulted 
like  boys.  The  tree  was  felled,  but  its  roots  were 
not  plucked  up,  and  therefore,  you  see  how  it  puts 
forth  fresh  shoots.  Let  us,  therefore,  have  recourse 
to  our  Tusculan  Disputations',  as  you  are  so  fond 
of  them.  If  you  please,  we  will  conceal  this  last 
circumstance  from  Saufeius,  who  never  shall  know 
it  through  me.  You  tell  me,  Brutus  desires  to 
know  from  you,  on  what  day  I  am  to  be  at  Tus- 
cnlanum.     Let  him  know,  about  the  127th,  as  I 

wrote 

*  This  is  spoken  ironically. 

*  Vi%.  Against  the  fear  of  death,  and  against  the  Epicureans^ 
of  which  sect  Saufeius  was. 


/. 


wrote  to  you  before,  and  I  should  be  glad  to  see 
you  as  soon  as  possible.  For,  I  am  of  opinion, 
that  I  must  go  to  Lanuvium,  which,  I  know,  will 
afford  much  idle  conversation  to  the  public ;  and 
therefore  requires  deliberation. 

I  now  return  to  your  first  letter,  without  ad- 
verting to  what  you  say  in  the  beginning  of  it 
concerning  the  Buthrotians,  whose  interest  I  have 
very  deep  at  heart,  provided,  as  you  intimate,  I 
shall  be  at  liberty  to  appear  in  their  favour.  You 
still  insist,  and  that  too  as  peremptorily  as  you 
did  before,  on  my  writing  a  speech  for  Brutus. 
What  shall  I  treat  of?  The  subject  that  has  been 
handled  by  him  ?  and  treat  of  it  too  without  his 
desiring  me  !  This  he  would  regard  as  an  imper- 
tinent interference.     You  will  perhaps    advise 
me  to  compose  it  in  the  manner  of  Heraclides. 
Well,  I  am  not  against  that,  but  I  must  form  my 
plan,  and  I  must  have  time  to  execute  it  ma- 
turely.     You  may  entertain  what  opinion  you 
please  of  me,  and  I  hope  you  always  will  enter- 
tain  a  very  good  one,  but  believe  me  (and  I 
mean  no  offence)  that  if  public  matters  continue 
as  they  are  at  present,  I  shall  have  no  pleasure 
in  reflecting  upon  the  ides  of  March.     Had  we 
struck  at  the  root,  we  should  not  have  had  a 
second  C^sar,  nor  should  we  have  been  terrified 
into  a  confirmation  of  all  his  acts.     At  least,  for 
my  own  part  (that  I  may  speak  in  the  stile  of 
Saufeius,  and  not  in  that  of  my  Tusculan  Dis- 
putations, 


268 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


N 


TO  ATTICUS. 


s6g 


putations,  which  you  exhort  even  Vestorius  to 
read)  I  was  so  much  in  favour  with  Caesar,  whose 
memory  I  wish  to  consign  to  everlasting  infamy, 
that  since  I  have  not  recovered  my  freedom  by 
the  death  of  that  tyrant,  he  would  have  been  at 
this  time  of  my  life,  by  no  means,  an  undesir- 
able master.  I  blush,  believe  me  I  do,  at  what 
I  write,  but  as  I  have  written  it,  it  shall  even 
standi 

I  I  wish  that  the  news  concerning  Menedemus 
may  be  true,  and  likev/ise,  that  concerning  the 
queen  of  Egypt.  I  will  talk  with  you  when  we 
meet  of  all  the  other  matters,  especially  how  our 
friends  are  to  proceed,  and  wnat  I  am  to  do  my- 
self, should  Antony  beset  the  senate-house  with 
his  soldiers.  I  have  not  trusted  his  messenorer 
with  this  letter,  for  fear  he  should  break  it  open, 

and, 

1  Our  author^  here,  gives  us  a  very  true  picture  of  himself. 
Whatever  his  professions  are,  it  is  plain,  from  the  constant 
tenor  of  his  letters,  that  when  he  did  not  meet  with  the  consi- 
deration he  thought  he  deserved,  notliing  went  well  in  the  go- 
vernment. We  find  him  by  turns  courting  the  conspirators, 
Antony,  Octavius,  Dolabella  and  Hirtius,  and  all  to  recover  his 
own  importance.  The  apology  offered  for  him  by  Dr.  Middleton 
and  his  other  admirers,  as  if  he  had  done  this  in  order  to  keep 
the  parties  balanced,  so  that  his  country  might  recover  her 
liberty,  is  the  most  despicable  that  can  be  im^igined.  For  he 
could  not  well,  at  this  time,  be  ignorant  of  the  views  of  Oc- 
tavius, who  had  the  address  to  sooth  his  vanity,  and  weakness, 
and  to  make  use  of  him  in  all  his  most  pernicious  designs  upon 
the  public  liberty. 


and,  as  I  was  at  any  rate  to  answer  yours,  I  have 
sent  it  off  by  express. 

I  M  ish  with  all  my  heart,  that  you  could  have 
answered  the  request  of  Brutus\  As  you  can- 
not, I  have  let  him  know  so  much  by  letter.  I 
have  sent  Tyro  with  a  message,  and  a  letter  to 
Dolabella.  You  may  send  for  him,  and  write 
by  him  whatever  you  have  to  say  to  me.  When 
I  write  this,  Lucius  Caesar  interrupts  me,  begging 
tliat  I  would  see  him  at  his  house  in  the  grove, 
or  that  I  would  write  to  him  where  he  can  wait 
upon  me,  because  Brutus  wants  very  much,  that 
we  should  meet  together.  What  a  vexatious, 
endless,  business  this  is  !  Well !  so  far  as  I  can 
foresee  at  present,  I  will  give  him  the  meeting, 
and  then  go  to  Rome.  I  write  to  you  as  yet  only 
in  general,  for  I  have  yet  heard  nothing  from 
Balbus.  I,  therefore,  am  impatient  for  a  letter 
from  you,  stating  your  opinion  of  what  is  likely 
to  be  the  event,  and  giving  me  an  account  of 
the  state  of  things. 

EPISTLE  V. 

A  HE  express  is  returned  from  Brutus,  with  let- 
ters from  him  and  Cassius,  who  are  extremely 
desirous  of  being  advised  by  me,     Brutus  even 

asks 

•^  Monsieur  Mongault  for  very  good  reasons,  is  of  opimoHj 
that  this  paragraph  begins  a  new  letter. 


(If 


268 


III 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


^Gg 


putations,  which  you  exhort  even  Vestorius  to 
read)  I  was  so  much  in  favour  with  Caesar,  whose 
memory  I  wish  to  consign  to  everlasting  infamy, 
that  since  I  have  not  recovered  my  freedom  by 
the  death  of  that  tyrant,  he  would  have  been  at 
this  time  of  my  life,  by  no  means,  an  undesir- 
able master.  I  blush,  believe  me  I  do,  at  what 
I  write,  but  as  I  have  written  it,  it  shall  even 
standi 

I  I  wish  that  the  news  concerning  Menedemus 
may  be  true,  and  likewise,  that  concerning  the 
queen  of  Egypt.  I  will  talk  with  you  when  we 
meet  of  all  the  other  matters,  especially  how  our 
friends  are  to  proceed,  and  what  I  am  to  do  my- 
self, should  Antony  beset  the  senate-house  with 
his  soldiers.  I  have  not  trusted  his  messenger 
with  this  letter,  for  fear  he  should  break  it  open, 

and, 

»  Our  author,  here,  gives  us  a  very  true  picture  of  himself. 
Whatever  his  professions  are,  it  is  plain,  from  the  constant 
tenor  of  his  letters,  that  when  he  did  not  meet  with  the  consi- 
deration he  thought  he  deserved,  notliing  went  well  in  the  go- 
vernment. We  find  him  by  turns  courting  the  conspirators, 
Antony,  Octavius,  Dolabella  and  Hirtius,  and  all  to  recover  his 
own  importance.  The  apology  offered  for  him  by  Dr.  Middletan 
and  his  other  admirers,  as  if  he  had  done  this  in  order  to  keep 
the  parties  balanced,  so  that  his  country  might  recover  her 
liberty,  is  the  most  despicable  that  can  be  imagined.  For  he 
could  not  well,  at  this  time,  be  ignorant  of  the  views  of  Oc- 
tavius, who  had  the  address  to  sooth  his  vanity,  and  weakness, 
and  to  make  use  of  him  in  all  his  most  pernicious  designs  upon 
the  public  liberty. 


and,  as  I  was  at  any  rate  to  answer  yours,  I  have 
sent  it  off  by  express. 

I  wish  with  all  my  heart,  that  you  could  have 
answered  the  request  of  Brutus'.     As  you  can- 
not, I  have  let  him  know  so  much  by  letter.     I 
have  sent  Tyro  with  a  message,  and  a  letter  to 
Dolabella.     You  may  send  for  him,  and  write 
by  him  whatever  you  have  to  say  to  me.     When 
I  write  this,  Lucius  Caesar  interrupts  me,  begging 
tliat  I  would  see  him  at  his  house  in  the  grove, 
or  that  I  would  write  to  him  where  he  can  wait 
upon  me,  because  Brutus  wants  very  much,  that 
we   should   meet   together.     What  a  vexatious, 
endless,  business  this  is  !  Well !  so  far  as  I  can 
foresee  at  present,  I  will  give  him  the  meeting, 
and  then  go  to  Rome.    I  write  to  you  as  yet  only 
in  general,  for  I  have  yet  heard  nothing  from 
Balbus.     I,  therefore,  am  impatient  for  a  letter 
from  you,  stating  your  opinion  of  what  is  likely 
to  be  the  event,  and  giving  me  an  account  of 
the  state  of  things. 

EPISTLE  V. 

X  HE  express  is  returned  from  Brutus,  with  let- 
ters from  him  and  Cassius,  who  are  extremely 
desirous  of  being  advised  by  me,     Brutus  even 

asks 

*  Monsieur  Mongault  for  very  good  reasons,  is  of  opinioHj 
that  this  paragraph  begiixs  a  new  letter. 


t70 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


a7i 


I 


asks  me,  which  of  the  two  measures  he  should 
adopts — You  understand  me ;  wretched  situa- 
tion !  It  will  not  bear  writing  upon.  I,  therefore, 
think  of  answering  him  by  silence,  unless  some- 
what should  occur  to  you.  If  there  does,  I  beg 
you  would  inform  me  by  letter.  As  to  Cassius, 
he  is  extremely  earnest  and  importunate  with  me, 
that  I  would  convert  Hirtius  into  a  patriot. 
Would  you  think  the  man  in  his  senses  thus  to 
bid  me  do  a  thing  impossible^  1  have  sent  you 
his  letter.  Both  Balbus  and  Hirtius  write  to  me 
in  the  same  manner  as  you  do  concerning  the  se- 
nate's coming  to  a  resolution  upon  the  provinces 
of  Brutus  and  Cassius.  Hirtius  tells  me,  that  he 
has  actually  left  Rome,  and  is  returned  to  Tus- 
culanum,  and  he  is  violently  against  my  going  to 
Rome,  and  that  too,  on  account  of  the  danger  I 
must  be  exposed  to,  to  which  he  himself  has 
been  exposed.  For  my  part,  though  there  were 
no  danger,  I  ought  to  be  so  cautious  of  exciting 
Antony's  jealousy,  by  not  seeming  to  be  pleased 
Avith  his  prosperity  and  power,  that  I  have  all 
the  reason  in  the  world  not  to  go  to  Rome,  for 
fear  I  should  see  him. 

You 


»  Viz.  Whether  he  shall  go  to  Rome,  or  leave  Italy. 

«  Orig.  Zyvx^tvs  ac^0^xKo% .  Literally,  the  fuller  is  black,  a  pro- 
verb, which  answers  to  the  saying  among  us,  to  wash  a  blacks 
amore  white,  that  is,  to  attempt  an  impossibility. — E. 


You  must  know  likewise,  tlmt  our  fvieiid  Varr^ 
4ias  forwarded   to  me  a  letter,  sent  to  him,  I 
inow  not  by  whom;  for  he  has  erased  the  writers 
•name,  informing  him,  that  such  of  the  veterans^ 
as  were  excluded  from  the  division  of  the  lands 
(for  some  of  them  were  thus  excluded)   talked 
very  desperately,  and  that  all  who  seem  not  \9 
favour  their  interests,  must  be  exposed  to  great 
hazards,    should  they  go  to  Rome.     How  the» 
must  I  go,  return,  look,  and  walk  about,  amidst 
such  ruffians.     If,  as  you  write  Lucius  Antonius 
is  ordered   to   command   against  Decimus,   anS 
other  generals  are  appointed  to  act  against  our 
friends  the  conspirators,  what  shall  I   do,  and 
how  shall  I  behave?  My  present  resolution  is  to 
absent  myself  from  a  city  where,  in  prosperity,  I 
flourished  with  the  highest  dignity ;  and  with  a 
little,  even  in  servitude.     But  my  resolution  i« 
not  so  fixt  to  leave  Italy,  upmi  which  I  will  con- 
sult with  you,  as  it  is  not  to  go  to  Rome. 


EPISTLE  \I. 

Our  friends  Brutus  and  Cassius  having  wriUen 
to  me  to  employ  all  my  interest  with  Hirtius, 
who  in  their  opinion  is  a  good  patriot,  to  confirm 

him 

«  They  afterwjurds  went  over  to  OcUviiis, 


i 


272 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


il 


him  in  his  present  dispositions,  from  which  they 
apprehend  iie  may  swerve  :  I  have  written  and 
recommended  to  him  a  due  regard  for  Brutus  and 
Cassius.  Meanwhile,  though  he  is  at  present  at 
variance  with  Antony,  yet,  I  know  him  to  be  a 
friend  to  the  party.  I  was  willing  you  should 
see  his  answer,  which  I  have  sent  you,  and  to 
know  your  opinion  whether  the  party  are  appre- 
hensive that  our  friends  have  more  courage  than 
they  really  have. 


Hirtius  to  his  Friend  Cicero,  uisheth  Health. 

''  X  ou  ask  me,  whether  I  am  now  returned  to 
the  country,  and  whether  I  am  inactive  amidst 
this  universal  combustion.  You  must  know 
then  that  1  have  left  Rome,  because  I  thought  it 
my  best  course.  I  write  this  in  my  journey  to 
Tusculanum,  for  you  are  not  to  think  me  so  much 
of  a  hero,  as  to  return  to  Rome  by  the  5th.  For, 
I  can  see  nothing  now  that  can  require  my  at- 
tendance there,  since  the  governments  are  be- 
stowed for  a  term  of  years.  I  wish,  that  you 
could  as  easily  dissuade  Brutus  and  Cassius  from 
running  into  any  violent  measure  as  you  can  truly 
persuade  them  of  my  being  directed  by  you.  I 
observe  you  sa}^,  that  they  were  leaving  Italy 
when  they  wrote  to  you.  Whither,  or  why,  are 
they  going;?  Dissuade  them,  I  conjure  you,  my 

Cicero, 


TO  ATTICUS. 


273 


Cicero,  from  this  intention,  and  suffer  not  the 
whole  system  of  our  government  to  be  ruined, 
which  is  ev*y  day,  by  heaven,   receiving  funda- 
mental shocks  from  the  rapines,  burnings,  and 
slaughters  that  are  committed.     All  they  have  to 
do  is  to   be  upon  their  guard,  if  they  apprehend 
any  danger,  but  let  them  not  stir  an  inch  farther. 
Believe  me,  they  cannot,  by  the  most  violent  mea- 
sures, come  nearer  to  their  purpose  than  they 
can  do  by  the  most  inactive,  provided  they  are 
circumspect.     As  to  what  is  passing  now,  it  can- 
not be  durable,  but  should  a  civil  war  break  out, 
it  must   be   immediately   pernicious  and   fatal. 
Let  me  know  your  sentiments  of  them  when  I 
arrive  at  Tusculanum. 

Such  is  the  letter  of  Hirtius,  and  my  answer 
was,  that  to  mv  certain  knowledge,  my  friends 
had  nothing  violent  in  view.  I  was  willing  you 
should  know  how  this  matter  has  passed.  This 
letter  was  sealed  when  Balbus  wrote  me,  that 
Servilia  was  returned,  and  assures  him,  that 
Brutus  and  Cassius  will  not  leave  Italy.  I  now 
•  expect  a  letter  from  you. 


EPISTLE  VII. 

The  letters  you  forwarded  to  me,   gave  me 

great  pleasure,  especially  that  of  our  friend  Sex- 

tus.    The  cause,  you  will  say,  is  that  indeed  it  i$ 

Vol-  IIL  T  so 


i74 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


S75 


80  much  in  your  own  praise.  There  may  indeed 
be  something  in  that;  and  yet,  before  I  came  to 
this  place,  I  was  charmed  both  with  his  senti- 
ments upon  public  matters,  and  his  assiduity  in 
writing  to  me.  As  to  our  pacific  friend  Servius\ 
with  his  little  secretary,  he  seems  to  have  under- 
taken the  negociation,  and  to  be  guarding  against 
any  fraud  in  the  deeds  of  agreement.  But  he 
ought  to  have  reflected,  that  it  is  not  the  law  but 
the  sword^  that  will  decide  the  question.  I  ex- 
pect to  have  a  letter  from  you  likewise. 


EPISTLE  VIII. 

1^1  NCE  you  left  me,  I  received  two  letters  from 
Balbus  without  any  news,  and  one  from  Hirtius, 
intimating  his  terrible  disgust  with  the  veterans. 
I  am  extremely  impatient  to  know,  what  will  be 
done  the  first  of  next  month'.  For  that  pur- 
pose, I  have  dispatched  Tyro,  and  along  with 
him,  several  of  my  domestics,  any  of  whom  you 
may  charge  with  a  letter  when  any  thing  happens 

worth 

*  Servius  Sulpicius  was  remarkable  for  affecting  in  the  for- 
mer war,  to  negociate  between  Caesar  and  the  senate;  and  he 
was  esteemed  the  greatest  lawyer  of  his  time. 

*  This  is  taken  from  a  verse  of  Ennius. 

.'  The  original  has  Kal.  Martiis.  But  this  must  be  a  mis- 
take, since  our  author  evidently  means  the  first  of  June,  when 
the  senate  was  to  meet. 


worth  your  writing.  I  have  even  written  to  An- 
tony concerning  a  legation,  for  fear  he  should 
have  taken  it  amiss,  had  I  written  to  Dolabella 

singly* 
As  Antony,  however,  is  said  not  to  be  easy  of 

access,  I  have  written  to  desire  Eutrapelus^  to 

put  my  letter  into  his  hand,  and  have  acquainted 

him  how  serviceable  that  legation  would  be  to 

me.     A  votive  legation  would'  be  more  honour- 

able^  but  I  may  make  use  of  either. 

I  beg  you  would  diligently  examine  your  owft 

situation.     I  wish  that  we  could  confer  together 

upon  it,   but  if  that  should  be  impracticable,  we 

may  do  the  same  thing  by  letters.     Grceceius^  has 

written  to  me,  that  he  has  received  a  letter  from 

Caius  Cassius,  informing  him,  that  a  number  of 

armed  men  have  got  together,  and  are  ordered 

to  march  to  my  house  at  Tusculanum.   This  news 

does  not  seem  very  probable  to  me.     Meanwhil^, 

1  must  be  upon  my  guard,  and  must  have  an  eye 

upon  my  several  country-houses.     But  to-mor-^ 

row,  I  shall  better  k^ow  what  to  determine. 


EPISTLE 


»  He  was  an  officer  of  the  artillery  under  Antony. 

*  Vt%.  Than  a  lieutenancy  under  Dolabella. 

*  He  was  very  intimate  with  Brutus  and  Cassius, 

T  % 


I 


276 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  IX. 

\Jn  the  third  in  the  evening,  I  received  a  letter 
from  Balbus,  informing  me  that  the  senate  would 
meet  on  the  5th,  and  that  Brutus  was  to  be  dis- 
patched to  Asia,  and  Cassius  to  Sicily,  to  buy  up 
corn,  which  they  were  to  send  to  Rome.  How 
desperate  is  our  situation !  First,  that  they  shouW 
receive  any  commission  from  such  a  faction,  and 
next,  if  they  received  any,  that  they  should  re- 
ceive one  in  which  they  can  act  only  in  the  ca- 
pacity of  deputies^  Perhaps,  it  would  have  been 
as  well  to  send  them  to  divert  themselves  on  the 
bank  of  Eurotas.  But  all  must  be  as  fortune  di- 
rects. Balbus  tells  me  likewise,  that  the  senate 
at  the  same  time  will,  by  a  decree,  assign  pro- 
vinces to  them  and  other  praetorians.  This,  in- 
deed, is  better  than  their  walking  under  the  Per- 
sican  portico.     For  you  must   know,  that  our 

friend  has  a  Lacedaemon  at  Lanuvium^     You 

ask 

>  Because  the  year  of  their  pratorship  not  being  expired, 
they  could  only  have  the  title  of  Legati,  and  not  of  proprae- 
tores. 

*  A  good  many  private  circumstances  are  touched  at  in  this, 
and  the  preceding  sentence.  Monsieur  Mongault,  after  Grae- 
vius,  thinks  it  probable,  that  Brutus  had  built  at  Lanuvium 
a  kind  of  an  epitome  of  the  famous  Persican  portico  which  was 
at  Lacedaemon,  in  commemoration  of  the  victories  of  the  La- 

cedasmoniana 


TO  ATTICUS. 


277 


ask  me,  why  I  should  laugh  in  talking  of  such 
matters  ?  What  shall  I  do,  I  am  tired  with  cry- 

ing  ?  ^  , 

Immortal  Gods !  into  what  agony  was  I  thrown, 

by  reading  the  first  page  of  your  letter?  What! 
armed  men  breaking  into  your  house  !  But  I  was 
glad  that  this  cloud  soon  blew  over.     I  am  ex- 
tremely impatient  to  know  how  you  succeeded  in 
your  melancholy  as  well  as  difficult  negotiation, 
of  bringing  our  friends  to  act  in  concert'.     This 
seems  to  be  impracticable,  so  closely  are  we  be- 
set on  all  hands  with  troops.     As  to  myself,  the 
letter  from  Brutus,  which  you  say  you  read,  so 
struck  me,  that  though  I  was  before  uncertain 
what  to  advise,  1  am  now  rendered  still  more 
undetermined  through  grief.     But  I  will  write 
you  more  when  I  am  better  informed.     At  pre- 
sent I  had  very  little  to  write  to  you,  and  the  less, 

because 

cedaemonians  over  the  Persians,  and  that  thriver  Eurotas  >vhere 
the  Lacedaemonians  used  to  indulge  themiaves  in  t.meof  peace, 
was  represented  there,  either  in  painting,  orby  some  real  nvulet 
in  the  neighbourhood,  to  which  Brutus  gave  that  name.  Mean- 
while from  the  manner  of  our  author's  expression,  I  am  apt 
to  think  that  besides  those  allusions,  he  has  a  secret  glance  at 
Brutus's'  laconic  way  of  writing,  which  he  so  much  disap- 

^"^^'Oril  M  consiUandum  legatione.  I  agree  in  general  with 
Monsieur  Mongaulfs  sense  of  this  passage.  Only,  I  think  that 
the  expression  does  not  imply  a  simple  consultation,  but  a  con- 
sultation for  acting  with  unanimity.  This  office  suited  very 
well  with  the  character  of  Atticus,  and  the  next  letter  justifies 
the  sense  I  have  given  to  this  passage. 


278 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


because  I  am  in  some  doubt  whether  this  letter 
will  ct>me  to  your  hand,  as  it  is  not  certain  that 
this  express  will  see  you.  I  am  extremely  im» 
patient  for  a  letter  from  you. 


EPISTLE  X. 

Jrlow  affectionate  is  th$  letter  from  Brutus,  and 
how  wayward  is  your  situation,  that  you  cannot 
go  to  him  !  Now,  what  advice  can  I  send  them  ? 
It  would  be  dishonourable  to  accept  favours  from 
that  party  ?  Shall  I  counsel  them  to  make  some 
attempt  ?  That  is  what  they  dare  not,  and  at  this 
time,  what  they  cannot  do.  Supposing  I  advise 
them  to  remain  quiet  But  who  will  answer  for 
their  being  safe  ?  But  should  the  party  proceed 
to  extremities  against  Decimus,  how  then  could 
our  friends  endure  to  live,  even  supposing,  that 
none  should  at^ck  them?  Can  any  thing  be  more 
mortifying  than  that?  Brutus  dares  not  preside 
at  his  own  exhibitions  ?  To  bestow  upon  him  the 
commission  for  buying  up  corn,  is  no  other  than 
a  plausible  pretext  for  removing  him  out  of  the 
way^;  not  to  mention  that  it  is  one  of  the  meanest 

employments 


*  Orig.  Quce  est  alia  Dionis  legatio.  Because  the  tyrants 
Dionysius  the  elder  and  the  younger,  used  to  employ  their 
kinsman,  Dion,  in  embassies  to  keep  him  from  practices  against 
their  government. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


S79 


employments  in  all  our  government.     In  shor^ 
U  is  so  delicate  an  affair  to  give  counsel  in  such  a 
tuation,  that  the  counsellors  themselves  are  no 
-b  safety.     But  I  should  despise  danger,  cou  d  I 
be  of  service.     For  of  what  service  can  I  be  by 
thrusting  myself  between  Brutus  and  his  mother 
who  sways  him  either  by  her  counsels,  or  her  en 
treaties      I  will,  however,  bestow  some  thought 
upon  the  matter.    I  shall  write  to  him  for  answer 
him  I  must;  I  shall,  therefore,  send  my  letter 
directly  either  to  Antium  or  Circaei. 


EPISTLE  XI. 

On  tlie  26th  I  arrived  at  Antium,  where  I  met 
with  a  hearty  welcome  from  Brutus.    Then    in 
the  hearing  of  a  great  many  people,  particularly  of 
Servilia,  TertuUa,  Portia^  and  likewise  of  *a- 
vonius,  he  asked  my  opinion  as  to  the  part  he 
ought  to  act     I  had  tJeen  thinking  of  this  very 
thing  on  the  road,  and  I  accordingly  advised  him 
to  accept  of  the  commission  for  buying  up  corn 
in  Asia ;  because  now  we  had  nothing  to  think 
upon,  but  how  they  should  live  in  safety,  which 
was  the  only  expedient  by  which  we  could  save 
our  country.     I  had  but  just  begun  to  deliver  th« 

opinion 

1  She  had  been  beloved  by  Caesar,  and  still  lived  in  great 
friendship  with  his  friends. 

2  These  were  the  mother,  sister  and  wife  of  Brutus. 


A 


280 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


opinion  when  Cassius  came  in\  and  I  then  re- 
peated what  I  had  said.  Upon  this  Cassius,  with 
furious  looks,  and  with  the  very  spirit  of  Mars, 
asserted  positively,  he  would  not  go  to  Sicily. 
What,  said  he,  am  I  to  receive  an  affront  as  a 
favour?  What  then,  said  I,  will  you  do?  He 
ahen  told  me,  he  would  retire  to  Achaia,  And 
Uhat  will  you  do,  Brutus,  resumed  I.  If  you 
think  proper,  replies  he,  I  will  go  to  Rome.  I 
think  it  by  no  means  proper,  answered  I,  for 
you  cannot  be  there  with  safety.— But,  supposing 
I  could,  would  you  then  advise  me  to  go? — I 
could,  by  all  means,  wish,  replied  I,  could  you 
be  in  safety,  that  you  should  live  at  Rome,  and 
that  you  should  not  leave  Italy  either  now,  or 
when  your  praetorship  is  expired,  even  for  a  go- 
vernment But  still,  as  matters  are  circumstanced, 
my  opinion  is  against  your  going  to  Rome.  I 
then  strengthened  what  I  had  said  with  such 
reasons  as  must  readily  occur  to  yourself,  why 
he  could  not  live  at  Rome  with  safety. 

They  then  bitterly  lamented,  and  especially 
Cassius,  who  inveighed  against  Decimus  Brutus*, 

the 

1  Doctor  Middleton,  vol.  Hi.  p.  6l.  of  his  Life  of  Cicero, 
translates  the  original  here,  which  is  Cassius  intervenit,  Cas- 
sius  interrupted  him.     But  it  is  plain  he  was  mistaken. 

«  I  cannot  be  of  Monsieur  Mongault's  opinion,  that  this 
was,  because  Decimus  Brutus  opposed  the  killing  of  Antony. 
Because  had  Cassius  inveighed  against  him  for  that,  there  could 

have 


TO  ATTICUS. 


28i 


the  opportunities  v^ich  they  had  lost     I  did  not 
contradict  him,  but  told  him  it  was  impossible  to 
recal  what  was  past     I  then  began  to  talk  of 
the  measures  they  ought  to  pursue,  though  with- 
out saying  any  thing  particular  that  is  not  pub- 
licly and  daily  talked   of     I  did  not  even  men- 
tion that  we  ought  to  have  rid  ourselves  of  any 
other  person  than  Caesar.     I  only  said,   that  the 
senate  should  instantly  be  summoned   together; 
that  we  should  avail  ourselves  of  the  people's 
ardour,  who  ought  to  have  been  exhorted  by  some 
animated  speeches,  to  take  into   their  hands  the 
whole  system  of  the  government     Upon  this,  the 
lady   who  is    well    known    to  you,    exclaimed, 
"  Well,  never  did  I  hear  any  body  talk  at  this 
rate  before."     But  I  soon  silenced  her.     Cassius 
however,  in  all  probability,  will  be  gone,  because 
Servilia  has  undertaken,  that  the  resolution  of 
the  senate,   about  his  corn  commission,  shall  be 
repealed,  and   our  friend  soon  altered  the  idle 
strain  in  which  he  talked  before ;  for  he  said  he 

would 

have  been  no  manner  of  doubt  of  the  thing,  though  it  was  a 
question  at  that  time,  and  is  not  clear  to  this  day,  whether  it 
was  Marcus  or  Decimus  Brutus,  who  dissuaded  the  conspira- 
tors from  killing  Antony.  I  rather  think  that,  by  this  passage, 
he  alludes  to  some  other  neglect  of  Decimus  Brutus  in  not 
opposing  Antony,  thoup^h  he  was  then  at  the  head  of  three  le- 
gions in  the  Cisalpine  Gaul.  This  is  confirmed  byAppian  deBel. 
Civ.  lib.  iii.  who  says  that  Brutus  and  Cassius  trusted  chiefly 
to  Decimus  Brutus,  for  repressing  the  power  of  Autony,  in 
which,  however,  they  were  disappointed. 


282 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


would  comply.  It  was  therefore  agreed  upon, 
that,  though  he  was  absent,  the  plays  s  ui  i  ^e 
celebrated  in  his  name.  Now,  in  my  opinion,  he 
intends  to  set  out  from.  Antium  for  Asia. 

Not  to  detain  you,  this  visit  gave  me  no  other 
comfort  than  tiie  consciousness  ot  having  done 
my  duty,  for  it  would  have  been  highly  improper 
for  me  not  to  have  seen  him  before  he  left  Italv, 
Having  thus  discharged  what  I  owe  to  the  love 
and  kindness  I  bear  him,  I  may  say  to  myself^ 
Tdl  me,  O  !  my  guardian  angely  of  what  avail 
has  been  this  journey  which  I  undertook  at  thy 
suggestion  ?  ^  The  vessel  in  which  the  enemies  of 
tyranny  hav3  embarked,  is  not  only  leaky,  but  is 
fallen  into  pieces.  They  have  among  them  nei-r 
ther  concord,  reason,  nor  regularity.  For  this 
reason,  had  I  not  been  determined  before,  this 
must  have  fixed  me  in  the  resolution  of  flying  to 
a  land  where  the  report  of  such  doings  w  onld 
never  reach  my  ears. 

Meanwhile,  in  case  you  do  not  know  it  already, 
I  was  informed  last  night  that  Dolabella  has 
given  me  a  deputation  under  himself,  dated  the 
2d  of  April^,  for  I  think  you  were  against  my  ac- 
cepting a  votive  legation.  It  was  indeed  absurd 
for  me,  after  my  country  was  ruined,  to  pretend 

to 

*  There  must  either  be  a  mistake  in  this  date,  or  the  com- 
mission must  have  been  anti-dated. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


S83 


to  perform  the  vows  which  I  made  for  her  preser- 
vation. Besides,  if  I  mistake  not,  those  kinds  of 
legations  are  limited  to  a  certain  time  by  the 
Julian  law  ;  nor  is  it  an  easy  matter  for  the  per- 
son, who  enjoys  them,  to  be  at  liberty  to  enter 
and  leave  Rome  when  he  pleases,  which  1  c  an 
do  in  my  present  situation.  It  is  a  delightful 
thing  to  enjoy  this  liberty  for  five  years.  But 
what  do  1  talk  of  five  years,  I  probably  shall  be 
free  from  the  cares  of  life  long  ere  then.  Let  us, 
however,  dismiss  ill-boding  apprehensions. 


EPISTLE  XIL 

I  AM  pleased  with  what  you  tell  me  of  your  bu- 
siness at  Buthrotum.     Meanwhile,   I  have  sent 
Tyro  to  Dolabella  with  a  letter,  because  you  re- 
quested it     That  can  do  no  harm.     As  to  our 
friends  at  Antium,  I  suppose  you  are  convmced 
from  what  I  already  wrote  to  you,  that  they  are 
determined  to  remain  inactive,  and  to  accept  of 
Antony's  insulting  favour.     Cassius  spurned  at 
the  corft  commission,  and  Servilia  told  him,  that 
she  would  get  it  cancelled  by  a  resolution  of  the 
senate.     As  to  our  friend  Brutus,  he  is  resolved, 
-*,ith  an  air  of  complacency,  to  go  to  Asia,  after 
being  of  my  opinion,  that  he  could  not  live  safely 


284 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


285 


at  Rome^,  for  he  chooses  to  have  his  exhibi- 
tions celebrated   in  his  absence.     He  is  collect- 
ing 

^  The  Greek  expression,  in  the  original  here,  makes  Mon- 
sieur Mongault  think  it  to  be  a  compliment  to  the  steadiness 
and  unconcern  of  Brutus,  especially,  says  he,  as  Braius  was  of 
Cicero's  opinion  as  to  the  danger  of  his  living  at  Rome.  But  I 
cannot  agree  with  that  gentleman.  The  expression,  Ka<  /x«A« 
«r8ft»oj  (Et  valde  gravis)  was  certainly  made  use  of  to  denote  a 
person  marching  along  in  great  state  and  gravity  with  a  con- 
sciousness of  his  own  merit  and  importance.  Plutarch,  in  his 
Life  of  Cicero,  makes  use  of  the  same  expression,  when  he  de- 
scribes him,  attended  by  almost  all  the  people  of  Rome,  return- 
ing to  his  own  house  from  punishing  the  accomplices  in  Cati- 
line's conspiracy.  Besides,  notwithstanding  all  the  compli- 
ments which  our  author  is  in  a  manner  forced  to  pay  to  Bru- 
tus, I  never  can  be  brought  to  believe  that  he  either  sincerely 
loved  or  esteemed  him,  nor  did  he  ever  miss  an  opportiinityof 
sneering  at  him  when  he  could.  As  to  their  agreeing  together 
in  their  opinion  on  this  head;  if  the  reader  attends  to  our  au- 
thor's sense  of  the  conspirator's  conduct,  he  may  easily  perceive, 
that  the  advice  he  gives  them  here,  was  no  other  than  the  result 
of  hi.5  hearty  contempt  of  theirmanagement.  He  more  than  once 
tells  Atticus,  that  all  their  measures  were  childish,  nor  does  he 
think  he  can  put  Brutus  in  a  more  ridiculous  light,  than  by 
making  him  resolve  to  accept  of  this  insulting  commission, 
and  to  set  out  upon  it,  as  if  in  reality  it  had  been  doing  him  an 
honour:  but,  in  fact,  our  author  was  not  in  the  secret  of  Bru- 
tus, as  appeared  by  the  sequel  of  his  conduct.  He  had  great 
resentments  against  Antony,  who  had  rendered  it  unsafe 
for  him  to  remain  at  Rome  j  and  he  was  very  sensible 
that  the  leave  which  he  and  Cassius  had  obtained  from  the 
senate,  to  be  absent  from  thence,  and  which  Antony  agreed  to, 
was  artfully  obtained  by  Antony  himself,  that  he  might  remain 
master  of  Rome.    In  fact^  therefore,  it  was  very  wise  in  Brutus 

to 


»   4 


ihg  vessels  to  carry  him  over.     Meanwhile  they 
are  not  to  leave  these  parts.     Brutus,   at  least, 
told  me,  he  was  going  to  Astura.     Lucius  Anto- 
nius  has  written  a  very  handsome  letter  to  me, 
desiring  me  not  to  be   alarmed  at  any  thmg. 
This  is  one  favour  he  does  me,  and  perhaps  he 
will  do  me  another,  if  he  does  not  come  to  Tus- 
culanum.     These  things  are  not  to  be  borne,  and 
yet  bear  with  them  we  must.     Which  of  the 
Bruti  are  we  to  blame !     So  far  as  1  can  perceive, 
Octavianus  has  sufficient  courage,  and  his  dis- 
position,  towards  our  heroes  appear  to  be  such 
as  we  could  wish  them  to  be.     But  it  requires 
great  deliberation  before  we   trust  one  of  his 
years,  his  name,  his  family,  and  his  education. 
His  step-father,  at  least,  whom  I  saw  at  Astura, 
thinks  that  we  ought  not  at  all   to  confide  in 
him      We  must,  however,  cherish  him  with  the 
hope  of  our  confidence,  were  it  only  to  separate 
•  him  from  Antony.     I  will  say,  that  Marcellus 
has  done  nobly,  if  he  has  prepossessed  him  in 
favour  of  our  friends,  and  I  can  assure  you,  he 

seemed 

to  dissemble  his  resentments,  and  even  to  accept  of  this  com 
commission,  which  gave  him  an  opportunUy  ot  gettrng  together 
8ome  ships.  Antony,  according  to  Jpp^an  deBel.  Czv.  U.nu 
seemed  to  be  sensible  of  this ;  for  in  the  speech  he  there  makes 
to  the  military  tribunes,  we  find  him  complaining  agamst  the 
senate  for  bestowing  this  commission  upon  Brutus  and  Cassms, 
as  being  no  other  than  a  pretext  for  their  getting  together  the* 
friends  and  soldiers. 


286 


CICERO^S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


287 


IHt 


seemed  to  be  entirely  inilueQced  by  him,  and 
not  over-much  by  Pansa  and  Hirtius.  His  views 
are  unexceptionable,  if  they  continue  unal- 
tered* 


EPISTLE  XIIL 

v-/n  the  24th  I  received  two  letters  from  you, 
and  shall  begin  with  that  of  the  oldest  date.  I 
agree  with  you  that  I  ought  neither  to  lead  the 
van,  nor  bring  up  the  rear.  Let  me,  however, 
assist  in  the  march.  I  have  sent  to  you  my 
speech \  and  I  leave  you  at  liberty  either  to  sup- 
press or  to  publish  it  But  when  do  you  think 
it  will  be  proper  to  do  the  latter?  I  think  the 
truce  which  you  mention  to  be  impracticable. 
My  best  way  will  be  to  remain  silent ;  I  therefore 
think  of  making  no  reply.  You  write  me  that 
two  legions*  are  arrived  at  Brundusium.  You 
always  receive  the  news  before  we  do.  Write 
therefore  whatever  you  hear.     I  expect  to  see 

Varro'a 

*  I  entirely  agree  with  Monsieur  Mongault,  that  this  was  a 
speech  our  author  had  composed  by  way  of  invective  against 
Antony  and  his  party^  but  which  was  not  to  be  published  be- 
fore a  favourable  turn  should  happen  to  the  republican  interest. 

*  They  were  brought  over  firora  Macedon  by  Antony's  order,  to 
assist  them  in  dispossessing  Decimus  Brutus  of  the  Cisalpine 
Gaul  (Vide  jippian  de  BeL  Civ.  lib.  iii.)  and  to  oppose  the  elect 
consuls,  Hirtius  and  Pansa,  who  seemed,  by  no  means,  well  dis- 
posed to  his  interest. 


Varro's  dialogue.  I  am  now  fond  of  the  man- 
ner of  Heraclides,  especially  as  you  are  so  much 
pleased  with  it  But  I  should  be  glad  to  know 
how  you  think  I  ought  to  manage  the  subject. 
I  am  the  more  inclined  to  it  from  what  I  wrote 
you  formerly,  especially  as  you  have  strength- 
ened your  opinion,  to  which  I  was  no  stranger, 
with  that  of  Peduceus,  which  always  will  have  a 
powerful  weight  with  me.  I  shall,  therefore,  be- 
stow upon  the  subject  the  united  force  of  mj 
talents  and  industry. 

Conformably  to  your  request,  I  shew  every 
favour  to  Vectenus  and  Faberius.  I  believe 
Claelius  had  no  bad  intentions,  but  a  person  can- 
not be  too  much  upon  his  guard.  I  entirely 
agree  with  you  in  your  sentiments  about  preserv- 
ing our  liberty,  which  certainly  is  the  dearest 
of  all  human  enjoyments. — And  has  Gallus  Ca- 
ninius^  been  treated  in  that  manner? — ^Tlliat  a 
profligate  villain  he  is,  for  what  other  appellation 
can  I  give  him  ?  Marcellus*  is  sufficiently  cau- 
tious. I  do  my  best  likewise,  but  I  am  not  so 
much  upon  my  guard. 

I  have  now  answered  your  first  Und  longest 
letter.  To  your  second  and  shortest,  what  can  I 
say,  but  that  it  gave  me  infinite  pleasure?     The 

affairs 

1  He  was  a  friend  to  our  author,  and  probably  had  received 
some  injury  from  Antony. 

2  This  was  Marceilus  the  consular,  who  bad  retired  from 
Rome,  and  took  no  concern  in  party  matters. 


288 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


289 


lli 

ft* 


affairs  of  Spain  are  in  a  fair  way,  provided  I  cait 
but  see  Balbilius '  in  health  and  prosperity,  for  I 
consider  him  as  the  staif  of  my  old  age.  I  am 
sorry  for  what  has  happened  to  Antonianus,  be- 
cause Visellia  is  greatly  attached  to  me.  But  we 
are  born  to  accidents  of  that  kind.  You  tell  me 
you  know  nothing  of  Brutus.  But  I  understand 
from  Silicia,  that  Marcus  Scaptius  is  arrived, 
but  conceals  himself;  that  he  is  to  see  her  pri- 
vately, and  that  I  shall  know  every  thing.  When 
I  do,  I  will  instantly  acquaint  you.  Meanwhile, 
the  same  lady  informs  me  %  that  a  slave  of  Bassus 
is  arrived,  who  tells  her  that  the  Alexandrian 
legions  are  in  arms ;  that  they  have  invited  Bas- 
sus '  to  their  assistance,  and  that  Cassius  is  ex- 
pected. In  short,  our  country  seems  now  to  be 
in  the  way  of  recovering  her  freedom.     But  we 

should 


1  He  very  probably  was  the  son  of  Balbus,  and  one  of  Ci- 
cero's friends.  There  are,  in  this  Epistle,  several  other  allu- 
sions to  private  affairs,  of  which  we  know  nothing. 

2  Monsieur  MongauU  very  properly  agrees  with  Graevius, 
that  the  original  here  ought  to  be  read  Mer  ea  narrat  eadem. 
But  he  will  have  eadem  to  be  the  ablative,  and  via  to  be  under- 
stood, and  he  translates  it  accordingly.  This  surely  cannot  be 
Cicero's  meaning;  for  why  should  a  slave  of  Bassus  come 
along  with  Scaptius,  who  wanted  to  remain  incognito?  Be- 
sides the  construction  is  forced,  and  I  have  therefore  under- 
stood it  to  be  the  nominative,  by  which  all  difficulties  of  the 

sense  are  removed. 

3  He  is  mentioned  before  in  the  Qth  letter  of  the  I4tb 

Book. 


should  not  be  too  confident  of  success^  You 
know  how  well  the  other  party  is  experienced 
in  all  the  arts  of  treason  and  violence. 

1  am  greatly  pleased  with  Dolabella  ^,  and  yet, 
while  I  am  writing  this,  now  that  the  second 
course  is  put  upon  the  table,  I  understand  that  he 
is  arrived  at  Baiae,  though  I  received  a  letter  from 
him  as  I  was  coming  out  of  the  bath,  which  he 
writ  to  me  from  Formias,  informing  me,  that  he 
had  done  every  thing  I  required,  for  securing  to 
me  the  payment  of  the  money  he  owed  me.  The 
blame  that  it  was  not  done  sooner,  he  lays  upon 
Vectenus ;  I  suspect  that  it  is  his  design,  as  is 
usual  with  such  men,  to  defraud  me'.  But  he 
tells  me,  that  that  excellent  person,  and  my  very 
good  friend  Sestius,  has  undertaken  the  whole 
affair.    But  give  me  leave  to  ask  you  what  Sestius 

could 

^  Orig.  Se  ne  quid  ante.  Which  Monsieur  Mongault  trans- 
lates Pourvu  que  les  partizans  d'Antoine  ne  vousprevennentpas. 
But  I  think  both  the  words  and  the  connection,  more  naturally 
point  to  my  sense. 

2  Who  had  promised  to  serve  Atticus  in  his  Buthrotian 
affair. 

3  Orig,  Tricatur  scilicet,  ut  homo  talis.  Which  Monsietir 
Mongault  understands  of  Vectenus  3  but  I  can,  by  no  means,  be 
of  his  opinion.  The  word  Tricari  is  properly  applied  to  those 
who  shuffle  off  the  payment  of  money  without  refusing  it  3  nor 
is  the  expression  Jwmo  talis,  as  Monsieur  Mongault  supposes, 
always  made  use  of  to  denote  contempt  j  and  fi*om  what  fol- 
lows in  this  paragraph,  I  tliink  it  very  plain,  that  Dolabella  i» 
here  mentioned. 

Voi.  III.  U 


090  CICERO'S^  EPISTLES 

could  do  in  this  matter,  that  might  not  have  been 
done  by  any  one  of  us  ?  However,  if  things 
should  fall  out  beyond  my  expectation,  let  me 
know.  If  the  whole  affair  is  desperate,  as  I  sup- 
pose it  is,  inform  me  by  a  letter,  for  it  will  give 
me  no  great  concern. 

I  am  now  pursuing  the  study  of  philosophy, 
and  I  am  engaged  in  a  splendid  work  upon  the 
moral  duties,  which  I  address  to  my  son,  as  the 
most  proper  present  a  father  can  give  to  a  child. 
I  will  afterwards  pursue  other  studies.     In  short, 
I  shall  have  something  to  show  for  my  thus  re- 
tirin<T  from  Kome.     Varro  is  expected  here  to- 
day °or  to-morrow.      For  my  part,  I  repair  as 
fast  as  I  can  to  Pompeii,  not  that  it  is  a  more 
a<treeable  place,  but  that  there  I  am  less  plagued 
with  interruptions.     Let  me   know,  I  beg  you, 
^hat  Martillas  was  accused  of,  for  I  understand 
he  is  executed,  and  if  it  is  certainly  known  who 
suborned  him  to  the  attempt'.     While  I  write 
this,  I  am  thinking  that  you  have  received  my 
oration.     I  fear  much  that  you  will  not  like  it ; 
arid  yet  why  should  I  be  apprehensive,  since  it  is 
not  to  be  published,  unless  our  country  shall  re- 
cover her  liberty,  a  subject  upon  which  I  dare 
not  trust  my  sentiments  to  writing. 

EPISTLE 

'■""t  This  is  a  Very  dark  piece  of  history,  and  probably  alluded 
•to  some  person  that  Antony  had  put  to  death  under  pretext  of 

being  employed  to  assassinate  him.    Vide  Appian  de  Bel.  0«. 

lib.  iii. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


291 


EPISTLE  XIV. 

vJn  the  27th  I  received  a  letter  from  Dolabella, 
(of  which!  have  sent  you  a  copy)  acquainting 
me,  that  he  has  done  every  thing  you  desired 
of  him.  I  immediately  wrote  him  an  answer, 
in  which  I  returned  him  many  thanks.  But  lest 
he  should  be  surprised  at  my  writing  twice  to 
him  on  the  same  subject,  I  pretended,  that  I 
had  no  opportunities  of  knowing  from  your  own 
mouth,  the  services  he  had  done  you.  But,  to 
make  short,  my  letter  was  as  follows. 

Cicero  to  his  Friend  Dolabella,  Consul. 

JL  FORMERLY  Jcamed,  by  a  letter  from  my 
friend  Atticus,  how  very  generous  and  kind  you 
had  been  to  him ;  and  you  yourself  acquainted 
me  by  another  letter,  that  you  had  done  every 
thing  we  desired  of  you.  In  answer  to  which,  I 
wrote  you  a  letter,  to  let  you  know  that  yoii  could 
jBOt  have  done  miC  a  more  agreeable  piece  of 
3ervice.  But  when  Atticus  came  in  person  to  my 
house  at  Tusculanum,  on  purpose  to  testify  to 
me  the  obligations  he  was  under  to  you,  for  your 
extraordinary  and  inexpressible  kindness  to  him 
in  the  affair  of  Buthrotum,  and  the  matchless  af«- 
fection  you  bore  him,  I  could  not  contain  my- 

U  2  self 


292 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


self  from  making  this  second  open  declaration  of 
my  grateful  sense  of   your  favours.      For,  my 
Dolabella,  you  must  know,  that  of  all  your  dis- 
tinguished proofs  of  zeal  and  kindness  to  me, 
there  is  none,  I  think,  does  me  so  much  honour, 
or  gives  me  such  pleasure,  as  your  giving  Atticus 
to  understand  how  much  I  love  you,  or  you  me. 
I  have  nothing  more  to  say,  than  that,  as  men  ge- 
nerally support  by  their  power,  what  is  bestowed 
by  their  kindness,  you  will  protect,  by  your  au- 
thority and  assistance,  the  interest  apd  the  inha- 
bitants of  Buthrotum;  and  though  it  already  owes 
its  being  to  you,  let  me  beg  of  you,  once  more, 
as  I  have  often  already  done,  to  recommend  it 
to  your  friendship.     This  will  be  for  ever  a  suf- 
ficient protection   to  the  Buthrotians,  and  you 
will  deliver  both  Atticus  and  me  from  great  pain 
and  anxiety,   if  you  will  do  me  the  honour  to 
undertake  this,  and  to  preserve  them  under  your 
perpetual  tuition,  which,   in    the  most  earnest 
manner,  I  conjure  you  to  do." 

Having  finished  this  letter,  I  returned  to  the 
work,  which  at  present  I  have  in  hand.  It  will, 
I  am  afraid,  require  to  be  marked  in  a  great 
many  places,  by  your  red  pencil,  so  fluctuating 
and  embarrassed  do  I  feel  political  considera- 
tions. 


EPISTLE 


/ 


TO  ATTICUS 


293 


EPISTLE  XV. 

IMay  the  distresses  which  Lucius  Antonius  oc- 
casions to  the  Buthrotians,  revert  upon  himself! 
I  have  drawn  up  my  certificate '  which  you  may 
seal  when  you  please.  If  the  ^dile,  Lucius  Fa- 
dius,  asks  from  you  the  money  for  my  house  at 
Arpinum,  you  may  pay  him,  though  it  were  the 
whole  sum.  I  wrote  you,  in  the  other  letter, 
about  the  hundred  and  ten  thousand  sesterces, 
which  must  be  paid  to  Statius.  If,  therefore, 
Fadius  should  call  for  the  money,  I  desire  it 
should  be  paid  to  him,  and  to  him  only.  If  I 
mistake  not,  there  is  some  money  in  my  hands, 
which  I  have  written  to  Eros  to  deliver  up^ 

I  am  indignant  at  the  queen  of  Egypt.     Am- 
monius ',  who  answered  for  the  performance  of 
her  promises  to  me,  knows  that  I  have  good  rea- 
son for  my  indignation.     The  favours  she  pro- 
mised 


1  That  Caesar,  before  his  death,  intended  to  grant  to  the 
Buthrotians,  the  favour  which  Atticus  was  soliciting,  and  this 
certificate  must  be  sealed  by  Atticus,  as  well  as  our  author. 
This  was  no  very  patriotic  conduct  in  those  two  friends,  who, 
when  the  affair  was  to  bring  no  profit  to  themselves,  were  ex- 
tremely disgusted  that  any  regard  should  be  paid  to  Caesar's 
acts  or  intentions. 

*  All  this  is  private  affairs,  nor  am  I  quite  certain  as  to  the 
sense  of  the  original. 

^  He  was  an  old  servant  of  her  family. 


294 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


295 


inised  me,   I  assure  you,  were  such  as  I  need 
not  be  ashamed  of,  though  they  were  proclaimed 
from  the  rostrum.     They  were  only  such  as  be- 
fitted a  man  of  learning,  and  became  my  dignity. 
As  to  Sara,   besides  my  knowing  him  to   be  ia 
worthless  fellow,   he  behaved   very  disrespect^ 
fully  to  me  in  particular ;  I  never  saw  him  but 
once,  which  was  at  my  own  house.  When  I  asked 
him  very  civilly  in  what  I  could  serve  him,   he 
told  me,  he  came  to  look  for  Atticus  \     As  to 
the   haughtiness    the   queen   herself    expressed 
when  she  was  at  the  gardens  ^  beyond  the  Tyber, 
I  never  can  reflect  upon  it  without  strong  resent- 
ment     I  will,    therefore,    have  nothing  to  do 
with  that  gang,  who  supposed  me  to  be  void  of 
spirit,  and  even  of  feeling. 

I  perceive  that  the  ill  management  of  Eros,  in 
my  affairs,  will  hinder  my  departure  from  hence. 
For,  according  to  the  accounts  given  to  me,  on 
the  5th  of  April,  I  ought  to  have  money  in  hand, 
and  yet  I  am  obliged  to  borrow.      I  suppose, 

that 

i  Monsieur  Mongault  thinks  that  the  offence  of  Sara,  men- 
tioned here,  is  not  quite  satisfactory  for  accounting  why  our 
author  should  abuse  Sara  as  he  does.  But  we  have  had  many 
opportunities  in  the  course  of  these  letters,  to  observe  how  very 
susceptible  our  author  was  of  the  smallest  piece  of  disrespect  to 

bis  person. 

*  This  hint  agrees  extremely  well  with  the  haughty  impe- 
rious character  of  Cleopatra,  who  lived  with  Caesar  at  the  time 
#f  his  death. 


that  the  money  arising  from  my  rents  has  been 
set  apart  for  the  building  of  the  temple  I  have  so 
often   mentioned  \      I  have,    however,   recom- 
mended these  matters  to  Tyro,  whom  I  have  sent 
to  Rome  for  that  purpose,  for  you  have  now  too 
much  business  upon  your  hands  for  me  to  give 
you  more.     The  more  modest  my  son  is  in  ask- 
ing for  money,  I  am  the  more  concerned,  lest  he 
should  want  it.     He  has  written  me  notliing  upon 
this  head,  though  it  is  natural  to  think,  that  I 
should  be  the  first  person  he  would  apply  to.   He 
has,  however,  written  to  Tyro,  that  he  has  re- 
ceived no  money  since  the  first  of  April,  for  this 
year  was  then  out.     I  have  always  understood, 
that  your  own  disposition,  as  well  as  a  regard  for 
my  character,  led  you  to  think,  that  I  ought  to 
supply  him  with  what  may  sufficiently  enable  him 
to  make,  not  only  a  decent,  but  a  distinguished, 
appearance.      I,   therefore,   beg  (and  indeed,  I 
would  not  give  you  this  trouble,  could  I  employ 
any  body  else  in  the  affair)   of  you  to  take  care 
to  furnish  him   with  a  whole  year's  supply  at 
Athens,  and  you  shall   be   reimbursed  by  Eros. 
I  have  sent  Tyro  to  Rome  for  this  very  purpose. 

You 


1  We  see  that  our  author  had  not  yet  given  over  the  thoncrhr-j 
of  deifying  his  daughter,  nor  is  it  quite  certain  that  h(' 
actually  build  somewhat  of  that  kind.     At  least  soui- 
Italian  antiquaries  have  pretended  to  make  dibcovern. 
TuUia  had  been  deified  by  her  father. 


^96 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


You  will,  therefore,  charge  yourself  with  this, 
and  write  to  me  what  you  think  proper  on  the 
pubject. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


S97 


have  rainy  weather,  because  the  frogs  are  croak- 
ing \  I  beg  you  will  let  me  know  where,  and 
on  what  day  I  can  see  our  friend  Brutus. 


EPISTLE  XVL 

X  HAVE  at  length  received  a  letter  from  my  son, 
written,  I  assure  you,  with  such  propriety  and 
elegance,  as  sufficiently  denotes  his  improve- 
ment in  learning.  All  my  other  friends  there, 
give  me  very  flattering  accounts  of  him.  Leoni- 
das,  however,  still  qualifies  his  commendations 
with  his  old  "At  present.'  But  Herodes  com- 
mends him  wonderfully,  and  without  reserve 
To  tell  you  the  truth,  this  is  a  subject  in  which 
I  may  be  easily  imposed  on,  and  on  which  I  am, 
with  pleasure,  credulous.  I  beg  that  you  would 
let  me  know,  if  Statins  has  written  any  thing  to 
you  of  my  concerns.  This  part  of  I  he  country 
is  I  assure  you  very  pleasant,  and  very  retired, 
and  free  from  company,  in  case  one  has  a  mind 
to  compose  any  work  of  learning.  And  yet  I 
feel  an  unaccountable  preference  and  attachment 
for  my  own  residence.  Meanwhile,  I  believe, 
I  shall  soon  be  tired  of  this  lovely  landskip,  for, 
indeed,  if  our  prognostics  do  not  fail^,  we  shall 

have 

*  Our  author  translated  the  prognostics  of  Aratus  upon  ih% 
weather;,  of  which  the  croaking  of  the  frogs  was  one. 


EPISTLE  XVir. 

On  the  14th  I  received  two  letters,  the  one 
dated  the  same  day,  and  the  other  on  the  1 3th. 
Now,  as  to  the  first,  let  me  know,  when  you  re- 
ceived any  news  of  Brutus ;  I  have  heard  of  the 
pretended  alarms  of  our  consuls".  For  Sica,  in 
the  zeal  of  his  aft'ection,  but  in  a  manner  too  tu- 
multuous, gave  me  an  intimation  of  it.  But 
what  do  you  say  of  it? — We  must  be  contented 
with  what  we  can  get  For,  I  perceive,  you 
have  not  had  a  line  from  Siregius\  This  is 
vexatious.  I  take  it  amiss,  that  any  body  should 
hear  of  what  has  happened  to  your  neighbour 
Plagtorius  sooner  than  myself.  You  have  ma- 
naged the  affair  of  Syrus  with  great  address.  I 
believe,  it  will  be  no  hard  matter  for  you  to 

intimidate 

^  Orig.  ^ro§tv8<rtv  ranee,  literally,  tlie  frogs  are  declaiming. 
The  noise  of  these  animals  recalled  in  our  author  the  memory 
of  the  forum,  where  it  was  once  his  practice  to  declaim  and  he 
facetiously  applied  the  term  to  them. — E. 

*  Viz,  That  tlie  conspirators  intended  to  assassinate  them. 

3  There  is  a  very  quick  transition  here  from  public  to  pri- 
vate affairs.  We  know  nothing  about  the  persons  here  men- 
tioned. 


1^9^ 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


intimidate   Lucius  Antonius,    by  means  of  hi*., 
brother  JMarcus,  so  as  to  prevent  him  from  dis- 
tressing the  Buthrotians.     1  requested  you  not  to 
pay  that  money  to  Antro  (but  you  had  not  re- 
ceived my  letter),   or  to   any   body  but  Lucius 
Fadiusthe  sedile,  fori  could  not  otherwise,  either 
lawfully  or  safely,  do  it.     You  write  me,  that  you 
want   the  hundred  and   ten   thousand  sesterces, 
which  you  advanced  for  my  son.     If  you  please, 
you  may  call  for  it  from  Eros,  who  has  the  rents 
of  my  houses  in  his  hands.     I  am  not  at  all  of- 
fended at  Arabio  in  the  affair  of  Sitius.     I  do 
not  think  of  setting  out  until  my  accounts  are 
settled',  and  if  I  mistake  not,  you  are  of  the 
same  opinion.     So  much  for  your  first  letter.     I 
now  proceed  to  your  second. 

I  beg  you  would  act  like  yourself,    in  serving 

Servilia,  that  is,  Brutus.     I  am  glad,  that  you 

are 

1  Orig.  Nisi  explicato  ^.  This  mark  has  given  the  commen- 
tators infinite  trouble,  though  nothing  can  be  more  clear,  than 
that  the  meaning  of  Cicero  is  as  I  have  expressed  it.     Mon- 
sieur Mongault,  after  informing  us  of  the  ridiculous  conjec- 
tures of  the'commentators,  gives  us  no  opinion  of  his  own.  Mine 
is,  that  the  mark  here  exhibited  is  a  dipla  or  a  caret,  and  it  cer- 
tainly  was  made  use  of  by  the  Romans,  as  it  is  by  us,  to  pointat 
an  interlineation,  or  at  some  remarkable   passage   in   a  letter. 
Very  possibly  Atticus  had  interlined  in  his  letter  somewhat 
about  Cicero^s  debts,  and  nothing  can  agree  better  with  our  au- 
thor's manner,  than  to  hint  at  this  caret,  to  express  the  state  of 
his  accounts.     Or,  perhaps,  the  Romans  made  use  of  that  mark 
to  denote  a  deficiency,  as  the  sense  is  very  clear,   the  interpre- 
tation is  only  a  matter  of  mere  curiosity. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


299 


are  50  far  from  having  any  concern  about  the 
queen  of  jEgypt,    that  you   approve  of  what  I 
have  written  with  regard  to  her.     I  have  receiv- 
ed Tyro's  report  of  the  accounts  of  Eros,    whom 
I  have  ordered  to   attend  me.     You  give  me  a 
very  sensible  pleasure,  in  promising  to  supply  my 
son  with  every  thing.     Messala  talked  wonders 
of  him,  when   he  paid  me  a  visit  in  his  return 
from  Lanuvium,  where  he  had  been  to  see  our 
friends,  and,  indeed,  he  writes  so  affectionately, 
and  at  the  same  time,  so  elegantly,  that  I  should 
not  be  afraid  of  reading  his  letters  before  an  as- 
sembly of  critics;  therefore,   I  think,  he  merits 
the  more  indulgence.     I  suppose  Sestius  will  not 
be  greatly  afflicted  at  what  has  happened  to  Bu- 
silianus  \     When  Tiro   comes  to  me,  I  think  of 
going  to  my  house  at  Tusculanum,  and  I  recom- 
mend it  to  you,  to  write  to  me  instantly,  w^hat- 
ever  you  think  it  is  proper  for  me  to  know. 


EPISTLE  XVIII. 

1  HOUGH  upon  the  15th,  I  informed  you  suffi- 
ciently of  what  I  w  anted,  and  of  w  hat  I  should  be 
glad  you  would  do,  yet  after  I  was  set  out,  and 
while  I  was  sailing  on  the  lake ",  I  resolved  to 
send  Tiro  to  you,   that  he  might  be  present  at 

whatever 

1  Sestius  and  Busiliaiius  were  two  of  the  conspirators  against 
Caesar. 
^  Fix,  Lucrinutn, 


300 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


whatever  was  transacted.  I  likewise  have  writ- 
ten to  Dolabella,  that  I  wanted  to  be  gone  if  he 
thought  proper,  and  I  asked  him  to  furnish  me 
with  mules  ^  for  carrying  my  baggage  on  my  jour- 
ney. I  know,  that  you  have  your  hands  very  full 
of  the  affairs  of  the  Buthrotians,  as  well  as  of 
Brutus,  the  chief  care,  and  likewise  the  manage- 
ment of  whose  plays,  I  apprehend,  are  particu- 
larly trusted  to  you.  But,  I  beg  you  will  bestow 
a  little,  and  a  very  little  attention  will  suffice  upon 
the  following  circumstance.  The  situation  of 
public  affairs  seems  to  me,  to  point  towards  a 
general,  and  that  too  an  immediate  massacre. 
You  see  the  agents,  you  see  the  armaments.  I 
must  tell  you,  I  do  not  think  myself  in  safety. 
Should  you  think  otherwise,  1  beg  you  would  let 
me  know  by  a  letter.  For  could  I  do  it  consis- 
tently with  prudence,  I  would  much  rather  choose 
to  live  at  home. 


EPISTLE  XIX. 

YoiT  write  me,  that  you  stood  up  for  the  Buthro- 
tians, but  that  your  interference  proved  una- 
vailing. What  then  can  you  attempt  farther  to 
serve  them?     Let  me  know,  how  Brutus  intends 

to 


*  This  was  done  at  the  public  expence  to  the  lieutenants, 
and  the  governors  of  provinces. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


301 


to  proceed.     1  am  sorry,  indeed,  that  you  are 
so  much  embarrassed,  which  I  attribute  to  the 
ten    commissioners^      The    affair   indeed  was 
troublesome    but    unavoidable    and    you  have 
greatly  obliged  me  by  your   exertions.     I  think 
war  is  inevitable.     Let  us  therefore,  fly  hence, 
but  as  you  write  to  me,  not  before  we  converse  to- 
gether.    I  know  not  what  Theophanes  means,  for 
he  has  written  me  a  letter,   to  which  I  sent  the 
best  answer  I  could.     He  tells  me,  in  it,  that  he 
wants  to  pay  me  a  visit,  to  inform  me  of  his  own 
affairs,  and  some  things  that  concern  myself.     I 
look  for  a  letter  from  you. 

Take  care,  I  beg  of  you,  that  we  adopt  no  rash 
measures^  Statins  has  written  to  me,  that  our 
nephew  has  told  him  very  peremptorily,  that  he 
could  not  put  up  with  such  proceedings,  and 
that  he  was  determined  to  espouse  the  cause  of 
Brutus  and  Cassius.  I  should  be  glad  to  learn, 
for  I  cannot  possibly  apprehend,  what  he  ftieans. 
He  may,  perhaps,  be  in  a  passion  with  Antony. 
He  may  be  ambitious  to  retrieve  his  reputation, 
by  changing  his  party,  and  very  probably,  but 
the  whole  is  a  momentary  whim.     Meanwhile, 

I  am 


1  Viz.  The  commissioners  which  Antony  had  made,  for  the 
division  of  the  public  lands  to  his  veterans.  Our  author,  b/ 
way  of  contempt,  calls  them  (iecpm  homines,  instead  o£  decern 

viri. 

2  Vi%.  In  the  affeir  of  the  younger  Quintus,  which  the  reader 

will  be  acquainted  with  in  the  sequel. 


'  Ul]l<^.4'4|l)n 


set 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  A^mcus. 


303 


N 


lam  apprehensive,  and  my  brother  is  confounded; 
for  he  is  no  stranger  to  what  Antony  said  of  his 
son,  and  indeed,  formerly  he  told  me  v€ry  dread- 
ful things  of  him.  In  short,  I  know  not  what  he 
intends.  I  have  no  orders  from  Dolabella,  and 
of  this  I  am  very  glad.  Let  me  know,  whether 
Caius  Antonius  wants  to  be  made  one  of  the 
seven  commissioners  \  He  certainly  has  a  claim 
to  that  office.  With  regard  to  Menedemus  the 
affair  is  as  you  write.  Pray  inform  me  of  every 
thing. 

EPISTLE   XX. 

I  HAVE  returned  Vectenus  my  thanks,  for  nobody 
could  have  acted  with  greater  honour  than  he  has 
done.  I  do  not  care  what  commission  Dolabella 
$hall  send  to  me.  Lqt  it  be  any  thing ;  were  it 
only  to  talk  with  his  friend  Niccias',  for  every 
body  knows,  that  that  is  a  matter  of  mere  form; 
XkOT  is  there  a  man  of  sense,  who  does  not  per- 
l^eive,  that  I  set  out,  not  upon  public  business, 
t)ut  because  I  think  the  cause  of  the  common- 
wealth  is  lost  You  tell  me,  the  people,  and 
even  the  patriots,  talk  as  if  our  country  was  un- 
iSone.     For  my  own  part,  I  began  to  have  my 

own 

*  Fiz.  For  dividing  puhJic  lands  that  lay  within  Italy. 
«    He  was  a  particular  friend  of  Dolabella^  and  then  at 
Athens. 


own  apprehensions  ever  since  the  day  when  I 
heard  the  appellation  "  of  a  most  illustrious 
hero,"  given  to  that  tyrant  in  an  assembly  of  the 
people.  But  afterwards,  when  I  found,  while  I 
was  at  Lanuvium  with  you,  that  all  the  hopes 
our  friends  had  of  living,  depended  upon  the 
will  of  Antony,  I  then  entirely  despaired.  There- 
fore, my  dearest  friend,  I  beg  you  will  receive 
this  information  as  intrepidly  as  I  write  it.  Cal- 
culate upon  the  foulest  ruin^,  for  Antony  has 
already,  as  it  were,  pronounced  our  doom.  I 
am  determined  to  leave  the  bottom  on  which  we 
are  now  embarked,  not  in  hopes  to  save  my  life, 
but  to  meet  with  a  more  honourable  death.  All 
this  misfortune  is  owing  to  Brutus.  You  write 
to  me,  that  Pompey  has  been  admitted  into  Car- 
theia^  An  army  is  ordered  to  march  against 
him,  and  which  camp  shall  I  join  ?  for  Antony 
has  declared  against  all  neutrality.  One  party  is 
weak,  the  other  wicked.  Let  us,  therefore,  make 
haste.  But  assist  me  with  your  counsel  where  -I 
oushtto  embark,  at  Brundusium,  or  atPuteoli? 
As  to  Brutus,  he  sets  out  instantly,  and  in  this 
he  does  wisely.  His  departure  gives  me  concern. 
Alas  !  when  shall  I  see  him  again.  But  we  are 
born  to  these  afflictions.     You  yourself  will  not 

be 

The  original  here  is  very  obscure^  but  I  believe,  I  have  hit 
tipon  Cicero's  meaning. 

*  This  was  a  sea-town  in  the  farther  Spain, 


Ij-sf 


804 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


305 


m 


be  able  to  see  him.  May  the  gods  punish  the 
slaughtered  tyrant'  who  put  you  to  this  trouble 
about  Buthrotum.  But  what  is  passed  cannot  be 
recalled.     Let  us,  therefore,  look  forward. 

Though  I  have  not  as  yet  seen  Eros  himself, 
yet  from  his  letters,  and  from  the  information  of 
Tyro,  who  has  examined  his  accounts,  I  can  form 
apretty  exact  jndgmentof  them.  Youtellme,  that 
I  must  borrow  two  hundred  thousand  sesterces, 
for  five  months,  that  is,  to  the  first  of  November, 
when  my  brothers  money  becomes  due  to  me.    I 
tlierefore  beg,  since  as  I  am  informed  by  Tyro, 
you  think  it  improper  for  me  to  come  to  Rome 
on  that  account,  that  you  will,  if  it  is  not  incon- 
venient for  you,     look    out    for  that  sum,  and 
borrow  it  in  my  name.     I  perceive,  I  have  imme- 
diate occasion  for  it     I  will  inform  myself  more 
particularly  of  every  thing  from  Eros  in  person, 
and  especially  concerning  the  rents  of  my  wife's 
estate^  which,  if  they  are  punctually  paid  to  my 
son,  will  nearly  supply  him  with  every  thing  as 
plentifully  as  I  could  wish  for,  were  I  ever  so 
opulent      Meanwhile,  I  perceive,  that  I  shall 
have  occasion  for  travelling   expences,  but  let 
those  rents  be  paid  to  my  son,  as  they  fall  due, 

for 

^  Viz.  Caesar,  who  it  seems,  had  assigned  to  his  soldiers 
«ome  part  of  Buthrotum,  and  perhaps,  Atticus's  estate  there. 

•  This  probably  was  some  part  of  Terentia's  estate,  which 
ihe  had  either  sold  to  Cicero,  or  given  to  him  for  the  maintt- 
oance  of  her  son. 


for  I  must  have  the  money,  I  shall  have  occasion 
for,  all  together.  Though  I  think,  the  person 
who  is  afraid  of  his  own  shadow,  breathes^  slaugh- 
ter, yet  I  will  not  set  out  until  I  have  settled  all 
my  payments.  When  I  meet  with  you,  I  shall 
know  whether  my  funds  will  answer  or  not  I 
have  written  this  with  my  own  hand,  because  I 
think  it  of  importance.  You  are  to  pay  Fabius^ 
as  you  say  'you  will,  but  nobody  else*  I  wish 
you  would  answer  this  letter  to-day. 

EPISTLE  XXI. 

jVIy  brother,  let  me  tell  you,  is  quite  over- 
joyed. For  his  son  has  written  to  him,  that  he  in- 
tended to  fly  over  to  Brutus,  because,  that  when 
Antony  urged  him  to  name  him  dictator,  and 
to  seize  some  strongi  post,  he  refused  to  do 
either  ;  for  fear,  as  he  says,  of  oflfending  his  fa- 
ther. He  adds,  that  Antony  is,  on  that  account, 
become  his  enemy.  But  then,  resumes  he,  I 
recollected  myself,  lest,  out  of  spite  to  jne,  he 
might  do  mischiefto  you.  I  have,  therefore,  ap- 
peased him,  and  he  is  to  pay  me  four  hundred 
thousand  sesterces,    and  the   rest    afterwards*. 

Now 

*  Meaning  Antony. 

«  These  I  take  to  be  the  words  of  the  tetter  which  young 
Quintus  wrote  to  his  father. 

Vol.  hi.  X 


306 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


I- 


Now,  Statius  writes,  and  to  my  great  surprise^ 
he  seems  glad  at  it,  that  he  is  desirous  of  living 
with  his  father.  Did  you  ever  hear  of  so  great 
a  villain  ? 

I  very  much  approve  of  your  reluctance  to  ac- 
cede to  the  proposals  of  Canus^  I  had  not  the 
least  notion  that  he  was  in  debt,  and  I  imagined 
that  every  farthing  of  his  daughter's  fortune  had 
been  paid  her  back.  I  wait  to  see  you  in  person, 
to  be  informed  fully  of  what  you  hint  at.  You 
may  keep  this  express  as  long  as  you  please,  be- 
cause I  know  you  are  busied.  You  have  done 
right  with  regard  to  Xeno.  When  I  have  finished 
what  I  am  now  composing,  you  shall  have  it. 
You  tell  my  brother,  that  you  have  sent  him  a 
letter,  but  nobody  has  yet  delivered  it  Tyro 
says,  that  you  are  now  against  my  embarking  at 
Brundusium,  and  that  you  are  under  some  ap- 
prehensions respecting  the  troops.  But  I  had 
already  resolved  to  embark  at  Hydruntutn'.     I 

was 


^  Because  Statius,  who  was  bis  freedman,  had  great  sway 
over  the  elder  Quintus.  Our  author  is  therefore  surprised, 
that  he  should  be  fond  of  the  younger  Quintus  coming  to  live 
with  his  father. 

-  His  daughter  was  to  be  married  to  Cicero*s  nephew,  and  it 
seems,  she  was  accounted  to  have  a  large  fortune.  But  when 
her  circumstances  were  inquired  into,  it  appeared,  that  being 
it' widow,  great  part  of  her  fortune  was  mortgaged  for  the  pay- 
ment of  her  husband's  debts,  for  which  she  stood  engaged. 

'  Thig  was  a  city  in  Apulia,  now  called  Otranto. 


To  ATtlCtiS. 


soy 


Wds  pleased  with  what  you  said,  that  I  should  b^ 
only  five  hours  in  my  passage.  But  I  shall  be 
much  longer,  if  I  go  from  this  place.  We 
shall,  however,  talk  about  that.  I  have  nothing 
from  you  upon  the  £Vst;  and  indeed,  what  could 
you  write?  Let  me,  therefore,  see  you  as  soon  as 
you  can.  I  make  the  more  haste  lest  Sextus 
Pompeius,  who  I  hear  is  on  his  march,  should 
arrive  in  Italy  before  I  leave  it. 


A  CONGRATULATE  you  upon  OUT  riephcw's  leav- 
ing Rome,  for  he  will  give  us  no  more  trouble^ 
I  have  no  doubt,  that  Pansa  makes  fair  profes- 
sions. I  know  him  to  have  been  all  along  closely 
connected  with  Hirtius,  and  could  he  find  his 
account  in  it,  I  suppose,  he  would  be  so  with 
Brutus  and  Cassius  likewise*     But  when  is  he  to 
see   them? — You  say  he  hates  Antony.     When 
did  that  appear,  or  how  shall  we  believe  it  ?  Is 
there  no  end  of  our  being  duped  ?  You  must  know 
that,   when  I   wrote   to  you,  Sextus   Pompeius 
was  upon  his  march.     I  did  not  mean,  that  he 
was  actually  at  hand,  but  because  I  knew  it  to 
be  a  measure  already  concerted,  and  that  nobody 
now  thinks  of  quitting  his  arms.  If  he  advances, 

X  2  .      there 


EPIStLE  XXli. 


»••. 


i-^ 


308 


CICERO  S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


309 


there  can  be  no  doubt  of  a  war  commencing. 
Tbis  minister  of  Venus'  says,  that  every  man  must 
purchase  his  life  by  conquest.  What  does  Pansa 
say  to  all  this  ?  Should  war,  which  seems  to  be 
unavoidable,  be  declared,  what  party  will  he 
join?  But  we  will  talk  over  those,  and  other 
matters  at  meeting,  which  will,  according  to  your 
letter,  be  to-day  or  to-morrow. 


EPISTLE  XXIIL 

1  AM  incredibly  perplexed,  though  not  pained, 
with  the  many  considerations  that  suggest  them- 
selves, both  for  and  against  my  journey.  And 
how  long,  say  you,  will  your  perplexities  last  ? 
Why,  I  tell  you,  as  long  as  I  am  undetermined, 
that  is,  till  I  get  on  ship-board.  If  I  should  re- 
ceive an  answer  from  Pansa,  I  will  send  it  to 
yqu,  with  a  copy  of  mine  to  him.  I  will  give 
the  treatise  I  am  composing  to  Silius,  whom  I 
expect  Let  me  know  if  there  is  any  thing  new. 
I  have  written  to  Brutus ;  and  I  beg  likewise,  if 
you  know  any  thing  of  his  setting  out,  that  you 
will  inform  me. 


EPISTLE  XXIV. 

X  HE  messenger,  whom  I  sent  to  Brutus,  returned 
on  the  26th.  Servilia  told  him,  that  he  had  set 
out  that  day  about  ten  in  the  forenoon.  It  gives 
me  real  pain,  that  he  did  not  receive  my  letter. 
Silius  has  not  been  with  me.  I  have  written  out 
the  treatise,  and  sent  it  to  you.  I  should  be  glad 
to  know  on  what  day  I  am  to  expect  you. 


EPISTLE  XXV. 

A  GREAT  many  people,  who  visit  me,  are  di- 
vided in  their  sentiments  as  to  my  journey.  But 
as  it  is  a  thing  of  so  great  consequence  to  me, 
I  beg  that  you  would  take  it  into  your  conside- 
ration. Do  you  approve  of  it,  provided  I  can  be 
in  Rome  by  the  first  of  January?  I  am  quite 
indifferent  in  the  matter,  if  I  can  but  keep  free  of 
public  censure.  It  is  with  propriety  that  you 
call  the  profanation  of  the  mysteries,  the  anni- 
versary of  the  expiation\  Whatever  be  the  event, 

it 


I 


EPISTLE 

^  Orig,  Cytherius  hie.  Meaning  Anton/,  who  kept  a  famous 
courtezan^  called  Cytheris, 


*  The  original  here  is  extremely  perplexed.  All  we  can 
guess  at  is,  that  Cicero  hints  at  the  celebration  of  the  sacred 
mysteries  in  which  Clodius  was  detected,  which  happening 
to  fall  in  December,  our  author  was  fond  of  being  at  Rome  the 

day 


SIO 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


Sir 


u 

I  ,.'^ 


r 


.t 


.'♦ 


I 


it  shall  regulate  me  in  regard  to  •  my  journey. 
Let  us  therefore  suspend  our  judgment  a  little; 
for  a  winter  voyage  is  extremely  disagreeable, 
and,  for  that  reason,  I  was  glad  to  know  your 
opinion  about  returning  by  the  day  of  the  mys- 
teries. I  suppose,  as  you  intifnate  in  your  let- 
ter, that  I  shall  see  Brutus,  I  have  fixed  my 
departure  from  hence  to  the  last  of  this  month. 


EPISTLE  XXVI. 

X  PERCEIVE  you  have  done  all  that  lay  in  your 
power  in  my  brother's  affair.  Meanwhile,  how- 
ever,  I  am  in  painful  suspense,  whether  to  com- 
ply with  Lepta,  or  distrust  Silius.  I  am  informed, 
that  L  Piso  wants  to  absent  himself  under  the 
sanction  of  a  forged  resolution  of  the  senate  \ 
The  express  which  I  told  you  I  had  sent  to 
Brutus  at  Anagnia,  came  to  me  on  the  last  day 
of  the  last  month,  in  the  night  time,  with  a  letter 
from  him;  in  which  he  makes  one  request,  which 


day  of  their  celebration,  as  he  was  of  every  opportunity  to  put 
the  Romans  in  mind  of  his  former  glory.  But  the  truth  15 
this,  all  that  the  commentators  have  said  on  this  head  is  mere 

conjecture.  - 

1  We  have  ah-eady  observed,  that  it  was  no  unusual  thmg  for 
a  faction,  or  a  leading  man  in  the  senate,  to  obtain  those  forge^ 
resolutions. 


is  by  no  means  consistent  with  his  great  good 
sense;  that  I  should  be  a  spectator  at  his  shows. 
My  answer  was,  in  the  first  place,  that  I  was 
now   gone   too  far  to  retract  my  journey ;  and 
in  the  next  place,   that  it  would   appear  ex- 
cessively  absurd,   if  I,   who   had  kept  entirely 
from  Rome  ever  since   it  had  been  filled  with 
soldiers,   not  so   much  from   the  fear   of  dan- 
ger,  as  from  a  regard  to  my  dignity,   should  all 
of  a  sudden  come  to  it  that  I  might  be  present  at 
an  exhibition  of  shows.     I  agreed  that  it  suited 
his  dignity  to  make  such  exhibitions,  because  it 
was  part  of  his  duty  ;  but  as  it  was  no  part  of 
mine,  neither  could  it  be  to  my  credit  to  be  pre- 
sent  at  them.      Believe  me,   when  I  tell  you, 
I  am  extremely  desirous  that  he  should  exhibit 
them,  and  that  they  should  be  well  received,  as 
I  hope  they  will  be ;  and  I  recommend  it  to  you, 
that  from  the  time  of  their  commencement,  you 
will  let  me  know  how  they  are  received,  and  the 
success  they  meet  with  every  day  during  their 
being  exhibited.  But  enough  of  shows. 

Brutus  seems  to  be  very  despondent  in  certain 
parts  of  his  letter ;  though  occasionally  he  dis- 
plays  sparks  of  manly  resolution.  I  send  you  a 
copy  of  it  that  you  may  be  able  to  judge  for 
yourself;  though  my  messenger  told  me,  that  he 
had  brought  a  letter  to  you  from  Brutus,  and  that 
he  had  sent  it  to  you  from  Tusculanuni.  I  have 
?irranged  my  journey,  so  as  to  be  at  Puteoli  the 


911 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


I 


7tb  of  iTuly.  For  though  I  am  in  great  haste, 
yet  I  will  take  all  the  precautions  that  can  possi- 
bly be  taken,  before  I  go  on  board. 

You  may  relieve  M.  -Elius  of  his  fears,  that 
the  aquaeduct*  which  I  proposed  to  conduct 
through  the  extremity  of  his  field  \  would  prove 
prejudicial  to  his  farm.  I  have  long  ago  laid 
aside  all  thoughts  of  that  project,  nor  was  I  ever 
very  much  in  earnest  about  it  But,  as  you  ob- 
serve, this  must  be  very  gently  noticed,  and  in 
a  manner,  calculated  rather  to  make  him  easy, 
than  to  give  him  any  suspicion  that  I  am  dis- 
pleased with  him.  I  likewise  beg  that  you  will 
talk  freely  with  Cascelius  about  the  debt  due 
from  TuUius ;  the  thing  is  of  no  great  import^ 
ance,  but  you  watched  him  narrow^ly*;  and  he 
did  not  act  quite  openly.  For  my  part,  if  he 
had  obtained  any  advantage  over  me,  as  he 
would  have  done,  had  you  not  disappointed  him 
by  your  sagacity',     I  should  have  patiently  put 

up 

^  The  original  is  so  depraved  here,  that  I  translate  it  upon 
little  more  than  conjecture. 

*  Orig,  Sed  tu  bene  attendUtu  Which  Monsieur  Mongault 
translates,  Comme  vous  Vavezfort  lien  rcmarque.  But  I  think 
upon  considering  the  context,  that  he  is  mistaken^  and  that 
the  meaning  must  be  as  I  hive  translated  it. 

3  Orig,  Nisi  tua  malitia  qffuisset.  The  word  malitia  is  a 
civil  law  term  to  denote  quickness  and  sagacity.  Nisi  malitia 
supplet  (Btatem,  that  is,  unless  the  want  of  years  is  made  up  by 
the  forwardness  of  natural  parts. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


SIS 


up  with  it      Whatever,  therefore,  may  be  the 
event,  I  choose  to  put  a  stop  to  the  affair. 

You  may  remember,  that  I  ordered  one  eighth 
of  the  lights  in  the  house  next  to  Strena's  temple  ^ 
to  be  shut  up.  You  will  order  those  effects  to  be 
delivered  over  to  the  person  for  whom  Caerellia 
solicits,  at  the  highest  price  that  was  offered  in 
the  sale.  It  was,  I  think,  three  hundred  thou- 
sand sesterces.  I  beg  you  to  give  me  an  account 
of  every  thing  as  frequently  as  you  can,  and  also 
your  opinion,  and  your  thoughts,  as  to  what  may 
happen.  I  entreat,  as  I  have  already  recom- 
mended to  you,  that  you  will  make  my  apology 
to  Varro,  for  my  delay  in  writing  to  him.  I  hope 
Mundus  will  get  the  better  of  that  fellow  ^  I 
beg  you  will  gratify  my  curiosity,  by  letting  me 
know  in  what  manner  M.  Ennius  has  conceived 
his  will.     Dated  from  Arpinum  the  10th. 


EPISTLE  XXVII. 


A  REJOICE  that  you  advise  me  to  the  very  mea- 
sure, which,  of  myself,  I  had  executed  the  day 
before.  For  yesterday,  on  the  li^th  of  this 
month,  I  charged  the  express,  by  whom  I  sent  a 

letter 


*  The  original  here  is  unintelligible. 

*  Mtmdus  istum.  This  Mundus  is  taken  notice  of  as  being  a 
friend  of  our  author. 


11 


[•"I 


■f 


3i4 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


515 


letter  to  you,  with  another  letter  in  the  most  af^ 
fectionate  terms  to  Sestius.  With  regard  to 
him,  his  visit  to  me  at  Puteoli  was  civil,  but  hi* 
complaint  unjust  It  was  not  so  much  to  be  ex- 
pected, that  I  should  wait  for  him  on  his  return 
from  his  house  at  Cosa  \  as  it  was  that  he  should 
have  either  seen  me  before  he  went,  or  have 
been  more  quick  in  his  return ;  because  he  knew 
that  I  intended  to  set  out  soon,  and  he  had  writ- 
ten to  me  that  he  was  to  pay  me  a  visit  at  Tus- 

culanum. 

I  am  sorry  to  understand,  that  you  so  much 
regretted  my  departure.  Had  you  expressed 
this  regret  sooner,  I  might  perhaps,  have  altered 
the  whole  scheme  of  my  journey.  But  you  did 
well  in  comforting  yourself  with  the  hopes  of  our 
speedy  meeting  together  again',  and  the  same 
hopes  likewise  support  me.  I  shall  often  write 
to  you.  I  will  let  you  know  every  thing  concern- 
ing  Brutus,  soon  send  you  my  treatise  concern- 
in»  glory',  and  write  somewhat  in  the  manner 

^  of 

1  This  was  a  sea-town  of  Tuscany. 

2  Atticus  was  at  this  time  thinking  of  going  to  Greece. 

5  It  was  divided  into  two  books,  and  a  copy  of  it  was  in  being 
after  the  art  of  printing  was  discovered.  Petrarch  received  it  as 
a  present  from  Reymundus  Superiantius,  and  unfortunately 
lent  it  to  his  school-master,  who  put  it  in  pawn  to  relieve  his 
necessities,  but  died  before  he  could  take  it  out,  and  thus  Pe- 
trarch never  could  hear  of  it.  About  two  hundred  years  af^er, 
it  was  in  the  possession  of  Bernardus  Justinianus,  who  be- 

queathed 


of  Heraclides,  which  must  be  concealed  in  your 
repository.  I  have  not  forgotten  Plancus.  At- 
tica has  a  right  to  complain.  It  is  with  great 
pleasure  I  received  your  accounts  of  Bacchides, 
and  the  garlands  put  upon  the  statues  \  I  beg 
that  henceforward  you  will  not  neglect  to  send 
me  accounts  of  these  and  other  occurrences, 
however  minute.  I  shall  keep  in  my  mind  the 
affairs  of  Herodes  and  Mettius,  and  of  every 
man  whom  I  can  so  much  as  suppose  you  wish 
well  to.  Your  nephew  is  a  base  youth ;  he  is  ar- 
rived in  the  evening,  while  we  are  at  supper, 


EPISTLE  XXVIII. 

I  STILL  intend,  as  I  wrote  you  yesterday,  to  be 
at  Tusculanum  on  the  7th,  and'  there  I  shall; 
every  day,  expect  your  news,  especially  concern- 
ing the  shows,  of  which  you  are  likewise  to  write 

to 

queathed  it  to  a  monastery  of  nuns,  from  whence  it  could  never 
be  recovered.  The  conjecture  of  learned  men  is,  that  Petrus 
Alcyonius,  the  physician  to  that  nunnery,  had  purloined  it,  and 
transcribed  what  he  thought  proper  into  his  own  writings,  which 
the  critics  observe  to  be  of  a  very  unequal  composition,  espe- 
cially his  book  de  Exsulio,  If  this  conjecture  be  true,  it  is  na- 
tural to  suppose  that  Alcyonius  destroyed  the  original  to  pre- 
vent  the  discovery. 

1  These  probably  were  some  republican  statues,  which  had 

been  crowned  by  the  people. 


316 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS, 


317 


to  Brutus.  I  sent  you,  the  day  before,  a  copy 
of  his  letter,  though  I  myself  am  at  a  loss  for 
its  meaning.  I  beg  you  will  make  my  apology 
to  Attica,  in  a  manner  that  shall  lay  the  whole 
blame  upon  yourself,  and.  in  the  meantime,  as- 
sure her,  that  Greece  has  not  engrossed  the  whole 
of  my  affections ;  for  I  have  left  part  of  them 
behind. 


EPISTLE  XXIX. 

X  HAVK  sent  you  Bmtus's  letter.  What  dis- 
traction does  he  betray! — But  read  it  and  judge 
for  yourself.  I  am  quite  of  your  opinion,  that 
bis  shows  will  be  greatly  crouded.  There  is  no 
occasion  for  your  going  on  purpose  to  the  house 
of  Marcus  ^ius,  for  you  may  do  that  basiness 
any  time  you  meet  him.  As  to  the  debt  of 
TuUius^  you  will  apply  to  Marcos  Axianos,  as 
you  propose.  You  have  brought  the  affair  with 
Cosianus  to  a  very  happy  termination.  It  gives 
me  pleasure  that  you  expedite,  not  only  my  bu- 
siness, but  your  own.  I  am  very  glad  that  you 
approve  of  my  legation.  May  heavens  grant 
you  to  perform  what  you  promise !  For  what 
can  give  me  pleasure  equal  to  the  company  of 
my  friends,  though  I  am  a  little  apprehensive  of 

facing 


facing  the  lady  you  except*?  As  soon  as  I  have 
spoken  with  Brutus,  I  will  write  you  an  account 
of  the  conversation.  I  heartily  wish  a  confirma- 
tion of  the  news  concerning  Plancus  and  Deci- 
mus  \  I  should  be  sorry  if  Sextus  Pompeius 
should  leave  the  field  I  Inform  me  if  you  know- 
any  thing  of  Mundus.  Having  thus  fully  an- 
swered yours,  you  are  now  to  read  my  epistle. 

The  younger  Quintus  accompanied  me  as  far 
as  PuteolL  He  is  at  present  as  wonderful  a  pa- 
triot as  you  would  have  me  to  believe  Favonius 
and  Asiniusare.  He  had  two  motives  for  his 
complaisance  to  me,  first,  that  it  might  be  known 
that  he  was  in  my  company ;  and  secondly,  be- 
cause he  wants  to  be  reconciled  to  Brutus  and 
Cassius.  But  what  is  your  opinion  ?  For  as 
you  are  a  friend  to  the  Othos,  you  must  know 
our  nephew  tells  me,  that  Julia  intends  to  marry 
him,  a  divorce  being  already  resolved  upon* 
My  brother  questioned  me  about  the  character 
she  bore.  As  I  was  entirely  ignorant  of  the 
motives  of  his  inquiry,  I  told  him,  that  I  had 

heard 

« 

»  This  probably  was  a  private  joke  between  Cicero  and  At- 
ticus,  whose  wife  perhaps  aftect-ed  to  take  it  amiss,  as  we  see  in 
the  close  of  the  last  Epistle,  that  our  author  had  shown  s« 
much  indifference  at  parting  with  her. 

*  Fiz.  That  they  had  joined  their  army  in  fevour  of  the  cwi- 
spirators. 

3  Lepidus,  about  this  time,  had  offered  him  very  great  ternw 
if  he  would  disband  his  army,  and  return  to  Rome. 


13 


318 


CICfiRO  S  EPISTLES,  &c. 


heard  nothing  about  her,  but  concerning  fief 
person  and  family.  But,  resumed  I,  why  do  yoti 
inquire  ?  Why,  says  he,  she  intends  to  marry 
my  son.  Though  this  shocked  me,  yet  I  told 
him,  I  did  not  think  every  thing  the  world  said 
of  her  was  true.  Now,  my  brother's  view  is  to 
be  excused  from  parting  with  any  thing  to  his 
son,  for  he  thinks  that  this  will  not  prevent  the 
match  on  her  part.  But  I  shall  not  be  disap- 
pointed if  our  nephew  is  duped  as  usual.  I  beg 
you  will  inqure  into  this  affair,  as  you  may  easily 
do,  and  let  me  know  farther. 

What,  I  beseech  you,  is  the  meaning  of  this  ? 
After  this  letter  was  sealed,  the  Formians,  who 
supped  with  me,  told  me,  that  their  friend  Plan- 
cus^  whom  they  had  seen  yesterday,  the  5th,  at 
Buthrotum,  was  ignominiously  dismissed;  and 
that  his  slaves  gave  out,  that  the  Buthrotians  had 
forced  him  and  his  land-hunters  to  move  out  of 
the  counti-y— So  much  the  better.  But  as  you 
love  me,  let  me  know  the  whole  of  this  aflEair, 


CICERO'S 


1  This  Plancus  was  employed  to  divide  some  lands  in  Buthro- 
tum to  the  veterans,  and  our  author  had  applied  to  him  ia  fa- 
vour of  the  Buthrotians. 


ssaa 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO 


s 
•l-«* 


ATTICUS. 


BOOK  XVI. 


EPISTLE  I. 

1  ESTERDAY  being  the  7th,  I  arrived  at  my 
house  at  Puteoli,  and  I  write  this  as  I  am 
setting  out  to  visit  Brutus  at  Nesis\  But  while 
I  was  at  supper  on  the  day  I  arrived  at  Pute- 
oli, I  received  your  letter  from  Eros.— What  on 
the  nones  of  July ^ !  I  heartily  wish  that  ven- 
geance 

1  This  was  a  small  island  near  Puteoli^  where  the  younger 
LucuUus  had  a  country-house. 

*  The  anti-republicanParty  had  prevailed  so  far,  that  they 
got  the  name  of  the  month  Quintilis  changed  into  that  of  July, 
which  it  retains  to  this  day,  and  the  advertisement  of  Brutus's 
plays  which  were  cejsi)rated  in  his  absence,  intimated  that  they 
were  to  be  performed  the  7th  of  July  instead  of  the  7th  of 
Quintilis. 


A! 


im 


320 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


geance   may  overtake  them.     But  if  every  morti- 
fication should  trouble  us,  we  must  be  troubled 
every  moment.     And  yet — ^\Vhat  can  be   more 
scandalous  than  for  the  title  July  to  be  authorized 
by  Brutus?     Well,  I  cannot  help   saying  again, 
never  did  I  know   any  thing  so  shameful.     But  I 
beg  you  would  let  me  know  whether  there  be  any 
truth  in  the   report  that  the  land-jobbers  were 
routed   at  Buthrotum.     Nay,    I  am  told,    that 
Plancus  stopt  neither  night  nor  day,  in  his  flight. 
If  it  is  so,  I  beg  earnestly  you  would  inform  me. 
I  rejoice  that  myjourney  meets  with  approba- 
tion.    It  cannot  be  surprising,   that  the  Dymae- 
ans '  infest  the  seas,  now   that  they   are   driven 
from  their  possessions.     Perhaps,   it  would  be 
right  in  me  not  to  embark.     If  I  do,    it  will  be 
most  safe  for  me  to  sail  along  with  Brutus.     But 
if  I  mistake  not,  his  ships  are  very  small.     I  will, 
however,  inform   myself,   and  let  you  know  to- 
morrow.    I  take  the  report  about  Ventidius  to  be 
the  effect  of  terror.     It  is  confidently  affirmed, 
that  Sextus  Pompeius  has  surrendered.     If  tliis 
proves  true,  I  perceive  that  we  must  be  slaves, 
without  having  so  much  as  a  struggle  for  our  li- 
berty.    How  so,  you  will  say  ?     Is  nothing  to  be 
hoped  from  Pansa  and  his  colleague  on  the  first 

of 

1  They  formerly  were  pirates,  and  they  had  been  settled  by 
Pompey  at  Dymae,  a  town  in  Achaia,  but  were  now  turned  out 
of  tlieir  possessions  by  Caear. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


S  ■! 


of  January.      Their  boast  is  vain  as  the   froth 
which  crowns  their  cups  or  the  dreams  which  they 
indulge  asleep  ^     That  the  two  hundred  and  ten 
thousand  sesterces  will  come  very  conveniently  for 
defi-aying  the  expences  of  my  son.     For  Ovius  is 
lately  come  from  him,   and  amongst  many  other 
agreeable  accounts,  he  lets  me  know,  that  my  son 
has  charged  him  to   tell   me,    that  seventy-two 
thousand  sesterces  a  year  will  do  more  than  defray 
his  expence.     He  says  that  Xeno  furnishes  him 
sparingly,  and  with  very  little  at  a  time.  The  money^ 
you   lent  him  above  the  rent  of  that  estate,  mus 
be  put  to  the  first  year's  account,  winch  compre- 
hends the  charges  of  his  journey;  and  after  the 
1st  of  April,  his  allowance  must  be  eighty  thou- 
sand a  year,  which  is  the  present  rent  of  my  es- 
tate in  the  city.     I  must  see  what  separate  main- 
tenance I  can  allow  him  when  he  comes  to  Rome> 
for  I  do  not  suppose  that  I  shall  be  able  to  bear 
with  his  proposed  mother-in-law^.     I  have  refu- 
sed Pindarus  the  farmer  of  the  revenue  in  positive 
terms. 

Now 


*  Our  author,  as  we  have  already  seen  had  no  very  good  opi- 
nion, and  his  brother  a  far  worse  ofHirtius  and  Pansa,  who 
were  consuls  elect  for  the  next  year. 

«  All  this  is  private  history,  and  the  particulars  are  not  now 
to  be  recovered.  Only  k  is  probable,  that  our  author  had  a 
wife  in  his  eye  for  his  son. 

Vol.  III.  Y 


S£2 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


Now  you  must  understand  the  reason  why  I 
sent  this  express.     Our  nephew  promises  to   be- 
have like  another  Cato,  and  both  he  and  his  father 
have  been  soliciting  me  to  answer  to  you  for  his 
good  behaviour,  but  upon  condition,  that  you  are 
not  to  trust  him  till  you  try  him.     I  shall    give 
him  a  letter  to  you  in  conformity  to  his  request, 
but  you  are  not  to  mind  it,  and  I  have  sent  you 
.  this  lest  you  should  think  that  he  has  been  able 
to  make  any  impression  upon  me.  *   May  heavens 
grant  him  to  perform  what  he   promises,  which 
will  give  joy  to  us  all !     But  I  will  say  nothing 
farther  to  you.     He  leaves  this  place  on  the  9th, 
that  he  may,  as  he  says,  on  the  15  th  pay  some 
money,  which    is  demanded  of  him  with  great 
earnestness.     By  what  I  now  write,  you  will  be 
able  to  judge  how  you  ought  to  answer  my  letter. 
I  will  write  you  farther  by  Eros  when  I  see  Bru- 
tus.    I  am  satisfied  with  the  apology  of  Attica, 
who  is  very  dear  to  me,  and  I  offer  my  compli- 
ments to  her  and  your  wife. 


EPISTLE  II. 

On  the  10th  I  received  two  letters  from  you, 

one  by  my  own  letter-carrier,   and  another    by 

that  of  Brutus.     You  give  us  an  account  of  the 

Buthrotians,  very  different  from  what  we  had  in 

this  country.     But  we  must  put  up  with  that  as 

well 


TO  ATTICUS. 


82S 


Well  as  with  many  other  things.  I  have  sent 
back  Eros  sooner  than  1  intended,  both  that  I 
might  have  somebody  to  pay  Hortensius,  and  be- 
cause he  says,  that  he  appointed  to  pay  the  mo- 
ney to  the  commissioners  of  the  treasury  on  the 
15th  \  As  to  Hortensius,  his  demands  are  very 
impudent.  For  there  is  nothing  due  to  him  but 
from  the  third  payment,  which  is  to  be  made  on 
the  1st  of  August,  and  most  of  that  payment  has 
been  made  before  it  became  due.  With  regard 
to  Publilius,  I  think,  the  draft  I  am  to  give 
him  will  be  answered  upon  sight,  as  soon  as  it 
becomes  due^  But  when  you  see  how  much 
I  have  given  up  of  my  own  right,  when  of  three 
thousand  pounds  which  was  due  to  him,  I  paid 
four  hundred  thousand  sesterces  in  ready  money, 
and  am  to  give  him  drafts  for  the  rest,  you  may 
endeavour,  if  you  think  proper,  to  prevail  with 
him  to  accept  of  such  a  time  for  the  payment  of 

those 


*  Orig.  Equitihus.  We  are  in  the  dark,  as  to  this  passage. 
These  equites  were  the  monied  men  of  Rome,  and  possibly 
Publilius,  or  some  of  Cicero's  creditors,  had  given  them  a 
draft  upon  him. 

2  I  have  translated  this  very  differently  from  Monsieur  Mon- 
gault.  It  appears  to  me,  as  if  one  half  of  the  money,  here  men- 
tioned, had  been  paid  in  cash,  which  Cicero  was  not  obliged 
strictly  to  have  done,  and  that  he  was  to  have  given  drafts 
or  assignments  for  the  remainder.  And  all  the  favour  he  asked 
of  Publilius  was,  that  he  might  not  be  obliged  to  give  them  for 
too  short  a  time. 

Y2 


324 


CIGfeRO'S  EPISTLES 


Uiose  drafts,  as  may  suit  my  conveniency,  especi- 
ally as  I  have  given  up  so  much  of  what  I  might 
have  insisted  upon  by  law.  But  my  dear,  dear 
Atticus,  you  see  how  I  can  coax  when  I  have  an 
end  to  answer.  I  beg,  while  you  are  at  Rome,  that 
you  will  manage,  direct  and  govern  all  my  af- 
fairs without  my  being  concerned  in  them  in  the 
least.  For  though  in  the  main,  my  other  funds 
linswer  pretty  exactly  \  yet  it  often  happens,  that 
ones  debtors  are  not  so  punctual.  Should  any 
thing  of  diis  kind  happen,  let  my  credit  be  your 
first  and  only  consideration.  You  are  not  only 
to  borrow  money,  but  to  sell  my  effects  to  sup- 
port it,  should  there  be  occasion. 

Brutus  was  greatly  delighted  with  your  letter. 
For  soon  after  I  received  it,  I  spent  several  hours 
with  him  at  Nesis.  He  seemed  quite  pleased 
with  Tereus^  and  exprest  himself  to  be  more 
obliged  to  Accius,  the  author  of  the  piece,  than 
to  Antony,  the  president  at  the  play.  Now,  my 
opinion  is,  that  the  more  public  joy  that  is  ex- 
pressed 


*  I  have  likewise  differed  from  Monsieur  Mongault  in  the 
meaning  of  this  passage.  The  original  is,  Quamquam  enim 
reliqua  satis  apta  sunt  ad  solvendum ;  tamen  fit  scepe,  ut  it  qui 
debent  non  respondeant  ad  tqmpus.  Which  he  translates,  Jc 
laisse  assez  de  funds;  mais  comme  mes  detiteurs  pourroient  ne 
pas  payer  exactemerit,  ,  ^  ,^_  ^ « 

~  iThis  was  a  play  composed  oy  Accius  Naevius,  exhibited  at 
Brutus's  shows,  in  which  many  strokes  against  tyranny  were 
greatly  applauded  by  the  people. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


325 


pressed,  the  greater  ought  to  be  our  indignation 
and  grief,  that  the  Roman  people  should  employ 
their  hands  in  applauding  theatrical  exhibitions 
rather  than  in  defending  their  country.  The^r, 
applauses,  I  imagine,  will  b^ye  the  effect  of  pro- 
voking our  enemies  to  hasten  the  execution  oi 
their  villainous  measures.  But  let  them  grieve,  it 
matters  not  from  what  cause,  provided  they 
have  cause  to  grieve. 

I  am  pleased  with  your  telling  me,  that  my  re- 
solution is  approved  ofevery  day  more  and  more^^ 
ar^d  I  am  impatient  to  hear  farther  from  you  ou. 
that  subject,  for  1  have  heard  various  opinions, 
respecting  it.  This  was  the  reason  why  I  was  so 
long  in  coming  to  any  final  resolutipii.  Bu.t  as  I 
am  now  in  a  manner  goaded  out  of  Itajy,!  think 
of  embarking  at  Brundusium ;  for  it  would  be 
both  more  easy  and  more  practicable  for  me  to 
avoid  the  enemy  s  troops,  than  the  pirates  who 
are  said  to  infest  those  coasts.  This  day  1  look 
for  Sestius,  but  I  do  not  yet  hear  of  his  arrival. 
Cassius  is  here  with  his  little  squadron.  After  I 
have  seen  him  to-morrow  I  intead  to  go  to  Pom 
peii,  and  then  to  Aculanum.     You  know  the  rest 

of  my  rout. 

I  am  not  disappointed  in  what  you  tell  me  of 
Tutia.  I  am  as  easy  as  you  are  about  that  affair 
of  iEbutius,  to  which,  I  give  no  credit.  1  have 
(only  because  you  desired  me)  written  to  Plan- 
cus  and  Oppius.  Perhaps,  when  you  have  read  my 

letter 


326 


CICERO'S    EPISTLES 


letter  to  them,  you  will  not  think  it  necessary  to 
deliver  it     For  as  all  they  have  done  is  done  on  ' 
your  account  \  lam  afraid,    they  will   think  my 
letter  unnecessary;  at  least,  it  may  appear  so  to 
Oppius,  Mhom  I  know  to  be  your  intimate  friend. 
But  you  are  to  do  in  that  as  you  think   proper. 
You  give  me   great  pleasure    by  informing  me, 
thatyouare  to  pass  the  winter  inEpirus,  provided 
you  are  there  before  the  time  which  you  yourself 
have  prescribed  for  my  returning  to  Italy.  Write 
to  me  as  often  as  you   can ;  when  you  have  no- 
thing of  importance  to  write,  you  may  trust  your 
letter  to  any   accidental  conveyance;  but  send 
me  every  thing  that  is  of  importance  express  by 
one  of  my  domestics.     If  I  arrive  safe   at  Brun- 
dusium^  the  work  projected  on  the  plan  of  Hera- 

clides, 

*  I  again  differ  with  Monsieur  Mongault  in  his  translaiioa 
of  this  passage.  The  original  is.  Cum.  enim  tua  caussafecerint 
omnia,  which  he  translates,  Comme  ils  ontfait  pour  vous  tout 
ce  que  vous  souhaiiez, 

2  I  read  the  original  >vith  Monsieur  Mongault,  Sed  noientur 
edogarii  quos  (viz,  eclogarios  -J  but  I  differ  with  him  in  trans- 
lating, eclogarii;  les  plus  beaux  endroits.  Neither  he,  nor  any 
of  the  numerous  commentators  upon  this  passage  have  reflect- 
ed, that  it  appears  by  the  end  of  the  14th  epistle  of  the  preceding 
book,  that  it  wascustomar)'  with  Atticus  to  mark  the  exception- 
able passages  of  our  author's  compositions  with  a  red  pencil, 
and  I  can  see  no  absurdity  in  applying  that  passage  to  this  one, 
since  the  works  mentioned  in  both  are  the  same,  nor  in  sup- 
posing our  author  to  desire  his  friend  to  take  the  sense  of  any 
favourable  company,  who  might  be  at  his  house,  upon  thosQ 
passages. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


327 


elides,  I  will  soon  begin.  I  have  sent  you  my 
treatise  concerning  glory.  You  will  therefore, 
bestow  upon  it  the  care  which  you  usually  do 
on  my  other  compositions.  But  let  the  excep»*> 
tionabte  passages  be  marked,  and  when  you  have 
,  got  in  company  suitable  auditors,  Servius  may 
read  them,  but  only  while  they  are  exhilarated 
with  wine.  I  am  greatly  delighted  with  them: 
myself,  but  I  rather  wish  you  were  so.  Aglin 
and  again,  farewel. 


EPISTLE  III. 


Bl  W 


1  COME  at  last  to  answer  your  letter ;  and  you 
must  know  that  I  think  you  have  acted  wisely  in 
meeting  with  Antony  at  Tibur,  in  seeming  t6 
agree  with  all  his  measures,  and  even  returning 
him  your  thanks ;  for  your  observation  is  just;^ 
that  we  must  forfeit  our  liberty  sooner  than  our 
property.  Your  telling  me  that  you  are  more 
and  more  in  love  with  my  Treatise*  upon  Old  Age, 
inspires  me  with  additional  ardour  to-  write 
You  say,  that  you  hope  Eros  will  not  cbme 
without  some  small  present,  and  1  am  glad  that 
you  have  not  been  disappointed  in  that  respect 
Meanwhile,  the  work  I  have  sent  you  is  the  same 

you 

1  Orig,  0  Tite  si  quid  ego.    These  are  the  first  words  of 
that  treatise. 


4, 


3S8 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


you  saw  before,  but  more  correct,  and.  I  send 
you  the  original  copy  corrected  and  improved  in 
many  passages.  When  you  have  got  it  hand- 
somely transcribed,  you  may  read  it  in  private 
to  your  guests;  hut  as  you  love  me,  put  them  in 
good  humour,  by  a  liberal  entertainment,  lest 
they  discharge  all  their  spleen  at  you  in  ill  nature 

against  me. 

I  hope  the  accounts  I  have  of  my  son  are  true; 
I  will  know  all  about  that  affair  of  Xeno,  when 
I  am  upon  the  spot ;  meanwhile,  I  cannot  think 
he  has  acted  either  indolently  or  unhandsomely. 
I  will  take  your  advice  concerning  Herodes;  and 
I  shall  inform  myself  of  what  you  mention,  by 
Saufeius  and  Xeno.  I  aqa  glad  that  you  received 
the  letter  about  our  nephew,  which  I  sent  yo^ 
\^y  the  express,  sooner  than  that  which  I  sent 
you  by  himself. ---You  would  not,  however,  hav^ 
been  imposed  qpon — but  it  is  as  well  as  it  is. — 
I  long  to  knoiy  .what  he  s^aid  to  you,  and  you  to 
him. — Both  of  you,  I  suppose,  went  on  in  your  old 
way.  But  I  am  in  hopes  to  receive  an  account 
of  that  in  the  letter  \  am  to  get  by  Curius,  who 
though  be  is  in  himself  amiable  and  dear  to  me, 
is  become  doubly  so,  through  your  recprnm^A^a- 
tion. — So  much  in  answer  to  your  letter* 

I  am  now  tp  acquaint  you  with  what  I  am  sen- 
sible is  unnecessary  for  me  to  write,  yet  write  it 
I  must.  I  am  shocked  with  a  great  many  cir- 
cumstances in  my  leaving  Italy ;  and  indeed,  the 

chief 


TO  ATTICUS. 


S29 


chief  is,  my  being  separated  from  you.     I  dread 
likewise  the  fatigues  of  the  voyage,  which  become 
neither  my  age  nor  dignity,  and  the  unfavour- 
able crisis,  in  which  I  am  to  set  out.     I  leave  my 
country  in  peace,  to  return  to  it  in  war ;  and  I 
spend,   in   rambling  abroad,  the   time   I  might 
spend  in  my  retired  villas,  which  are  elegantly 
built,  and  delightfully  situated.— But  on  the  other 
hand,  I  comfort  myself  with  the  thoughts  that  I 
shall    eitlier  be   of  service  to  my  son,    or    he 
able  to  judge  how  far  he  is  capable  of  improve- 
ment; and  in  the  next  place,  with  the  hopes  of 
seeing  you  according  to  your  promise.     Should, 
that  happen,  I  shall  think  that  every  thing  goes 
well  with  me. 

But  above  all  things  I  am  vexed  with  the 
thoughts  of  the  debt  I  leave  behind  me;  for 
though  I  have  settled  the  funds  for  discharging 
it,  yet  the  money  owing  to  me  by  Dolabella, 
makes  part  of  it,  and  I  feel  so  uneasy  on  my  being 
unacquainted  with  the  circumstances  of  those  on 
whom  he  has  given  me  assignments,  that  this, 
beyond  my  other  concerns,  gives  me  pain.  It 
was  I  think  not  amiss  in  me  to  write  in  plain  t^ms 
to  Balbus,  desiring  him  to  assist  me  in  case  it 
should  happen  that  those  assignments  should  not 
answer;  and  I  have  likewise  begged  the  favour  of 
you  to  speak  to  him,  if  any  such  thing  should 
happen ;  you  will  therefore,  if  you  please,  talk 

to 


330 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


to  him,  especially   as   you  are  to  set  out  for 
Epirus. 

I  write  this  as  I  am  preparing  to  embark  at 
Pompeii,  in  three  ten-oared  gallies.  Brutus  is 
still  at  Nesis  and  Cassius  at  Naples.  If  you  are 
in  love  with  Dejotarus,  are  you  not  so  with 
Hieras^  likewise,  whoever  since  Blaesami  us  waited 
upon  me,  has  neither  spoken  to  our  friend  Sextus, 
nor  to  any  of  us,  though  he  had  express  orders 
to  do  nothing  but  by  his  advice. — I  feel  desirous, 
though  at  this  distance,  to  caress"  my  Attica,  so 
dearly  do  1  value  the  compliments  she  sent  me 
in  your  letter.  You  will  therefore  return  her 
many  acknowledgments  on  my  part,  and  the  same 
to  Pilia. 


EPISTLI 


1  This  is  ironical,  and  alludes  to  a  contract  which  this  Hieras 
and  Blaesamius,  who  were  agents  for.Dejotartis,  had  made  in 
the  name  of  their  master  for  a  large  sum  of  money  he  was  to 
pay  to  Antony  upon  his  restoring  to  him  the  lesser  Armeniae, 
which  had  been  taken  from  him  by  Caesar. 

*  Orig.  Suaviare,  which  being  a  childish  word,  I  have  trans- 
lated it  accordingly  j  nor  is  there  any  absurdity  in  those  two 
great  men,  Atticus  and  our  author,  adopting  the  language  of 
fondness  upon  such  an  occasion. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


831 


h 


EPISTLE  IV. 

A.S  I  told  you  yesterday,  or  perhaps  not  till  to- 
day, (for  our  nephew  said  he  would  be  two  days 
upon  the  road)  I  was  at  Nesis  on  the  8th,  where 
I  saw  Brutus.  What  pain  did  the  nones  of  July 
give  him !  It  was  amazing  to  see  how  much  he  was 
shocked.  He  therefore  told  me  he  would  dispatch" 
an  order  to  Rome,  that  the  advertisement  of  thS 
hunting  diversions,  which  were  to  be  exhibited 
the  day  after  the  Apolinarian  games,  should  be 
deferred  to  the  12th  of  Quintilis.  While  I  was 
there  Libo  arrived,  and  told  us  that  Philos  Pom- 
pey,  and  Hilarius,  his  own  freedman,  were  ar- 
rived with  a  letter  from  Sextus  Pompeius  to  the 
consuls,  if  indeed  they  deserve  that  name^;  and 
he  read  to  us  a  copy  of  it,  upon  which  I  gave 
my  opinion.  There  were  some  inaccuracies  in  the 
style,  but  in  other  respects,  it  was  written  with 
much  propriety  and  moderation :  I  only  recom- 
mended that  as  the  letter  was  addressed  to  the 
consuls  only,  the  superscription  should  be  added, 
"  To  the  prsetors,  tribunes  of  the  commons,  and 
the  senate,"  for  fear  the  consuls  should  not  pub- 
lish a  letter  which  was  directed  to  them  alone. 

Now 


»  Because  they  were  not  duly  chosen,  but  nominated  by 
Caesar. 


S33 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


Now,  they  told  us  that  Sextus  Pompeius  had 
been  atCarthage  with  a  single  legion,  and  that  he 
received  the  news  of  Osaf  s  death  the  very  day 
on  which  he  took  Borea ;  that  when  the  city  was 
taken  the  news  occasioned  wonderful  rejoicings, 
9  general  change  in  the  public  sentiments,  and  a 
resort  to  him  from  all  quarters,  but  that  he  him- 
self was  returned  to  join  the  six  legions  which  he 
had  left  in  the  farther  Spain.  He  had  howevei; 
acquainted  Libo  by  a  letter  that  he  would  hear 
of  no  terms  unless  his  own  pa,lace  was  restored 
to  him.  The  whole  of  his  proposals  consisted  in 
bis  demanding,  that  all  the  generals  who  at  pre- 
sent command  the  armies,  in  whatever  quarters 
they  reside,  should  resign  their  commands.  This 
is  all  I  thi  ik  tiicit  I  have  learnt  of  Sextus. 

I  endeavoured,  but  without  effect,  to  gain 
some  information  respecting  the  Buthrotians. 
Some  say  that  the  land-hunters  are  routed. — 
Others  that  Plancus  has  run  away  from  them, 
after  receiving  a  sum  of  money.  I  am  conse- 
quently apprehensive  that  I  must  remain  igno- 
rant how  that  matter  stands,  unless  I  very  soon 
get  a  letter.  My  journey  to  Brundusium,  of 
which  I  had  some  doubts,  seems  now  to  be  quite 
stopt,  for  I  am  told  that  Antony's  troops  are 
upon  their  march  that  way.  As  to  the  voyage 
from  hence,  it  will  be  dangerous  to  sail  alone, 
and  I  will  therefore  sail  in  company  with  others. 
I  perceive  Brutus  is  in  more  forwardness  for  his 

departure 


TO  ATTICUS. 


935 


departure  than  I  heard  of.  For  Domitius  has 
with  him  a  good  squadron,  and  the  vessels  of 
Sestius  Lucilianus,  and  others  are  in  very  good 
condition.  As  to  Cassius's  fleet,  which  is  mdeed 
a  fine  one,  it  can  be  of  no  service  to  me  beyond 
the  Strcights  of  Sicily.  I  am  vexed  that  Brutus 
seems  not  at  all  disposed  to  hasten  his  vovage. 
In  the  first  place  he  will  wait,  till  he  hears  tha^ 
his  exhibitions  at  Rome  are  finished.  In  the 
next  pkce,  so  far  as  I  understand,  he  will  sail 
very  slowly,  and  stop  at  a  great  many  places. 
But  I  think  it  is  better  to  sail  slowly,  than  not  to 
sail  at  all.  And  yet,  after  I  have  set  out,  I  shall 
be  more  able  to  determine  how  I  am  to  act.  We 
shall  have  the  Etesian  winds. 


EPISTLE  V. 


/ 


IJRUTUS  is  now  looking  out  for  a  letter  from 
you,  and  I  gave  him  the  first  news  of  the  success 
of  Attius's  Tereus.  He  thought  that  a  play  en- 
titled Brutus  hjid  been  acted.  But  it  was  sene- 
rally  expected,  that  an  entertainment,  represented 
in  imitation  of  the  Greeks,  would  not  attract 
a  crouded  audience.  This  was  no  more  than  I 
apprehended,  for  you  know  what  opinion  I  have 
t)f  Greek  piays. 

Now  I  must  inform  you  of  a  circumstance  more 
interesting  to  us  than  any  thing  else  can  be.     Our 

nephew^ 


334 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


nephew  has  been  with  me  for  several  days,  and 
had  I  desired  it,  he  would  have  been  longer ;  but, 
so  long  as  he  staid,  you  cannot  imagine  how  much 
1  was  charmed  with  him  in  every  respect,  espe- 
cially upon   thti  point  of  which   we  were  most 
doubtful.     His  sentiments  are  entirely  changed 
by  the  works  which  I   was  then  composing ;  by 
the  repeated  conversation,  and  the  rules  I  laid 
down  to  him,  so  that  for  the  future,  his  conduct 
in    public    matters  will  be    regulated   by  your 
wishes.     He  did  not  merely  assure,  but  he  con- 
vinced me,  of  this,  and  he  was  extremely  earnest 
with  me  to  undertake  for  him  to  you,  that  he 
would  yet  do  credit  to  us  all.     Meanwhile,  he 
does  not  desire  to  be  trusted  at  first  sight,  but 
that,  upon  proving  hiin,  you  will  give  him  your 
affection. 

Had  I  not  been  thoroughly  convinced,  had  I 
not  been  entirely  satisfied,  that  he  will  perse- 
vere, I  would  not  have  taken  the  step  I  am  now 
to  acquaint  you  of.     You  must  know,   1  carried 
the  young  man  to   Brutus,   who   was   so   con- 
vinced of  his  sincerity,  was  so  persuaded  of  the 
truth  of  what  I  wTite,   that  he  declined  to  take 
me    as    a    security    for    his    future  behaviour. 
Brutus,  amidst  the  caresses  he  bestowed  upon 
liim,    mentioned  you   most  affectionately,    and 
at  parting  embraced  him  with  tenderness.     For 
this  reason,  though  it  would  be  more  proper  for 
me  to  compliment,  than  to  entreat  you,  yet  en- 
treat you  I  do,  that  if  hitherto,  through  his  un- 
experienced 


TO  ATTICUS. 


335 


experienced  age,  his  character  has  been  too  much 
marked  by  levities  and  inconsistencies,  you  will 
now  look  upon  him  as  thoroughly  reformed, 
and  be  assured,  that  your  authority  will  greatly, 
if  not  effectually,  contribute  towards  fixing  him 
in  his  present  honourable  sentiments. 

I  took  many  opportunities  to  mention  to  Brutus 
my  wish  to  sail  along  with  him,  but  he  did  not 
seem  so  desirous  of  it  as  I  imagined  he  would  be. 
I  believe  he  was  somewhat  undetermined,    and 
90,  indeed,    he  was,  chiefly  on  account  of  his 
plays.     But  upon  returning  to  my  house,  Cnaeus 
Lucceius,  who  is  very  intimate  with  Brutus,  told 
me,  he  was  very  dilatory,  not  that  he  had  changed 
his  resolution,  but  that  he  was  still  waiting  to  see 
what  might  happen.      For  this  reason,  I  am  in 
some  doubt  whether!  shall  go  to  Venusia,  and 
there  wait  the  movements  of  Antony's  troops, 
and  if,  as  some  people  think,  they  are  not  to 
march  that  way,  I  will  go  to  Hydruntum.     But 
if  I  am  safe  neither  way,  I  will  return  hither. 
You,  perhaps,  think  I  am  not  serious,  but  may 
I  perish,  if  any  thing  detains  me  but  yourself. 
Well   may  you  avert  your  face,*   for  indeed,  I 
blush  at  what  I  say.      How   aptly  has  Lepidus 
appointed  th^  days  for  examining  the  auspices, 
and  how  exactly  do  they  coincide  with  the  time 
when  I  propose  to  return.     I  am  greatly  encou- 
raged by  your  letter  to  be  gone.     I  wish  I  could 
see  you  there.  But  let  that  be  as  is  most  convenient 
for  you.  I  expect 


336 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


537 


I  expect  a  letter  from  Nepos.  What!  is  he 
who  thinks  that  manner  of  writing,  in  which  I 
chiefly  pride,  not  fit  to  be  read,  become  so  very 
fond  of  my  <vritings  ?  You  say,  that  he  is  next 
to  the  chief  of  all  writers.  Permit  me  to  return 
the  compliment,  and  say,  that,  as  Nircus  was 
second  to  Achilles  in  beauty,  so  you  come  next 
to  Nepos  in  the  most  finished  graces  of  compo- 
sition \  There  is  no  collection  of  my  letters. 
But  Tyro  has  about  seventy  of  them,  and  you 
can  furnish  some  more.  I  must  look  over,  and 
correct  them,  and  then  tiiey  may  be  published. 


EPISTLE  VI. 

I  AM  now  come  to  Sica's  house  at  Vibo;  after 
a  voyage  less  expeditious  than  pleasant,  for  as 
the  season-winds  did  not  blow,  we  were  obliged, 
for  the  most  part,  to  ply  our  oars.  It  happened 
luckily  enough,  that  of  the  two  bays,  that  of 
Psestum,    and  that  of  Vibo,  which  we  were  to 

pass 

1  The  spirit  of  this  passage  only  can  be  expressed  in  tolera- 
ble Englsh.  The  original  is  as  follows:  Cupidus  iUemeorum, 
qui  ea,  quilus  maxime  yav^iou,  legenda  non  putet?  Et  ais,  f/^r 
aixvfjioyx,  TuveroafAVfAu)^:  ille  quid&tn  ayi^qoros.  Our  author 
alludes  to  the  following  lines  of  Hoiti^r, 

"St^ivSf  OS  x9i?vX/r''S  <*Mjf  viro  IX/o»  riKfit 

The  Nepos  meant  was  Cornelius,  the  historian. 


|5as^,  we  had  the  wind  full  in  our  backs  in  both. 
I  therefore  came,  upon  the  eighth  day  of  my 
Voyage,  firom  Pompeii  to  Sica's  house,  after  stop- 
ping one  day  at  Velia,  where  I  have  been  often 
so  agreeably  entertained  by  our  friend  Thalna; 
and  indeed,  considering  that  he  was  from  home. 
I  could  not  have  been  treated  more  politely. 
Upon  the  a4th,  I  came  to  Sica's  house,  where  I 
live  as  if  I  were  at  my  own ;  I  have,  therefore, 
spent  another  day  here*  But  when  I  shall  arrive 
at  Rhegium,  before  I  venture  upon  the  long  seas, 
I  must  consider,  whether  I  ought  to  go  to  Patres 
in  a  transport  vessel,  or  in  my  light  gallie^  di- 
rectly to  Leucopetra  of  Tarentum,  and  from 
thence  to  Corcyra ;  and  if  I  make  use  of  a  trans- 
port vessel,  whether  I  shall  not  sail  directly  to 
Greece,  or  first  to  Syracuse.  When  I  arrive  at 
Rhegium,  I  will  write  to  you  how  I  proceed. 

But,  indeed,  my  dearest  Atticus,  I  often  put  the 
question.  Of  what  avail  will  this  voyage  prove  to 
me  ?  Why  am  I  not  with  my  Atticus  ?  Why 
lose  the  sight  of  my  lovely  villas,  the  most  beauti- 
ful in  all  Italy? — But  enough  and  too  much  of  this. 
— ^Why,  my  Atticus,  am  I  not  with  thee  ?  What 
do  I  fly  ?  Danger.  If  I  mistake  not  the  danger 
is  at  present  over.  But  I  must  encounter  it^ 
when  I  return  by  your  advice;  because  you  write 
me,  that  the  public  approves  of  my  voyage,  pro- 
vided I  return  by  the  first  of  January,  as  I  most 
certainly  shall  endeavour  to   do;   for  I  would 

Vol.  IIL  Z  prefer 


338 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


859 


prefer  danger  at  Rome,  to  safety  at  your  be- 
loved Athens.  Meanwhile,  be  you  upon  the 
watch  till  we  see  what  turn  affairs  will  take;  and 
either  write  to  me,  or  let  me  see  you  in  person, 
which  would  give  me  much  greater  joy.  But 
enough  upon  this  subject 

I  hope  you  will  not  take  it  amiss,  that  I  recom- 
mend once  more  to  you  what  1  know  you  have 
more  at  heart  than  I  have  myself.     I  solemnly 
conjure  you  to  settle  and  pay  off  my  debts.     I 
have  left  you  ample  resources,  but  they  must  be 
carefully  looked  after,  so  as  that  the  coheirs  of 
Cluvius  may  be  paid  for  that  house  by  the  first 
of  Sextilis.     You  will  take  care  to  settle  with 
Publilius.     As  I  have  taken  no  advantage  of  the 
law,  he  ought  not  to  press  me  too  much,  but  I 
am  very  desirous  that  he  should  be  made  quite 
•asy.     What  shall  I  say  to  you  in  regard  to  Te- 
rentia  ?     Let  her,  if  possible,  be  paid,  even  be- 
fore what  I  owe  her  becomes  due.     If,  as  I  hope 
you  are,  you  are  soon  to  be  in  Epirus,  I  beg  that 
you  will  make  provision  for  the  debt  for  which  I 
stand  engaged,  nay,  that  you  will  settle  and  pay 
it  off  before  you  leave  Italy.     But  enough,  and  I 
am  afraid  you  will  think,  too  much  of  these 

HiEittcrs*  ' 

1  am  now  to  give  you  an  instance  of  my  heed- 
lessness. I  have  sent  you  my  Treatise  upon 
Ciory,  but  I  have  prefixed  to  it  tlie  introduction 
to  my  third  Academic  ;  which  happened  through 

iny 


my  having  by  me  a  collection  of  introductions, 
from  which  I  make  choice  of  one  when  I  set 
about  any  work.  Therefore,  while  I  was  at  Tus- 
culanum,  forgetting  that  I  had  already  made  use 
of  that  introduction,  I  prefixed  it  to  the  book  I 
sent  to  you;  but  as  I  was  perusing  my  Academics^ 
while  I  was  on  ship-board,  I  perceived  my  mis- 
take. I  therefore,  instantly  scribbled  out  a  new 
introduction,  which  I  have  sent  to  you,  and  which 
you  may  prefix  in  the  room  of  the  other*  My 
compliments  to  Pilia,  and  to  my  very  deafi 
charming  Attica. 


EPISTLE  VII. 

xxFTER  setting  sail  from  Leucopetra,  for  I  em- 
barked there  for  Greece  the  1 6th  of  Sextilis,  I  sailed 
about  thirty-six  miles,  and  I  was  then  forced  back 
to  Leucopetra  by  a  strong  south  wind.  While  I 
remained  there,  waiting  for  a  fair  wind,  I  was 
entertained  in  the  house  of  our  friend  Valerius, 
•with  pleasure  and  freedom*  Some  of  the  most 
distinguished  inhabitants  of  Rhegium  came  thi- 
ther directly  from  Rome,  and  amongst  them  the 
landlord  of  our  friend  Brutus,  whom  he  left  at 
Naples,  with  the  important  news  of  the  edict  of 
Brutus  and  Cassius,  and  that  there  would  be  a 
very  full  meeting  of  the  senate  the  first  of  Sep- 

ZS  temberj 


340    ♦  CICERO'S  EPISTLES 

tember ;  that  Brutus  and  Cassius  had  issued  let- 
ters to  all  the  members  of  the  consular  or  praj- 
torian  rank,  requiring  their  attendance  that  day; 
that  Antony,  it  was  generally  hoped,  would  sub- 
mit ;  that  matters  would  be  compromised ;  that 
our  friends  might  return  to  Rome ;  and  that  1  was 
wanted  and  blamed. 

Upon  this  news,  1  entirely  dropt  the  thoughts 
of  proceeding  any  farther  in  my  voyage,  in  which, 
indeed,  I  never  embarked  with  pleasure.     But 
upon  reading  your  letter,  I  own  I  was  astonished 
at  the  sudden  change  in  your  sentiments ;  though 
I  supposed,  that  you  had  your  reasons  for  what 
you  wrote.     For,  granting  that  you  did  not  per- 
suade, that  you  did  not  compel  me  to  undertake 
'    this  voyage,  you  certainly  approved  of  it,  upon 
condition  that  I  should  return  to  Rome  by  the 
first  of  January  ;  and  thus,  while  I  was  to  be  absent 
from  Rome  in  the  time  of  danger,  I  returned 
when  danger  blazed  with  the  greatest  fury.     But 
'that  measure,  though  not  quite  prudent,  is  not, 
however,  to  be  charged  entirely  upon  you.     In 
the  first  place,  because  it  was  the  result  of  my 
own  opinion ;  and  in  the  next,  because,  grautmg 
you  had  been  my  sole  adviser,   a  friend  is  an- 
swerable only  for  his  good  intention  in  the  ad- 

tvice  he  gives. 

I  cannot,  however,  sufficiently  wonder  at  ttie 
foUowing  passage  Of  your  letter;  "_  Return  then, 
you  say,  you  who  are  so  .jlesirous  of  a  glorious 


TO  ATTICUS. 


*   341 


death,  return,  for  why  should  you  abandon  your 
country?"  What!  did  I  abandon  her?  Were 
you  of  that  opinion  when  we  parted !  You, 
who  not  only  consented  to,  but  approved  of,  my 
departure.  You  go  on  in  a  still  more  reproach- 
ful strain,  "  I  wish,  you  say,  that  you  would 
draw  me  up  an  apology,  setting  forth  the  necessity 
of  your  conduct."  How,  my  Atticus,  can  my 
conduct  stand  in  need  of  an  apology,  especially 
to  you  who  so  cordially  recommend  it?  For  my 
own  part,  I  am  not  against  composing  such  an 
apology  to  those  who  opposed  and  dissuaded  my 
leaving  Italy. — Yet  after  all,  have  I  not  dropt 
that  design ;  then  what  occasion  have  I  to  apolo- 
gize ?  Perhaps  you  will  tell  me  that  my  drop- 
ping it  implies  fickleness  of  character.  But  let 
me  tell  you,  that  of  all  the  numerous  authors 
who  have  treated  that  subject,  no  man  of  sense 
has  affirmed  a  change  of  resolution  to  be  fickle- 
ness. 

You  then  proceed,  ''  Had  the  case  been  that 
of  our  friend  Phosdrus^  it  had  been  easy  to  have 
made  an  apology  for  him,  but  what  can  we  say 
as  the  case  is  your's  ?"  A  measure,  therefore, 
that  does  not  come  up  to  all  the  rigour  of  Sto- 
icism, must  be  flagitious  and  scandalous  because 
it  is  mine.  I  wish  that  had  ahvays  been  your 
way  of  thinking.     In  this  case,  as  in  all  others, 

I  would 

*  He  waii  an  Epicurean. 


X 


342  CICERO^  EPISTLES 

I  would  have  appealed  to  you  as  to  another 
Cato,  for  the  rectitude  of  my  conduct  But  your 
expression,  in  the  close  of  your  letter,  is  the  most 
stinging  of  alL  ''  For,  you  say,  our  friend  Bru- 
tus is  silent"  Meaning,  (for  1  can  find  no  other 
meaning  in  your  words)  that  he  does  not  pre* 
sume  to  give  advice  to  one  of  my  age,  and  I 
will  fairly  give  you  my  reasons  for  thinking  so. 

Brutus,  who  with  his  squadron  lay  at  the  mouth 
of  the  river  Heletes,  came  immediately  on  foot 
to  Velia,  which  is  about  three  miles,  as  soon  as 
be  understood  of  my  landing  there.     Immortal 
gods !  how  overjoyed  he  was  at  my  return,  or 
rather  at  my  detention.     He  then  gave  a  full  vent 
to  all  he  had  concealed  before,  which  puts  me 
in  mind  of  your  expression,  ''  For  our  friend 
Brutus  is  silent"    Above  all  things,  he  regretted 
my  being  absent  from  the  senate  the  1st  of  Sex- 
tilis-     He  extolled  Piso  to  the  skies,  and  expres- 
sed great  pleasure  in  my  having,  on  two  occa- 
sions, escaped  reproach.     The  chief  was  that,  by 
my  departure,  I  seemed  to  abandon  the  public, 
because  I  thought  the  commonwealth  desperate ; 
^nd  indeed,  many  with  tears  have  daily  pressed 
me  with  a  similar  charge,  whom  I  could  not  con- 
vince  of  my  returning  by  the   1st  of  January. 
Brutus,  and  all  his  company,  which  was  very  nu- 
merous,  expressed  themselves  to  be  highly  pleased 
that  I  had  escaped  the   second   subject  of  re- 
proach,  which  was  a  general  belief  that  I  was 

gone 


TO  ATTICUS. 


343 


gone  to  see  the  Olympian  games.  Had  this  be- 
lief been  well  grounded,  no  step  could,  at  any 
time,  have  been  more  reproachful,  but  at  this, 
it  would  have  been  quite  indefensible.  For  my 
part,  I  cannot  sufficiently  express  my  obligations 
to  the  wind  which  saved  me  from  such  a  load  of 

infamy. 

Such  are  the  political  reasons  which  I  offer  for 
my  return,  and  they  must  ba.xjwned  to  be  strong 
and  weighty.  But  no  reason  had  a  greater  weight 
than  what  you  hikt  at  in  knothcr  of  your  letters. 
"  If  you  owe  any  money,  you  say,  take  care  to 
have  sufficient  resources  for  paying  it,  for  tlie  ap- 
prehension of  public  commotion  is  so  strong, 
that  you  cannot  imagine  how  hard  it  is  to  borrow 
money."  I  read  this  letter  when  I  was  in  the 
midst  of  the  waves,  nor  could  I  possibly  conceive 
any  other  way  of  taking  the  care  you  recommend, 
but  by  managing  my  own  affairs  in  person.  But 
enough  of  this;  the  rest  when  we  meet 

Brutus  showed  me  Antony's  edict,  and  their 
answer  to  it,  which  I  think  is  very  finely  drawn 
up ;  but  I  own  myself  at  a  loss  to  conceive  what 
purpose  those  edicts  can  serve,  or  what  is  their 
meaning;  nor  do  I  intend,  as  Brutus  supposed, 
by  thus  returning,  to  take  any  lead  in  public 
matters.  For  what  can  I,  or  any  man  do  ?  Shew 
me  the  senator  who  supported  Piso?  Did  he  re- 
turn to  the  senate  next  day  ?  But  I  am  told,  that 

at 


.¥- 


344 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


at  my  years,  a  man  is  not  at  liberty  to  go  far  out 
of  the  road  to  his  grave. 

But  what,  I  pray  you,  is  in  the  news  I  had  from 
Brutus,  who  told  me  that  your  wife  was  afflicted 
witha  paralytic  disorder,  and  he  delivered  your  let- 
ter to  him  for  his  authority  ?  This  gave  mc  sensible 
concern,  though  Brutus,  at  the  same  time,  told 
me,  you  expressed  in  your  letter  a  hope  that  she 
was  recovering.  Pray  express  to  her  my  sincerest 
wishes  for  her  recovery,  and  for  the  welfare  of 
my  dearest  Attica.  I  write  thi^the  19th  on  ship- 
board, as  I  approach  near  to  Pompeii. 


JIPISTLE  Vlir. 

1  WILL  let  you  know  the  day  of  my  proposed 
arrival  in  Rome,  when  I  know  it  myself.  I  must 
wait  for  my  heavy  baggage  which  is  coming  from 
Anagnia,  and  my  domestics  are  sea-sick.  Tl?e 
first  of  this  month  in  the  evening,  I  had  a  letter 
from  Octavianus,  who  has  in  contemplation 
mighty  projects.  It  is  not  ^t  all  surprising  that 
he  has  gained  over  to  his  designs,  the  veterans 

of 


1  The  last  letter  was  wrote  in  August  5  this  in  the  beginning 
of  November ;  and  in  the  intermediate  time  our  author,  on 
the  1st  of  September,  pronounced  his  first  Philippic  in  the  se^ 
pate  at  Rome. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


345 


of  ^  Casilinum  and  Calatia,  for  he  gives  each  five 
hundred  denarii ;  and  he  intends  to  visit  all  the 
other  colonies.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  his 
views  are  to  act  as  commander  in  chief  in  a  war 
against  Antony;  and  therefore  I  foresee  that  hos- 
tilities wll  commence  in  a  few  days.  But  what 
party  am  I  to  follow  ?  Consider  what  a  name 
Octavianus  has  assumed;  and  think  of  his  youth; 
meanwhile  he  requires  to  have  a  secret  confe- 
jrence  with  me  at  Capua,  or  in  its  vicinity.  It 
is  really  childish  if  he  imagines  that  such  a  con- 
ference can  be  kept  a  secret,  and  I  wrote  to  him 
that  it  neither  was  necessary  nor  practicable. 
His  messenger  to  me  was  one  Caecina  of  Vola- 
terra,  who  is  intimate  with  him,  and  told  me,  that 
Antony  was  advancing  with  the  legion  of  the 
Alaudae"  towards  Rome,  that  he  had  laid  the 
municipal  cities  under  contribution,  and  that  his 
troops  were  marching  in  miUtary  order.  Octa- 
vianus wanted  to  know  my  opinion,  whether  he 
ought  to  advance  to  Rome,  with  his  three  thou^ 
sand  veterans,  or  maintain  Capua  against  Antony, 
or  march  towards  the  three  Macedonian  legions, 
who  are  advancing  along  the  shore  of  the  Adri- 
atic, and  who,  he  has  good  reason  to  believe,  are 

in 


»  It  lies  near  to  Capua  upon  the  river  Vulturnus^  and  Calatia 
JJGs  abdut  seven  miles  to  the  northward  of  it. 

'  This  celebrated  legion  was  so  called  from  a  kind  of  forest 
which  they  wore  resembling  a  lark. 


S46 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


in  his  interest  For,  according  to  Caecina,  they 
refused  the  money  offered  them  by  Antony,  and 
after  severely  upbraiding  him,  left  him  while  he 
was  haranguing  them. 

To  make  short,  Octavianus  offers  to  be   our 
leader,  and  he  depends  upon  my  not  abandoning 
him.  I  have  taken  upon  me  to  advise  him  to  ad- 
vance to  Rome ;  for,  in  my  opinion,  he  w  ill  there 
find   the  inferior  classes,  and,  if  he  stands  to 
what  he  promises,  even  the  men  of  property  and 
principle  in  his  interest.     My  Brutus,  where  are 
you  ?  What  an  opportunity  are  you  losing  r  This 
is  an  event,  which,  if  I  did  not  precisely  foresee, 
I  partly  conjectured.     And  now  1  apply  for  your 
counsel.     Shall  I  come  to  Rome,  or  remain  here, 
or,  for  security,  shall  I  fly  to  Arpinum.     I  pre- 
fer Rome,  lest  upon  any  emergency,  I  should  be 
wanted.     Relieve  me  therefore  in  this ;  for  never 
was  I  in  greater  perplexity. 


EPISTLE  IX. 

I  HAVE,  in  one  day,  received  two  letters  from 
Octavianus,  who  now  importunes  me  to  repair 
instantly  to  Rome,  where  he  promises  to  act  un- 
der the  authority  of  the  senate.  My  answer  to 
him  was,  that  the  senate  cannot  (and  I  believe 
so  really)  be  assembled  before  the  first  of  Ja- 
nuary.    He  adds,  "  I  will  be  directed  by  you." 

In 


TO  ATTICUS. 


347 


In  short,  he  insists,  and  I  evade.     I  cannot  trust 
his  youth ;  I  am  ignorant  of  his  intentions,  nor 
will  I  take  a  step  without  your  friend  Pansa.     I 
am  afraid  of  Antony's  prevailing.     I  am  unwil- 
ling to  leave  the  sea-coast ;  and  I  dread  lest  any 
glorious  measure  should  be  executed  in  my  ab- 
sence.    Varro  dislikes  the  boy's  conduct ;  but  I 
do  not     He  has  a  well-appointed  army,  and  he 
may  join  with  Decimus  Brutus.     He  proceeds 
openly,  musters  his  troops  at  Capua,  and  pays 
them  regularly.     Now  I  see  a  war  is  inevitable, 
and  at  hand.     Write  me  your  opinion  of  all  this. 
I  am  surprised  that  my  letter-carrier,  who  left 
Rome  the  first  of  this  month,  should  return  with- 
out any  letter  from  you. 


EPISTLE  X. 

C-In  the  7th,  I  came  to  my  house  at  Sinuessa. 
A  report  was  that  day  current,  that  Antony  was 
to  remain  at  Casalinum.  I  therefore  have  altered 
my  resolution,  and  I  proceed  directly  to  Rome  by 
the  Appian  road.  He  might  easily  have  come  up 
with  me ;  for  he  is  said  to  be  a  second  Caesar  in 
activity.  Therefore,  at  Minturnae  I  strike  off 
towards  Arpinum,  intending  to-morrow,  the  9th, 
to  lie  at  Aquinum  or  Arcanum.  Now,  my  At- 
ticus,  give  your  whole  attention  to  this  affair; 
for  it  is  of  great  importance  to  me.     I  have  the 

choice 


S48 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


349 


choice  of  three  things  before  me  ;  to  remain  at 
Arpinum,  to  advance  farther,  or  to  go  quite  to 
Rome.  I  will  do  as  you  direct,  but  you  must 
send  your  direction  without  delay,  I  am  impa- 
tient for  a  letter  from  you.  Dated  the  8th,  from 
jny  house  at  Sinuessa  in  the  morning. 


IPISTLE  XI. 

On  the  5 til,  I  received  from  you  two  letters, 
the  one  dated  the  first  of  this  month,  and  the 
other  the  day  before.  To  begin,  therefore,  with 
the  oldest.  I  am  glad  you  like  my  oration,  and 
perceive  you  have  transplanted  its  flowers,  which, 
in  my  eye,  flourish  more  fair,  through  your  ap- 
probation ;  for  I  dread  those  little  red  dashes  of 
yours.  You  are  in  the  right  as  to  Sica ;  but  it 
was  with  difficulty  that  I  contained  myself.  I 
shall  therefore  manage  so,  as  to  give  no  offence 
either  to  Sica,  or  Septimia,  only  that  our  poste^ 
rity  may  know,  in  a  stile  no  way  sarcastic^  that 

he 

1  Oris-  Valo  Lucilliano  Lucilius  was  a  famous  satirist,  but 
there  seems  to  be  a  corruption  in  the  reading,  which,  perhaps, 
ought  to  be.  Sine  stilo  Lucilliano ;  the  matter  alluded  to  here, 
relates  to  a  passage  in  our  author's  second  Philippic,  in  which 
he  reproaches  Antony,  for  marrying  and  having  children  by 
the  daughter  of  this  Fadius,  who  had  been  a  slave;  so  there 
appears  to  have  been  a  connection  between  him,  and  Sica,  and 
Septimia,  who  were  our  author's  friends. 


he  had  children  by  the  daughter  of  Caius 
Fadius ;  and  I  wish  I  could  see  the  day,  when 
that  oration  should  become  so  public  as  to  find 
its  way  even  into  the  house  of  Sica*.  But  before 
we  can  see  that,  we  must  see  the  times  of  the  last 
triumvirate  restored^;  as  I  live,  your  joke  is  ex- 
cellent. 

Be  sure  to  read  my  work  to  Sextus,  and  let  me 
know  his  opinion  of  it ;  for  I  value  it  more  than 
that  of  a  thousand  other  judges.  Take  care, 
tliat  neither  Calenusnor  our  bald  friend^  be  pre- 
sent. You  say,  you  are  afraid  I  may  think  you 
too  loquacious.  What !  to  me.^  How,  what  do 
you  mean  I  so  far  from  it,  that  as  Aristophanes* 
said  of  the  verses  of  Archilochus,  I  always  think 
your  longest  letter  the  best.  As  to  giving  me 
your  advice,  lam  so  far  from  taking  it  amiss, 
that  I  should  be  glad,  even  if  you  censured  me; 
because  the  censure  of  a  friend  is  attended  both 
with  prudence  and  affection.  I  therefore  cheer- 
fully agree  to  your  corrections  in  the  passage  you 
mention.     I  admit  the  name  of  Scipio  instead 

•  of 


*^The  second  Philippic  was  never  actually  pronounced,  and 
\^;^  at  this  time  privately  handed  about,  few  people  daring  to 
disoblige  Antony. 

«  Meaning,  no  doubt,  the  triumvirate  of  Pompey,  Caesar, 

and  Crassus,  during  which,  great  liberties  were  taken  both  in 

speaking  and  writing. 

^  Orig.  Calvena,  meaning  Matius. 

*  He  was  a  grammarian. 


( 


550 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


of  that  of  Rubrius  \  The  monument  of  praise  I 
have  erected  to  Dolabella  I  will  again  demolish- 
Yet,  if  I  mistake  not,  there  is  a  fine  irony  in  the 
passage,  in  which  he  is  mentioned  to  have  fought 
in  three  battles  against  his  countrymen.  I  likewise 
prefer  your  alteration  of  Quid  indignius,  into  In- 
' dignissimum  est  hunc  vivere*  I  am  glad  that  you 
are  pleased  with  the  portraits  of  Varro  * ;  his  de- 
lineation of  Heraclides  J  have  not  yet  copied. 
You  exhort  me  to  write,  and  in  this  you  act  as  a 
friend;  but,  let  me  tell  you,  I  do  nothing  else. 
Your  indisposition  fi?ives  me  pain ;  I  beg,  that 
you  will  observe  your  usual  regular  regimen.  It 
gives  me  pleasure,  that  my  treatise  on  old  age 
has  been  of  any  service  to  you.  The  Anagnians 
I  mentioned  to  you  in  my  second  Philippic',  are 
Mustella,  who  is  a  fencing  master,  and  Laco,  who 
is  a  noted  drunkard.  1  will  revise  and  send  you 
the  book  you  want  of  me. 

I  now  come  to  answer  your  second  letter.  My 
treatise  concerning  duties,  of  which  Panaetius 
has  likewise  written,  consists  of  two   books ;  his, 

of 

1  These  corrections  refer  to  our  author's  second  Phiiippic, 
which  the  reader  may  consult. 

«  It  was  not  unusual  to  draw  the  figures  and  achievements  of 
great  men,  on  robes  qf  purple.  This  was  called  by  the  Greekf 
v«r^orp«9*«:  and  this  title  Varro  appears  to  have  prefixed  to  a 
work  in  which  he  described  the  most  celebrated  men  among 

the  Romans.— -E. 

J  Viz.  In  the  second  Philippic,  which  at  its  first  appearance 
contauied  only  the  names  of  those  persons. 


TO  ATTICUS, 


S5l 


of  three.  But  his  first  division,  relates  to  the 
manners  of  examining  a  duty  which,  he  says  are 
three.  Our  first  deliberation,  according  to  him  is, 
whether  the  thing  is  virtuous,  or  vicious  i  the  next 
whether  it  is  advantageous,  or  prejudicial ;  and 
lastly,  when  virtue  cannot  be  reconciled  to  uti- 
lity, how  we  are  to  act  For  instance,  the 
case  of  Regulus.  His  honour  commanded  his 
return  to  Carthage,  his  safety  bad  him  stay  at 
Rome.  Pansetius  has  given  us  a  noble  treatise 
on  the  two  first  heads,  and  promised  to  treat  of 
the  last,  but  he  never  did  it.  Possidonius  con- 
tinued his  work,  and  I  have  both  sent  for  his  trea- 
tise and  have  written  to  Athenodorus  Calvus^  to 
send  me  its  contents,  which  lam  now  looking  for; 
and  I  beg,  that  you  will  earnestly  exhort  him  to 
send  it  by  the  first  opportunity.  It  treats  of 
duties  which  vary  according  to  circumstances. 
You  ask  me  about  the  title.  At  present  I  am 
quite  satisfied  that  our  word  ojftcium  answers  to 
the  Greek  xaflwoy,  unless  you  can  suggest  some- 
what else;  but  the  title  will  run  more  full  if 
made  de  officiis.  My  addressing  it  to  my  son,  is, 
I  think,  by  no  means  unsuitable. 

You  have  quite  cleared  up  to  me  the  affair 
of  Myrtelus. — How  you  always  paint  out  those 
fellows  ! — May  they  be  punished  by  the  gods  ! 
And  do  they  lay  such  traps  for  Decimus 
Brutus  }     I  have  not,    as  I  mentioned  in  mine, 

us 


*  He  as  well  as  Panaetius  was  a  stoic  philosopher. 


35i 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


353 


as  yet  shut  myself  up  iii  Pompeii;  in  the  fifst 
place,  as  nothing  can  be  more  uncomfortable 
than  the  weather  has  been,  and  in  the  next  place, 
because  every  day  I  have  letters  from  Octavia- 
nus  inviting  me  to  take  upon  me  the  direction 
of  his  affairs,  to  come  to  Capua,  and  again  save 
the  state.  He  proposes  himself  to  march  direct- 
ly to  Rome. — I 

Blush  40  refuse,  and  to  accept  it  fear  \ 

Meanwhile,  his  solicitations  have  been,  and  still 
are,  very  urgent.     He  is  to  march  into  Rome 
with  a  strong  body  of  troops;    but  he  is   no 
better  than  a  boy ;  he  imagines  that  the  senate 
will  instantly  assemble. — But  who  will  attend  ? 
And  should  any  attend,  who,  in  this  unsettled 
state  of  affairs,  will  venture  to  attack  Antony  ? 
By  the  first  of  January,    Octavianus  may  per- 
haps   secure   tlie  freedom    of  the    senate ;   or, 
perhaps  in  the  interval  there  may  be  a  battle. 
Our    municipal  eities  are    wonderfully    in  the 
boy's  interest;  for  in  going  to  Samnium  he  stopt 
at  Cales,   and  lay  at  Theanum^     You  cannot 
believe,  what  a  resort  there  was  to  him,  and  what 
encouragement  he  met  with.     Could  you   have 
imac^ined  this  ?  This  will  brins  me  to  Rome  soon- 
er  than  I  purposed.      1  will  write  to  you  when 

my 

1  This  line  is  from  Homer. 

«  These  were  two  towns  of  Campania. 


my  resolution  is  fixed :  Eros  is  not  yet  arrived, 
and  therefore  I  have  not  seen  the  agreement  you 
mention ;  yet  I  beg  that  you  would  finish  that  af- 
fair by  the  12  th.  I  could,  to  better  purpose,  send 
letters  to  Catina,  Taurominium,  and  Syracuse  ^, 
if  Valerius,  the  linguist,  would  send  me  the  names 
of  the  most  popular  men  in  those  parts ;  for  in- 
terest is  a  very  fluctuating  matter,  and  most  of 
my  acquaintances  there  are  dead.  I  have,  how- 
ever, written  some  general  letters,  which  Valerius 
may  deliver,  or  he  must  send  me  the  names  I 
want.  Balbus  has  informed  me  of  the  solemn 
days  appointed  by  Lepidus,  and  I  have  leave  of 
absence  to  the  29th.  I  look  for  a  letter  from 
you,  and  I  suppose,  by  this,  time  you  are  no 
stranger  to  that  trifling  affair  of  Torquatus. 

I  have  sent  you  my  brother's  letter,  that  you 
may  be  sensible  how  very  fond  he  is  of  his  son, 
and  what  pain  it  gives  him  that  you  are  not  fond 
of  him  likewise.  Give  your  daughter  a  kiss  for 
me  as  she  is  so  sprightly,  which  in  youth  is  so 
graceful.     Adieu, 


EPISTLE  Xir. 


I 


HAVE   sent  you  a  copy  of  Oppius's  letter,  be- 
cause it  is  so  very  handsome.    As  you  demur  con- 
cerning 

^  Thes3were  the  chief  cities  of  Sicily. 

Vol.  if.  A  a 


354 


CICBROS  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


365 


cerning  the  affair  of  OccUa,  without  writing  me 
any  thing  about  it,  1  have  even  come  to  a  resolu- 
tion within  myself.    Therefore  I  think  of  being  at 
Rome  on  the  12th.     It  is  more  proper  for  me  to 
be  there,  tlwugh  there  should  be  no  occasion  for 
my  presence,  than  to  be  absent  if  there  should ; 
not  to  mention,   that  I  am  under  some  apprehen- 
sion of  the  roads  being  beset.     There  is  nothing 
now    to    hinder    Antony's    approach;    though 
various  are  the  reports  that  circulate,   and  some 
of  them  such  as  I  wish  to  be  true ;  but  we  know 
nothing  certain.    Be  that,   however,  as  it  will,  it 
is  better  for  me  to  be  with  you,  than  to  be  in  this 
undetermined  state  of  mind,  while  we  are  separa- 
ted, and  that  too  upon  your  account  as  well  as 
mine.      But   what   shall  I    say?— I^t  us  take 
courage.     Your  remarks  upon  Varro's  imitation 
<rf  Heraclides  are  humorous  and  sarcastic.  Never 
did  any  thing  give  me  greater  pleasure ;  but  we 
will  talk  of  that,  and  affairs  of  more  consequence, 
when  we  meet. 


EPISTLE  Xlll. 

What  a  surprising  accident!  On  the  8th, 
having,  before  it  was  light,  left  my  house  at  Sinu- 
essa,  and  come,  by  break  of  day,  to  the  bridge  of 
Minturnffi,  where  the  road  divides  towards  Arpi- 
num,  your  express  met  me  at  the  very  time  when 


I  was  meditating  a  long  voyage  \ — Have  you  got 
any  letters  from  Atticus?— Let  me  have  them,— 
quick  !  said  I,  without  reflecting  that  I  could  not 
yet  see  to  read,  having  ordered  the  lamps  to  be 
put  out" ;  nor  was  it  yet  sufficiently  light  But 
when  it  became  broad  day,  your  first  letter,  was 
read  to  me.  May  I  perish  if  I  write  not  as  I 
think,  when  I  tell  you,  tliat  nothing  can  come  up 
to  its  elegance,  nor  did  I  ever  read  any  thing 
more  happily  turned.  I  will  therefore  come 
whither  you  call  me,  provided  you  aid  me  with 
your  counsels.  But,  at  first  sight,  I  thought  no- 
thing could  be  more  absurd,  than  for  you  to 
write  to  me  in  such  a  strain,  in  answer  to  the  let- 
ter I  sent  you,  begging  your  advice ;  when  behold 
another  letter,  in  a  poetic  strain,  giving  me  the 
hint  to  go  to  Axpinum,  by  mount  Appenine.-^ 

That 

Orig.  ^o\,xov  'tfXoov  opiA,att),oi,rx.  Be  longa  navigatione  delile^ 
rantem.  This  alludes  to  a  passage  of  Homer's  Odyssey,  where 
Nestor  tells  Telemachus,  that  Menelaus  had  joined  him,  and 
other  prmces  at  Lesbos,  just  at  the  time  when  they  were  con- 
salting  whether  they  should  steer  their  course,  above,  or  below, 
the  island  of  Chios.  Cicero  adopts  this  passage  of  Homer  to 
express  his  being  in  some  doubt,  whether  he  shouldgo  to  Rome, 
directly  by  the  Appian  road,  or  go  round  by  Arpinum.  The 
application  of  Homer's  lines,  was  so  very  familiar  to  the  lear- 
ned  men  of  antiquity,  that  Atticus  could  be  at  no  loss  for  thQ 
application  here.  But  it  is  probable,  that  he  hmjsell  had  first 
tlirown  out  the  hint  to  our  author. 

«  This  is  a  very  natural  picture  of  the  absence  of  miod  that  is 
incident  to  the  greatest  of  men  through  aifection  qt  anjupty. 

Aa  S 


356  CICERO'S  EPISTLES 

That  night  therefore  I  lay  at  Arpininn,  after  a 
dreary  journey  through  bad  roads.  Next  morn- 
ing as  I  was  setting  out  I  wrote  thus  fan 

P.  S.      It  is  very  inconvenient  for  me  \    that 
Eros's  letters  oblige  mc  to  send  Tiro  to  Rome.  He 
will  himself  inforni you  of  the  affair;  do  you  con- 
sider how  he  istopfroceed.  Besides,  I  hopeyou  will 
frequently  write  to  me  whether  I  ought  to  go  fur- 
ther from  Rome,  or  come  nearer  to  it ;  for  I  should 
wish  rather  to  be  at  Tusculanum,  or  some  where 
in  the  environs  of  the  city.     You  will  have  dai- 
ly conveyances  to  me.     Now  while  I  am  absent 
from  you,  it  is  difficult  for  me  to  send  you  any 
opinion  as  to  what  you  want  to  know,  or  how  I 
think  you  ought  to   proceed.     All  I  can  say  is, 
that  if  the  two  parties  are  pretty  equally  match- 
ed, we  ought  to  continue  neutral ;  if  they  are  not, 
the  ruin  of  our  order  will  succeed,  and  next  that 
of  the  whole  community.      I   am   impatient  to 
know   your   resolution.      I  dread  being  absent 
from  Rome,  if  it  would  do  me  more  credit  to  be 
there  j  yet  I  dare  not  venture.      I  now  hear  ac- 
counts of  Antony's  marches,  very  different  from 
what  I  have  written  above.      I  beg  therefore  you 
will  clear  up  all  those  matters,  and  let  me  have 

^ome  certainty. 

What    can   I    say   as   to  other   matters?— I 

feel 

■^  I  have  Uirown  what  follows  this  into  the  form  of  a  post- 
cript,  but  it  is  uncertain,  whether  it  is  not  a  different  letter. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


357 


feel  ardent  to  begin  this  history;   for  you  cannot 
.imagine  how  strongly  I  am  affected  by  the  encou- 
ra'^>'ement  you  have  given  me.     But  I  can  neither 
•  begin,  nor  complete  it,  without  your  assistance; 
we^must  therefore  reserve  this  subject  till  we  meet. 
Meanwhile  I  beg  you  will  let  me  know  in  a  let- 
ter, under  what  censors,  Caius   Fannius,  the  son 
of  Marcus,  was  tribune  of  the  commons.     1  think 
I  have  heard  he  was  under  Publius  Africanus 
and  Lucius  Mumming.      Pray  set  me  right,  if  I 
am  mistaken.     I  beg  you  will  write  me  certain 
and  true  accounts  of  all  public  occurrences.    Da- 
ted th    1 1th  from  my  house  near  Arpinum 


EPISTLE  XIV. 

I  REALLY  have  nothing  to  write  to  you ;  for  when 
I  was  at  Puteoli,  1  daily  heard  some  news  con- 
cerning Octavianus,  and  many  false  reports  con- 
cerning Antony.  In  answer  to  your  letters,  three 
of  which  I  received  on  the  11  th,  I  entirely  agree 
with  you,  that  should  Octavianus  come  into  pow- 
er, the  acts  of  Csesar  will  receive  a  firmer  sanction 
than  they  did  in  the  temple  of  Tellus ;  and  this 
will  turn  out  to  the  disadvantage  of  Brutus.  But 
should  Octavianus  be  worsted,  you  will  find  An- 
tony an  intolerable  tyrant;  thus,  one  does  not 
know  which  to  wish  for. 
What  a  rascal  was  that  messenger  of  Sestius, 

for 


f 


35S 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


SA9 


for  promising  to  be  at  Rome  the  day  after  he  left 
Puteoli !  You  advise  me  to  proceed  with  mild*- 
ness  and  caution,  and  I  agree  with  you,  though  I 
had  some  thoughts  of  doing  otherwise.  The  ex- 
amples of  Philip  and  Marcellus^  make  no  im- 
pression upon  me.  Their  motives  either  are,  or 
seem  to  be,  different  from  mine.  Young  Caesar 
has  sufficient  courage ;  yet  he  has  no  great  au* 
thority.  Meanwhile,  you  will  consider  whether 
it  will  not  be  convenient  for  me  to  be  at  Tuscu- 
lanum,  where  I  can  live  with  more  freedom,  and 
be  well  informed  of  every  thing  that  passes,  or 
whether  I  ought  not  to  remain  here  till  Antony's 
arrival  at  Rome. 

But  to  pass  from  one  thing  to  another,  I  have 
no  manner  of  doubt  that  our  w^ord  officium  an^- 
swers  to  the  Greek  term  Ka^»))w>.  As  to  your 
doubt  whether  that  word  can  be  properly  applied 
to  public  matters,  do  we  not  say  Consulum  officii 
urn,  Senatus  officium  ?  I  think  it  is  a  very  proper 
word,  unless  you  can  furnish  me  with  one  that  is 
more  so.  Your  melancholy  news  of  the  death  of 
Nepos's  son,  gives  me  indeed  great  concern  and 
affliction.  I  was  quite  ignorant  that  he  had  a 
son.  I  have  lost  Caninius,  who,  I  speak  for  my- 
self, was  by  no  means  an  ungrateful  person.     You 

have 

*  Both  those  noblemen  were  nearly  related  to  young  Caesar, 
the  first  being  his  father-in-law,  and  the  latter  his  brother-in- 
law,  notwithstanding  which,  they  had  not  broken  off  all 
measures  with  Antony. 


have  no  need  to  press  Athenodorus;  for  he  hath 
sent  me  a  memorial  which  is  politely  enough 
drawn  up.  I  beg  you  would  employ  every  means 
to  remove  your  indisposition.  Our^  nephew  has 
written  to  my  son,  that,  upon  the  5th  of  Decem- 
ber, (the  aniversary  of  my  glory)  '  he  will  lay 
before  the  people,  the  whole  affair  of  the  temple 
of  Ops.  You  will  learn  what  he  means,  and  let 
me  know  by  a  letter.  I  expect  to  have  the 
opinion  of  Sextus  upon  my  oration. 


EPISTLE  XV. 

You  are  not  to  imagine  that  from  indolence! 
do  not  indite  with  my  own  hand  this  letter  to  you, 
and  yet,  I  avow,  I  have  no  other  excuse  to  offer  but 
that  I  am  indolent  Meanwhile,  I  think  I  can,  in 
your  lett>.rs,  trace  out  the  hand-writing  of  Alexis; 
but  to  come  to  business.  Had  not  Dolabella  be- 
haved to  me  very  dishonestly,  I  might  have  been 
in  some  hesitation,  whether  I  should  deal  with 

gentleness 

1  Orig.  (^uintus  avi  tuipronepos.scribit  adpatris  mei  Nepo* 
tern.  We  have  already  seen  instances  of  this  whimsical  v^ay  of 
writing,  which,  more  than  probable,  was  owing  to  some  pri- 
vate piece  of  humour  in  Atticus,  which  is  not  now  to  be  ac- 
counted for. 

2  By  his  putting  to  death  the  accomplices  in  Catiline's  con- 
spiracy. 


i. 


S60 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


gentleness  or  rigour  with  him.  But  now  I  am 
overjoyed  that  I  have  an  opportunity  of  making 
him,  and  all  the  world,  sensible,  that  I  have  no 
affection  for  him,  and  I  will  publicly  avow  that 
I  hate  him,  both  on  my  own  account,  and  on 
account  of  my  country;  because,  after  I  had 
persuaded  him  to  espouse  her  cause,  he  not  only 
abandoned  it,  but  did  all  he  could  to  ruin  it,  from 
interested  motives. 

You  ask  me,  what  I  would  have  done,  when 
the  day  of  payment  comes\  In  the  first  place, 
I  wish  that  matters  were  so  ordered,  that  I  could, 
without  any  inconvenience,  be  at  Rome  in  person, 
but  in  this,  as  in  all  other  matters,  I  will  be 
guided  by  your  judgment.  However,  in  the  main, 
I  would  have  him  brought  to  a  strict  and  rigo- 
rous account.  I  think,  we  cannot  without  dis- 
honour, compel  his  sureties,  but  I  wish  you  to 
.take  this  into  consideration  ;  for  we  can  compel 
his  sureties  to  pay  by  an  action  brought  against 
his  agents,  who  will  not  stand  a  trial.  By  such 
an  action,  I  am  sensible,  the  sureties  will  be  li- 
berated from  their  responsibility ;  but  I  think,  it 
will  be  shameful  in  him,  if  his  agents  should  not 
discharge  a  debt,  for  which  he  himself  has  en- 
gaged sure-ties;  and  it  is   inconsistent  with  my 

rcputatioq 


^  All  this  relates  to  a  debt  due  to  our  author  by  Dolabella, 
;is  the  arrears  of  Tullia's  portion,  which  the  laUer  ought  tQ 
imi^  refunded  when  he  divorced  her. 


TO  ATTICUS. 


361 


reputation  to  betray  a  vindictiveness  of  temper 
against  him,  in  reclaiming  my  property.  I  beg 
you  will  let  me  know  your  sentiments  on  this 
subject;  and  I  make  no  doubt,  that  it  will  be 
managed  with  great  moderation,  1  now  return 
to  the  affairs  of  the  public. 

I  have,  it  is  true,  seen  many  proofs  of  your 
profound  skill  in  politics,  but  none  beyond  your 
last  letter,  where  you  say,  ^'  Though  at  present, 
the  boy  makes  a  gallant  opposition  to  Antony  ; 
yet  we  ought  to  wait  the  event;"  but  what  an  ha- 
rangue has  he  made^  to  the  people  !  for  it  was 
sent  to  me.  He  there  swears,  *'  so,  says  he,  may 
I  attain  the  honours  of  my  parent,"  stretching 
forth  his  right  hand  at  the  same  time,  to  the 
statue  of  Ceesar.  I  have  no  wish  for  such  a 
saviour*.  But  the  most  indubitable  criterion  will 
be  the  tribuneship  of  Casca.  I  delivered  the 
same  opinion  to  Oppius  ;  for  when  he  pressed  me 
to  declare  withoutany  reserve  for  the  young  man 
and  his  interests,  and  for  his  body  of  veterans, 
I  told  him,  I  could  by  no  means  do  that,  till  I 
was  quite  satisfied  that,  so  far  from  opposing,  he 
w^ould  befriend  the  destroyers  of  the  tyrants. 
When  Oppius  told  me,  that  Octavius  would  do 
§0,   *'  then,  where,  said  I,  is  the  necessity  for  my 

hastily 


*  l^z.  In  the  temple  of  Castor  and  Pollux. 
^  He  gave  the  first  blow,  in  the^  naurder  of  Caesar.     Not- 
fi'itbstanding  which  Octavius  did  not  oppose  his  being  tribune. 


362 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


hastily  declaring  myself,  since  he  can  have  no  occa- 
sion for  my  assistance  before  the  first  of  January  ? 
Now,  we  can  be  quite  convinced  of  his  intentions 
by  the  13th  of  December,  from  his  behaviour  in 
the  affair  of  Casca.  Oppius  agreed  to  all  I  said. 
I  have  therefore  Utile  more  to  write  to  you  on  this 
head;  only,  that  you  will  every  day  have  op- 
portunity of  writing  to  me  ;  and  I  believe,  every 
day  will  present  you  with  something  fresh  to 
write.  I  have  sent  you  a  copy  of  Lepta's  let- 
ter, by  which  it  appears  that  our  hero  is  discom- 
fitted.     But  you  shall   read   it,  and  judge  for 

yourself. 

After  this  letter  was  sealed  up,  I  received  one 
from  you,  and  another  from  Sextus,  and  nothing 
can  be  more  agreeable  or  affectionate  than  his  is. 
As  to  yours,  it  was  short,  though  the  former  a 
very  full  one.  You  advise  me  like  a  man  of 
sense,  and  a  friend,  to  remain  where  I  am  till  I 
learn  the  event  of  our  present  public  commotions. 
But,  my  Atticus,  it  is  not,  indeed  it  is  not,  any 
public  consideration  that  determines  me  at  pre- 
sent. For  though  the  public  is,  and  ought  to  be 
to  me,  the  dearest  object  of  my  regard;  yet  Hip- 
pocrates forbids  us  to  use  medicine  when  the  dis- 
ease is  irremediable.  I  take  my  leave  therefore, 
of  public  affairs.  What  affects  me,  is  the  state  of 
my  private  concerns,  and  the  regard  I  have  for  my 
own  credit;  for  though  my  resources  are  so  large, 
I  have  not  yet  been  able  to  pay  to  Terentia  what 

I  ow« 


TO  ATTICUS. 


363 


I  owe  her.  But  why  do  I  talk  of  that  ?  You 
know,  it  is  some  time  since  I  promised  to  pay 
for  Montanus  twenty-five  thousand  sesterces.  My 
son,  in  the  most  genteel  manner,  begged  that 
favour  of  me,  and  said,  he  would  look  upon  it  as 
done  to  himself.  Knowing  that  it  would  be 
agreeable  to  you,  I  promised  it  most  readily,  and 
ordered  Eros  to  lay  by  the  money ;  but  he  was 
so  far  from  doing  it,  that  Aurelius  was  obliged  to 
raise  it  at  a  most  exorbitant  interest. 

As  to  Terentia's  debt,  I  understand  by  a  let- 
ter from  Tyro,  that  you  say,  the  money  owing 
me  from  Dolabella  will  be  equal  to  her  demand. 
He  has  a  mistaken  understanding,  if  I  may  be 
allowed  the  expression  of  your  words,  or  rather, 
he  does  not  understand  them  at  all ;  for  you  sent 
me  the  answer  of  Cocceius  on  that  head,  and  I 
had  a  letter  from  Eros,  to  the  same  purpose.  I 
must  therefore  come  to  Rome,  if  I  should  be  in- 
volved in  its  flames.  For  it  is  more  glorious  to  die 
with  my  country,  than  by  myself.  Distracted  as 
I  feel  in  myself,  I  am  at  present  unable  to  an- 
swer with  my  usual  serenity,  the  other  matters, 
mentioned  in  your  most  affectionate  letter  to  me. 

I  beg  you  will  take  care  that  I  may  be  extri- 
cated from  my  present  situation.  Several  expe- 
dients for  that  purpose  occur  to  myself.  But  be- 
lieve me,  I  can  fix  positively  upon  none  till  I 
see  you. 

IPISTLE 


364 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


EPISTLE  XVL 

1  HAVE  read  your  most  agreeable  letter,  and 
send  you  a  copy  of  what  I  have  written  to  Plan- 
cus,  I  shall  know  from  Tyro  himself,  what  passed 
between  you  and  him.  You  will  be  able  to  shew 
your  sister  more  attention  after  having  finished 
the  business  at  Buthrotum. 


Cicero  to  Plancus  Praior,  wisheth  health, 

I  AM  very  sensible,  how  gladly  you  would  em- 
brace an  opportunity  of  obliging  Atticus.  Not 
to  mention,  that  I  believe  you  to  be  so  much 
my  friend,  that  very  few  excel  you  in  your  re- 
gard and  affection  for  me.  A  strong,  an  old, 
and  a  virtuous  friendship,  subsisted  between  your 
father  and  me ;  and  this  receives  additional  ar- 
dour from  the  mutual  good  will  which  we  cherish 
for  each  other.  You  are  no  stranger  to  the  af- 
fair of  Buthrotum,  it  being  a  subject  which  I 
have  often  treated  of,  and  fully  explained  to  you. 
Its  present  situation  is  as  follows: 

As  soon  as  it  was  understood,  that  the  lands  of 
Buthrotum  were  to  be  divided  among  the  soldiers, 

Atticus  was  so  much  alarmed,  that  he  drew  up  a 

remonstrance 


TO  ATTICUS. 


3f)5 


remonstrance  which  he  put  into  my  hands  to  give 
Csesar,  with  whom  I  was  to   sup  that  evening. 
I  accordingly  presented  it  to   Caesar ;  who  ap- 
proved of  its  contents,  and  signified  in  a  letter 
to  Atticus,  that  he  sought  no  more  than  what 
was  just,  cautioning  him  at  the  same  time,  that 
the  Buthrotians  should  pay  their  arrears  as  soon 
as  they  became  due.     Atticus,  from  the  zeal  he 
had  to  preserve  their  state,  laid  down  the  money 
for  them  out  of  his  own  pocket.     This  being 
done,  we  went  to  Caesar,  whom  we  addressed  in 
the  name  of  the  Buthrotians,  and  he  gave  us  a 
full  decree  in  their  favour,  which  was  attested 
by  several  persons  of  the  highest  rank.     As  mat- 
ters stood  upon  this  footing,  I  own,  that  I  was  a 
good  deal  surprised,  that  Caesar  should  suffer 
those  who  hunted  after  the  Buthrotian  lands,  to 
hold  their  meetings;    and  even  appoint  you  to 
have  the  chief  direction  of  that  affair.     I  there- 
fore talked  to  him  upon  it  so  often,  and  in  such 
a  manner,  that  he   charged  me  with  mistrust  in 
his  veracity.  At  the  same  time,   he  assured  Mar- 
cus Messala,  and  Atticus  himself,  that  they  might 
be  quite  easy  on  that  head  ;  and  he  gave  explicit 
intimations,   (for  you  know  how  attentive  he  was 
to  points  of  popularity)  that  he  was  unwilling  to 
do  any  thing  to  irritate  the  soldiery,   vvhile  they 
were   in  Italy;    but    as   soon  as  they   got  be- 
yond seas,  he  would  take  care  that  they  should 
jbe  settled  in  other  lands.     The  affair  stood  thus 

at 


$66 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


367 


at  his  death.  When  that  happened,  as  sooii  as 
the  consuls  by  a  resolution  of  the  senate,  assumed 
a  judicial  capacity  upon  the  validity  of  Caesars 
acts,  the  state  of  this  affair,  as  I  have  represented 
it  to  you,  was  laid  before  them.  They,  without 
the  least  hesitation,  appro^jed  of  all  that  had 
been  done,  and  they  said,  that  they  would  write 
to  you  upon  that  subject. 

Now,  my  dear  Plancus,  though  I  am  con- 
vinced, that  you  will  pay  great  regard  to  the  re- 
solution of  the  senate,  to  the  law,  to  the  decree, 
and  to  the  letter  of  the  consuls ;  and  though  I 
am  convinced  of  your  willingness  to  oblige  At- 
ticus  himself  in  this  affair,  yet  I  presume  so  far 
upon  the  intimacy  and  friendship  that  subsist 
between  us,  as  to  beg,  as  a  favour,  the  thing 
which  your  unrivalled  good  nature,  and  polite- 
ness of  manners,  would  not  suffer  you  to  deny. 
The  favour  is  this,  that  you  would  cheerfully, 
unreservedly,  and  immediately  do,  what  I  know 
you  would  do,  were  no  person  to  solicit  you. 

No  man  is  more  intimately  united  in  the  ties 
of  friendship,  society  and  afi'ection,  than  is  At- 
ticus  to  me.  His  private  interest  was  deeply  in- 
volved in  this  affair  before,  but  now  it  concerns 
his  reputation  likewise,  that  he  may  make  good 
by  vour  assistance,  what  he  had  before  with  great 
pains  and  interest  obtained,  both  in  Caesar's  time, 
and  after  his  death.  Should  he  succeed  in  this 
by  vour  means,  you  may  depend  upon  it,  my 

•  sense 


sense  of  your  generosity  will  be  such,  that  I 
shall  think  myself  indispensably  bound  to  acknow- 
ledge the  greatness  of  the  favour.  I  shall  be 
ready  always  with  the  greatest  zeal  and  readiness, 
to  serve  you  in  all  your  concerns.     Adieu. 


Cicero  to  Plancus  Pro£tor,  wisheth  Health. 

JLt  is  some  time  since  I  requested  you  by  a  let- 
ter, to  give  your  assistance  in  the  affair  of  the 
Buthrotians,  which  was  confirmed  by  the  consuls, 
who  had  authority  both  by  the  law,  and  a  reso- 
lution of  the  senate,  to  examine,  resolve,  and 
judge,  upon  the  acts  of  Caesar;  and  that  you 
would  deliver  from  uneasiness,  our  friend  At- 
ticus,  for  whom  I  know,  you  have  a  kindness, 
and  myself,  who  am,  as  anxious,  as  he  is,  about 
this  affair.  The  whole  business,  after  much  la- 
bour and  difficulty,  has  been  here  settled  to  our 
satisfaction,  it  depends  upon  you  to  put  a  final 
period  to  all  ou%  anxiety.  Meanwhile,  we  are 
convinced,  that  a  man  of  your  good  sense,  must 
see  the  great  and  general  confusion,  that  must 
ensue,  if  no  regard  shall  be  paid  to  the  decrees 
of  the  consuls,  which  passed  upon  the  acts  of 
Caesar.  It  is  true,  many  of  them  were  not  con- 
firmed, which  must  have  necessarily  been  the 
case  under  so  great  a  pressure  of  public  business, 


j^ 


368 


CICEROS  EPISTLES 


TO  AtTICtJS. 


3  69 


yet  I  always  was  a  strenuous  advocate  for  tlieif 
confirmation  from  the  love  of  peace  and  tran- 
quillity. Now,  though  this  letter  is  not  meant  to 
persuade,  but  to  petition  you,  yet  I  am  of  opi- 
nion, that  you  ought  to  be  in  the  same  way  of 
thinking.  Therefore,  my  dear  Plancus,  I  beg, 
nay,  1  solemnly  entreat  you,  with  all  the  zeal 
and  ardour  of  which  my  mind  is  susceptible,  so 
to  act  in  this  affair,  as  in  every  respect  to 
express,  not  only  your  acquiescence,  but  evert 
yourjoy,  at  our  having  gained  what  we  have  gained 
from  the  consuls,  without  the  least  hesitation, 
through  the  mere  justice  and  equity  of  our  cause. 
Thfs  will  be  a  fresh  proof  of  those  assurances  of 
frien^dship  for  Atticus,  which  you  often  expressed 
to  him  in  person,  and  likewise  to  me ;  and  it  will 
be  a  farther  inducement  for  me,  who  have  been 
always  your  friend,  through  my  own  inclination, 
and  the  regard  I  had  for  your  father,  to  own  that 
you  laid  me  under  the  strongest  obligations.  J, 
therefore,  again  and  again,  in  the  most  earnest 
manner,  beg  your  compliance. 


Cicero 


Cicttb  to  his  Friend  Capito,  'niisheth  Health. 

JNl  EVER  did  I  think  the  time  would  come,  that 
1  should  apply  to  you  as  a  suppliant.  But  I  pro- 
test, lam  glad  to  have  this  opportunity  of  put- 
ting to  the  proof  your  affection  for  me.  You 
know,  how  gfeat  my  regard  is  for  Atticus.  As 
you  love  me,  do  me  the  favour  for  my  sake  to 
forget,  that  when  one  of  his  friends,  but  an 
eneiny  to  you,  Was  engaged  in  an  affair,  uponr 
which  his  reputation  depended,  Atticus  embraced 
his  interest  Your  good  nature  in  the  first  place, 
is  engaged  to  forgive  this,  for  every  man  ought 
to  defend  his  own  friends ;  in  the  next  place,  I 
conjure  you,  setting  all  consideration  of  Atticus 
aside,  to  grant  this  favour  without  any  reserve, 
to  your  old  Cicero,  for  whom  you  used  to  avow 
your  friendship,  that  I  may  have  a  full  proof  of 
that  great  affection  which  I  always  believed  you 
ntertained  for  me. 

After  Caesar,  by  his  decree,  which  was  attested 
by  me,  and  many  other  noblemen  of  the  first 
rank,  had  entirely  pardoned  the  Buthrotians,  and 
intimated  to  us,  that  as  soon  as  the  soldiers,  ta 
whom  the  lands  had  been  assigned,  were  gone 
beyond  sea,  he  would  send  a  letter,  marking  out 
the  settlements  which  they  were  to  possess^  it 
happened  unexpectedly,  that  he  was  dispatched 
Vot.  III.  B  b  cfilt 


s 


370 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


out  of  the  world.  You  were  present  when  the 
consuls  were  obliged  by  a  resolution  of  the  senate 
to  sit  in  judgment  on  the  acts  of  Cassar.  There- 
fore, you  can  be  no  stranger  to  ivhat  afterwards 
happened,  and  that  their  consideration  of  this 
affair,  was  adjourned  to  the  first  of  June.  The 
resolution  of  the  senate  was  strengthened,  by  a 
law  passed  the  12th  of  the  same  month,  giving 
to  the  consuls  the  cognizance  of  all  matters,  that 
Caesar  had  intended,  decreed,  or  executed.  The 
cause  of  the  Buthrotians  was  brought  before 
them;  and  many  of  Caesar's  acts  were  pro- 
duced ;  at  the  same  time,  the  consuls,  according 
to  the  meaning  of  Caesar's  intention,  made  a  rule 
in  favour  of  the  Buthrotians,  and  Plancus  was 
entrusted  with  the  execution  of  it 

Now,  dearCapito,  as  I  am  sensible  of  your  usual 
influence  over  all  with  whom  you  are  concerned, 
and  far  more,  with  a  man  so  very  obliging  and 
good-natured  as  Plancus  is,  exert  all  your  ef- 
forts, or  rather  all  your  arts  of  persuasion,  to 
induce  Plancus,  whom  I  believe  to  be  well- 
disposed  to  our  cause,  to  patronise  it  with  still 
greater  ardour  in  consequence  of  your  inter- 
position. 

The  plain  state  of  the  affair,  seems  to  be,  that 
without  obliging  any  man,  Plancus  has  discern- 
ment and  good  sense  enough,  without  hesitation, 
to  support  the  decree  of  the  consuls,  who  had 
the  authority  both  of  the  law  and  senate's  reso- 
lution, 


TO  ATTICUS. 


371 


lution,  to  examine,  and  determine  in  this  affair; 
especially  as  the  authority  of  Caesar  s  acts,  will 
become  doubtful,  should  their  power  of  cogniz- 
ance thus  established,  be  weakened,  and  as  not 
only  they  who  are  interested,  but  as  they  who 
condemn  them,  are  willing  to  confirm  them,  for 
the  sake  of  public  tranquillity-  Though  the  matr 
ter  stands  in  this  clear  light,  yet  still,  it  wJU  do 
service  to  Plancus,  to  defend  our  suit  with  ala- 
crity and  readiness.  »  This  he  certainly  will  do, 
if  you  use  your  influence,  which  I  have  often  ex- 
perienced, and  those  engaging  arts,  in  which  I 
know  you  are  unrivalled ;  that  you  will  do  this, 
is  my  most  earnest  request. 


Cicero  to  Cains  CnpienniuSy  wisheth  Health. 

1  HAD  the  greatest  esteem  for  your  father,  and 
he  had  the  greatest  regard  and  affection  for  me; 
nor  did  I,  most  assuredly,  ever  doubt  that  you 
love  me,  for  I  have  always  loved  you.  I  there- 
fore impress  it  upon  you  in  the  strongest  manner, 
to  relieve  the  Buthrotians,  and  to  endeavour  that 
our  friend  Plancus,  may  immediately  confirm  and 
execute  the  decree  which  the  consuls  made  in 
their  favour,  when  they  had  a  power  of  regulating 
that  affair  both  by  a  law,  and  a  resolution  of 
the  senate.  My  dear  Cupiennius,  I  again^^  a^nci 
again,  entreat  you  to  do  me  this  favour. 

B  b  a  Cicero 


S79 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES 


TO  ATTICUS. 


375 


Cicero  to  Plancus  Prcetor,  wisheth  Health, 


jL  ASK  your  pardon,  for  writing  to  you  so  qftea 
upon  the  affair  of  the  Buthrotians,  after  explain- 
ing it  so  fully  to  you  in  my  former  letters.  This^ 
my  dear  friend,  does  not  proceed  from  any  dis- 
trust I  have  either  of  your  generosity,  or  our 
friendship.  But  an  affair  pf  very  great  consequence 
to  our  friend  Atticus  is  in  agitation ;  nay,  it  con^ 
cerns  his  reputation,  that  the  world  should  know 
he  is  able  to  obtain,  that  which  C^sar  granted  in 
my  hearing,  and  was  witnessed  by  my  hand,  when 
I  was  present  both  when  Ceesar  made  this  decree 
and  signified  his  intentions ;  especially  as  it  is 
now  absolutely  in  your  power,  I  will  not  say 
barely  to  execute,  but  to  execute  w  ith  zeal  and 
cheerfulness,  the  decrees  which  the  consuls  made 
in*  confirmation  of  Caesar's  orders.  Nothing  can 
possibly  give  me  greater  pleasure,  than  your 
compliance  with  this  request 

I  am,  it  is  true,  in  hopes,  that  before  you  re-- 
ceive  this  letter,  you  have  complied  with  the  conr 
tents  of  niy  former  ones,  but  I  will  never  forbear 
soliciting  you,  until  I  am  informed,  that  you 
have  actually  done  it ;  which  I  wait  with  the 
greatest  impatience  to  hear,  and  then,  I  hope  my 
Jpttprs  to  you,  shall  rim  in  a  different  strain,  I 

mean 


mean,  that  of  returning  you  thanks,  for  your  very 
great  favour.  Should  that  happen,  I  assure  yau, 
that  the  obligation  will  not  lie  50  mudi  upaa 
Atticus,  whose  interest  is  greatly  concerned  iip 
this  affair,  as  upon  me,  who  nOw  take  an  equaj 
concern  in  its  success.     Adieu. 


Cicero  to  Capito^  xvisheth  Health. 

X  MAKE  no  doubt,  that  you  are  surprised,  and 
even  piqued,  at  my  soliciting  you  so  often 
upon  the  same  subject;  but  the  interest  of  At- 
ticus, the  dearest,  and  in  every  respect,  the  most 
intimate  of  my  friends,  is  deeply  concerned  in  it. 
I  am  sensible  of  your  zeal  to  serve  your  friends, 
and  of  their  zeal  to  serve  you.  You  can  assist 
us  greatly  with  Plancus.  I  know  your  good  na- 
ture, and  I  know  how  well  pleased  your  friends 
are  to  oblige  you,  and  nobody  can  serve  us  in 
this  affair  more  effectually  than  it  is  in  your  power 
to  do.  Our  claim  is  well-founded,  as  .  rests 
upon  a  decree  of  the  consuls,  connnuiug  (a^sars 
measure,  when  both  by  a  law  and  a  rtsoiuiion  of 
t;he  senate,  they  took  his  acts  under  U.  w  cog- 
nizance. But  we  are  convinced,  that  the  whole 
matter  now  depends  upon  the  generosity  of  your 
friend  Plancus.  And  we  hope,  that  in  conside- 
ration 


Y^- 


\ 


574 


CICERO'S  EPISTLES,  &c 


\ 


ration  of  your  kind  interposition,  and  of  the  pub- 
lic good,  he  will  confirm  the  decree  of  the  con- 
suls, as  well  as  from  his  readiness  to  oblige  me. 
Favour  us,  therefore,  my  dear  Capito,  with  your 
interest  and  assistance.  This  I  solicit  again,  and 
again,  in  the  most  earnest  manner.     Farewel. 


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/ 


v1 


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